Pumpkin + Fungi + Goat Milk = Puppy

Recipe for a stuck puppy:

• Take a front yard that doesn't get much sun
• Spread a dash of low-temp compost
• Wait a few weeks until several volunteer pumpkin vines appear (note: do not add water because these are volunteers and you don't know if they're edible and you just want to see how they do)
• Let grow for several weeks until powdery mildew appears (which is why you don't grow squash on purpose in the first place)
• Remove all mildewed leaves
• After doing some online reseach about natural remedies, take 2 cups old goat milk that you traded your backyard chicken eggs for but didn't use up fast enough and spray it all over the pumkin vines
• Stir briefly, in your mind, wondering about what new pests or problems the fragrant goat milk will bring.  Wait 30 seconds...

...and the neighbor's puppy wiggles under the wood fence and get stuck between that and a chain link to lick the leaves and cry.

Next, break into the neighbors yard and try to cajole the puppy back into it's yard.

...and that was my morning.

Tiger Butter Cookies

I've never had tiger butter before, and I'm not even sure where I heard about it, but once I learned that it was white chocolate/peanut butter, I had to make it into cookies. Here is the recipe I came up with.

1/2 cup butter (from Spring Hill)
1/2 cup peanut butter (fresh ground in the bulk section of the co-op)
1/2 cup cane sugar (fair trade of course)
1/3 cup rapadura
1 egg (courtesy of our backyard flock)
1 tsp homemade vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
3/4 cup white chocolate chips (fair trade of course)
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cream the butters and sugars. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth. Add in the dry ingredients and mix until incorporated. Fold in the chips, and drop by rounded spoonfuls onto a baking sheet covered in parchment and bake for 8-12 minutes.

Makes about two dozen cookies.

Spiced Cranberry Pear Compote

This version of cranberry sauce was inspired by a wonderfully fragrant pear from Smit Farms at the Little Italy farmers market.

1 pear, peeled, diced
zest of an orange or tangerine
1 1/2 cups apple cider
3 cups fresh cranberries
1/3 cup golden raisins

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup rapadura sugar

1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, ground

1/4 teaspoon clove, ground

a pinch of allspice, ground

1/8 teaspoon cayenne, ground

Stir all ingredients in large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and cook for 5 minutes, until all cranberries burst. Uncover, reduce heat to simmer until the pear is soft and the raisins are plumped, 15-20 minutes. Cool to serve at room temp. Can be kept frozen for several weeks or canned to be shelf stable.

Makes about 3 cups.

Simple (dairy-free) Pineapple Coconut Ice Cream

I don't eat tropical fruit often because of issues with sustainability.  I never buy bananas, but I do pick up bruised ones from the co-op free bin (perks of working at an organic grocery store) and if I get really lucky, I trade with a neighbor for lovely locally grown ones!

2 ripe bananas, frozen
1 can coconut milk
1/4-1/3 cup agave or local honey, to taste
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups pineapple, finely diced

Peel bananas, chop into several pieces, and blend in a food processor for a couple minutes, until creamy.  Add the coconut milk, honey and vanilla; blend until smooth.  Pour into an ice cream maker add the pineapple and let it do it's thing until the consistency of soft serve.  Transfer to a container to freeze.  Enjoy when it's firm enough for you.

Not-Mooncakes, Not-Pumpkin Buttercup Pie

Okay, so originally this was an attempt to make super-blood-harvest-eclipsed mooncakes, but that turned out to be too ambitious for that already busy weekend.  So then I had copious amounts of filling sitting in the fridge for over a week, which turned out to be great, cuz some of the liquid evaporated out leaving a very thick puree.  Also, buttercups tend to be dense and more dry, and this one was a bit sweet. As for the rest of the puree, I'm freezing it for Thanksgiving.  Forever searching for the best pumpkin pie recipe, here's my latest:

Make the pie crust.  This would also be good with a graham cracker or ginger cookie pie crust.

1 & 1/4 lbs Buttercup squash from Solidarity Farm (will make about 1&1/2 cups roasted puree)

2/3 cups evaporated cane sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp freshly grated ginger
1/4 tsp sea salt
3 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup heavy cream

Make the filling:
Cut the squash in half, remove seeds and place cut side down on a baking sheet. Roast at 400 degrees until they are tender and can be easily pierced with knife, about an hour. When cool enough to handle, remove the skin.  Add butter, sugar, spices & salt and puree. Cook to thicken or keep in your fridge for a few days with a slightly askew lids for the liquid to evaporate.

Stir in the eggs and sour cream.  Pour into a partially baked pie crust.

In an oven pre-heated to 350, bake until the center is not wobbly, about 45 minutes.

Of course, I'm serving it with heavy cream whipped up with a bit of maple syrup.

Chipotle Pickled Veggies

This week, I'll spend a few days in the California central coast wine country for my brother-in-law's momentous birthday.  It's going to be a stellar bash with many friends and family staying together in a huge estate on a 64-acre ranch.  There are several events planned for this occasion and a few I'll help with in the kitchen.  My sis asked me to pickle some veggies intended for bloody marys (make mine a virgin):

1/2 head of whole garlic cloves from Schaner Farm, peeled

a handful of small pearl-type onion bulbs from Sage Mountain Farm, peeled

1 cup red okra from JR Organics Farm

6 small carrots, cut in half

1 cup fresh green beans from Suzie's Farm

a dried chipotle chili

4 sprigs fresh parsley

a bay leaf

1/8 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

1 cup red wine vinegar

1 cup spring water

1/4 cup evaporated cane sugar

1 tablespoon sea salt

Stuff the herbs, veggies & spices in a quart-sized jar.  In a small sauce pan, bring the vinegar, water, sugar & salt to a boil.  Pour into jar to cover vegetables, leaving a bit head space.  Screw the lid on tight and allow to cool.  Store in the refrigerator for at least a few days before eating.

POG Lemonade!

My mom just had her 60th birthday and we celebrated in the park, potlucking and jamming with her musician friends and family.  She requested carrot cake cupcakes.  I also made a 7-layer dip with beans and salsa from scratch.  I had quite a lot of locally grown fruit on hand (from the farmers market and Solidarity Farm's CSA) and a tree dripping with guavas (it LOVES all the grey water it's getting from our shower). And with a few of my family members having recently been to Hawaii, I was inspired to make POG (passion fruit-orange-guava, for those who have not been blessed enough to taste this juice blend) lemonade... and OMG, yum!  I think it's my best lemonade yet:

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1 cup evaporated cane sugar (or agave or sweetener of your choice)
1 small guava (I think mine are strawberry guavas but honestly I have no idea what variety), peeled and seeded
juice of 1 orange
2 passion fruits

I make a simple sugar first, heating the sugar in a couple cups of water, stirring just until it dissolves; pour into my half-gallon mason jar and allow it to cool in the fridge.

I squeeze my citrus into another container, add the guava and blend until very smooth. Add it to the cooled simple syrup.  Cut the passion fruit in half and scoop the goopy flesh and seeds into the juice.  Add water to fill the half-gallon container, screw the lid on and shake stir.