The Can of Pumpkin Puree …

… that kept on giving.

I bought a can of ED Smith pumpkin puree to make a pumpkin pie for Canadian Thanksgiving.



Then I made some no churn pumpkin ice cream, apple-pumpkin cupcakes and pumpkin waffles with the other half of the can. Cause that’s just how bored I was.

(edited) Happy Thanksgiving (2023)

Having a quiet day at home.

Supper was leftover roast chicken breast, mashed potatoes and gravy, StoveTop stuffing, steamed broccoli with zesty Italian dressing, and a freshly baked pumpkin pie and coffee.

I hope everyone is safe at home with their loved ones near or far on their minds.

March Baking Round-Up

My nephew offered to pick up a bag of all purpose flour for me on his recent trip to Costco. I wasn’t sure if I should say yes, since I haven’t been doing as much baking as usual, lately. At least, that’s what I THOUGHT.

And then I realized that I’ve baked or used flour to make the following this month: ‘pizzaman’ steamed buns, a loaf of traditional white bread, Irish soda farls, banana-raisin oat muffins and a nectarine pie.

Oh well. Guess I should say yes. 🙂

Banana-Raisin Oat Muffins

When you’re clearing out your pantry, and have just over a cup of rolled oats left, make these delicious oat muffins.

During my search on line for a recipe, I found that bananas were often included in the recipes for moisture. This recipe seemed perfect as I had some peeled bananas frozen away for smoothies. The google results that suggested that two bananas would equal one cup, however, were inaccurate. At least once I thawed and mashed what ended up a soupy mixture. It was only about half a cup. So, I threw half a cup of raisins into the bowl and let the mixture sit for a while to plump up the raisins. The recipe seemed a bit bland so I increased the vanilla extract to one teaspoon and added half a teaspoon of cinnamon. Just because. I also used half a cup each of brown and white sugar.

I was very pleased with the result and would make this recipe again.

  

Rum Balls (Redux)

I can’t remember the last time I made these but I was reminded of them recently, when I visited a local European grocery store. They were charging $2.99 per piece for the large size. I was horrified, and since I had just restocked my supply of rum, I made a quick half batch today. The recipe was shared with me by my BFF, Ann, more than 50 years ago, from her family recipes.

I didn’t have much in the way of items to roll the rum balls in so I made do with scraps from my baking supplies. I had less than a tablespoon of two different kinds of candy shot so I rolled the rest of the balls in finely chopped walnuts and icing sugar.



   

Ann’s Rum Balls – makes 7 dozen 1″ balls**

2 x 7 oz (200 gm) pkgs chocolate wafers (1 box of Oreo baking crumbs)
1 cup walnuts or pecans, finely chopped
1 cup sifted icing sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/4 cup cocoa, sifted
1/2 cup rum, light or dark

Additional icing sugar for rolling.

Crush wafers to equal 4 1/2 cups. Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Let stand at room temperature for 10 min. Coat hands in icing sugar and roll the mixture into small (~1″ diameter) balls.

Decorate balls by rolling in icing sugar or chocolate shot. Best if aged for a week before eating them so they become truffle like and the rum flavour mellows a bit.

May be frozen but also keep well in an air tight container in a cool place.

** Half batch made 16 balls. I used a 1 inch melon baller.

Toffee Bars

I’m planning on making these toffee bars again and while reviewing the recipe, I realized that I had never shared the pictures or the recipe link.I recommend making them if you need a fast recipe with little preparation. Sadly, they don’t last long especially when you only make a small 8×8 inch tray.

Peach Pie

Haven’t made a pie in a while and since peaches were in season … and on sale, I bought some last week and finally got around to making a pie today. I used a recipe for the filling that I found on line here.

I was quite happy with the results. I’d probably make the pie earlier than I did as the peaches kept softening in the fridge.

Rum Baba (Trial 1)

I’ve enjoyed the rum baba (baba au rhum) bought at a local Italian bakery over the years and kept meaning to try making them myself, but the cost of the molds kept me from the attempt. And then I retired and decided to splurge.

This was my first attempt. I used a recipe I found on line which has now disappeared. It was fine EXCEPT for the fact that it called for a crazy amount of salt. But I followed the recipe – bought the bread flour called for too – even though my baking ‘sense’ was flashing RED. And I was right. The babas took forever to rise and, even after soaking in the rum syrup, they were salty. I ate a couple and then tossed the rest. Now that I have the molds, I’ll probably make them again. Someday. And use a lot less salt.

Soaked baba ready for the cut and a channel cut into the baba for the whipped cream

Prepared mold and risen batter

Baked babas and soaking in the rum syrup

 

Japanese Duo and Basque Burnt Cheesecake

It’s been six seven months and I got bored so I thought I’d post a couple of pictures of things I made lately. I’ve made both dishes before and posted them on my LJ and my blog.

Japanese chicken curry using a boxed curry roux.

And some inarizushi (seasoned fried tofu pockets filled with sushi rice). One has pickled plum stirred into the rice and the other has green onion and rice seasoning in it.

PS: I also baked a Burnt Basque cheesecake a few days ago and am slowly making my way through it. This is a new dish in my cooking repertoire. I found the recipe here.

Happy Pi Day!

Cran-apple Pie for Pi Day