PUMPKIN HUMMUS

Posted in Appetizers by sallybr

Starting around Halloween, the food blogosphere turns into a pumpkin-fiesta, matching the phenomenon so common in grocery stores too: everything that can be made with a pumpkin flavor will be. Dog food? Yes. Potato chips? Yes, siree. Candles for your bathroom? Of course! Pumpkin Pie Vodka? You bet! It can be a bit much. But, now that the pumpkin fever has subsided a little, I feel it’s safe to come out and play. Let me share with you a pumpkin hummus that we enjoyed recently. I’d love to give credit to the source, but I have no idea where I got it from. I wrote down the ingredients in a piece of paper and ended up modifying it a bit for my own taste. Actually, if you google pumpkin hummus, you’ll find many versions out there, including this one from Sue’s site. She blogged about it just a few days ago, proving that great minds hummus alike.. 😉

PUMPKIN HUMMUS
(a variation from internet sources)

1 can chickpeas, drained and peeled
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup water
3 Tbsp tahini
1/2 cup canned unsweetened pumpkin puree
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cayenne pepper
drizzle of olive oil

Place chickpeas, lemon juice, water and tahini in food processor. Process until really smooth, let the machine run for a couple of minutes, scrape the sides of the bowl, process again. Add the pumpkin puree’ and seasonings. Process. With the motor running drizzle a little olive oil. Taste and add more lemon juice, cayenne pepper, and salt if needed.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Hummus is a mandatory appetizer at our home. It doesn’t matter if we are having a dinner party for a few friends, or a departmental get-together to welcome a guest speaker, we always include this super versatile chickpea dip, either as the traditional type, or some fun variation. Making hummus from scratch is easy, and it adds a nice touch. This is a photo of the appetizer course of our first dinner party post-hellnovation. Everything ready, our friends were about to arrive, and we were in Kitchen Nirvana Land…

Apart from the pumpkin hummus, I made the batch of crackers you can see on the green plate: Cheddar and Fennel Seed Crackers, recipe to be featured soon in the Bewitching Kitchen. Think of a shortbread type concoction with a sharp, salty nature, and a very mild fennel taste.

Back to the hummus. My version has two modifications that deviate from most recipes around. First, it doesn’t take any garlic. Second, the amount of olive oil is minimal. When I savor hummus, I like the taste of chickpeas and tahini to be dominant, and that’s pretty hard to achieve if using raw garlic. So I omitted it. I suppose adding roasted garlic could be a nice alternative. In my handwritten note, I noticed that the original recipe called for 1/3 cup of olive oil. I added just a tablespoon, and still could detect the flavor of the oil, not too overpowering, but definitely present. One third of a cup would have ruined it for us. But, different folks, different strokes, you should modify this version as you see fit. Just don’t skip the pumpkin, ok? 😉

ONE YEAR AGO: Beetroot Sourdough for the Holidays

TWO YEARS AGO: Cod Filet with Mustard Tarragon Crust

THREE YEARS AGO: Soba Noodles: Light and Healthy

FOUR YEARS AGO: Potato-Rosemary Bread

28Jan2013

THE SECRET RECIPE CLUB: PUMPKIN BOLO DE FUBA’ CREMOSO

Posted in Desserts, Sweets, Secret Recipe Club by sallybr

The Secret Recipe Club took a break in the month of December, but now we are back! For those who don’t know, the SRC is a fun blogging event in which you are paired (in secret) with another blogger, and on reveal day post a recipe chosen from that blog. Everyone in the same group posts at the exact same time, even if you are blogging from Japan. 😉 This month I was paired with Shirley, from the blog Enriching your Kid. Shirley is a clinical psychologist who, after having kids, opted for working very hard at home taking care of them and paying particular attention to a healthy nutrition. She cooks a lot of Indian food, so at first I had my mind set on one of her many paratha recipes, but then I spotted a very familiar Portuguese name – “bolo de fuba’ cremoso” – and that was it. I knew it would be my choice for the first SRC post of 2013. She added a nice twist to the classic, by incorporating pumpkin in the cake. Check out her post about it here.

PUMPKIN BOLO DE FUBA’ CREMOSO
(adapted from Enriching your Kid)

1 cup masa harina (corn flour)
3/4 cup pumpkin puree’
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups milk
2 eggs
pinch of salt
1 cup grated cheese
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1 tsp grated nutmeg
lemon zest

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Place all of the ingredients (up to the salt) in a blender or a food processor and mix for 4 minutes or until the mixture is smooth (it will be very liquid). If your processor or blender is very large, you can add the rest of the ingredients. Otherwise, transfer the mixture to a bowl and add the cheese, baking powder, nutmeg and lemon zest, mixing well with a whisk. Pour into a buttered and floured pan (8 x 8 inches).

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the top of the cake is golden. Cool the cake before cutting it into slices.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: First, a little bit on language, as Shirley was puzzled about the gender issue in Portuguese. All nouns have a gender, and for the most part words that end with “a” are feminine. Words that end with “o” are masculine. However, there are exceptions. Fuba’, for instance, the term that describes a particular type of corn flour, ends with “a“, but it is masculine. Therefore, the adjective that goes along with it, “cremoso” (creamy) must agree with the gender, and end with “o“. Let’s suppose we were talking about a coconut concoction called “cocada“. Cocada ends with an “a“, and it is indeed feminine. In this case, creamy coconut would be described as “cocada cremosa“. Clear as mud? Well, mud is feminine: A lama. Earth is feminine: A Terra. Love is masculine: O amor (gotcha there! Amor ends with “r” to confuse non-native speakers ;-)).

Now, to the recipe: I made a few small modifications, using cooked pumpkin instead of raw. I absolutely had to put my beloved pumpkin puree to use, and that was a perfect opportunity. I also reduced the sugar slightly. If you are Brazilian and grew up enjoying bolo de fuba’, this version seems like a different sweet, mainly because of the nutmeg. If you are not too fond of nutmeg, or if you want something closer to the Brazilian version, reduce the amount or omit it. Pumpkin was a great addition to bolo de fuba’, I loved what its subtle taste brought to the cake.

Shirley, I will definitely be cooking other recipes from your blog, as Indian cuisine is fascinating and I don’t have enough experience with it. I hope you are having a great reveal day… 😉

For my readers: if you want to see what the crowd from SRC Group D came up with in this first posting of the year, click on the happy frog and a new page will open with plenty of great posts.

ONE YEAR AGO: Citrus-crusted Tilapia Filets

TWO YEARS AGO: Bran Muffins, not just for Hippies

THREE YEARS AGO: Flourless Chocolate Cake

21Dec2012

PUMPKIN ESPRESSO LOAF

Posted in Breakfast & Brunch, Desserts, Sweets by sallybr

Baker Street strikes again! For the most part, I want to make everything she blogs about, but my frantic life gets in the way. One of the things that happens as you accumulate more experience in the kitchen, is a certain “feeling” for a recipe. I usually spot a winner just by reading the ingredients, and this pumpkin espresso loaf, covered with crushed hazelnuts made me dream. I knew we would love it. It is quite simple to prepare, and it smells AMAZING (all caps required) as it bakes. It is moist, not too sweet, the coffee flavor quite subtle, and the crumb topping gives that contrast of texture which is always a nice touch on this type of loaf.

PUMPKIN ESPRESSO BREAD
(from Baker Street)

for the loaf:
¾ cup (150 grams) brown sugar, packed
1 cup (245 grams) canned pumpkin puree
½ cup (118 ml) vegetable oil
¼ cup (59 ml) milk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ cups (188 grams) all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon espresso powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon salt

for the topping:
½ cup hazelnut, chopped roughly
3 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
½ teaspoon espresso powder
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Heat oven to 350F and generously grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.

Prepare the topping by combining all ingredients in a small bowl, and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, espresso powder, spices, and salt. Reserve. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, pumpkin puree, oil, milk, eggs, and vanilla extract. Gently fold in the flour mixture and spread the batter evenly into prepared pan.

Sprinkle the espresso topping evenly over the pumpkin batter. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool before cutting and serving.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

This was SUCH a delicious bread, loaf, whatever you want to call it. With a cup of cappuccino in the morning, it starts your day on a perfectly warm note. After the loaf was in the oven, I said to myself that some cardamon could be a good addition. Phil, on the other hand, thinks that mini-chocolate chips would take this loaf to unprecedented levels of decadence. Interestingly enough, that is exactly the variation recommended over at Baker Street. Keep that in mind if you make this loaf. And I hope you do! 😉

ONE YEAR AGO: Caramelized Carrot Soup

TWO YEARS AGO: Miso-Grilled Shrimp

THREE YEARS AGO: A Special Holiday Fruitcake