These are some of the pumpkins I harvested from my garden on Blossom Hill Farm that I planted in this year. The image was shot with my Motorola Droid as iCell Art.
Pumpkins Fall 2010
Try a delicious pumpkin pie recipe by visiting from my kitchen.
RECIPE TO MAKE SWEET BASIL PESTO
2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed or 6 Tablespoons preserved basil in a jar from the garden.
½ cup flat-leaf Italian parsley, packed (optional)
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup pine nuts or walnuts
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt and cracked black pepper to taste
1. Place ingredients in a food processor and process. Stop occasionally to scrape down sides of container. Blend until pesto is smooth. Add additional olive oil to thin to the desired consistency.
2. Store in refrigerator in a tightly closed container for up to a week, or freeze for a few months.
Mixing with pasta is very traditional. Recently I tasted a “pesto crusted salmon.” Delicious! The salmon was first given a liberal coating of pesto on the flesh side. The fillet was started in a hot pan, skin side down. Then placed in a hot oven to finish.
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PUMPKIN PIE RECIPE
This recipe is an adaptation of a recipe given to me by a dear friend, Mrs. Mary Donatelli of Scotch Plains New Jersey. I baked this version of the recipe while visiting the family on a recent trip to NJ to photograph a wedding. Yes, Mary is Josephine’s mom. The family did enjoy this little treat.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups fresh pumpkin pulp, roasted.
2 eggs, large
12 oz can evaporated milk
1/2 cup light cream
1 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
pinch nutmeg
PREPARATION:
The pumpkin. To maximize flavor of the pumpkin while simultaneously reducing the moisture content of the pulp I like to roast the pumpkin. You can do this in the oven or a smoking BBQ grill. Roast the pumpkin 400 – 500 degrees until tender. Allow to cool. Split in half and remove the seeds. Remove the pumpkin flesh from the skin. Reserve the seeds and skin for mulch bin. Prepare or purchased you pastry shell of choice. Partially “blind bake” the pastry shell.
Method for the Pumpkin Filling:
Process the pumpkin flesh through a food mill. Combine the liquid and dry ingredients until incorporated. Stir in the pumpkin pulp. Alternatively you may combine the flesh with both the dry and liquid ingredients and process together in a blender. Pour the mixture into a partially blind baked 9″ pastry shell. Bake for about 40 – 60 minutes at 400 degrees…… until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
Notes
- The light brown sugar may be substituted for dark brown sugar, granulated white sugar or used in any combination depending on what is in your cabinet or your taste. The total amount of sugar may be adjusted more or less depending on the sweetness of the pumpkin and your taste.
- The blender method of combing the pumpkin and liquid ingredients will incorporate some air into the mixture and make the pie puff up while baking. So try not to blend too much. In either case, no worries because the filling does not have enough structure to “stand” after the baking process has been completed and will assuredly collapse upon cooling.
If your interested, you can see other recipes from my kitchen.
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Growing basil in my home garden is definitely worth the time. This is the sweet basil that I grew this year (2010) in my garden. I was able to jar 6 quarts of a modified pesto. Essentially you process the only the basil leaves with a little salt and “enough” olive oil to make a soft paste. I leave about 1/2 inch of space in he jar above the pesto. I fill this space with first cold press extra virgin olive oil. This will keep in the refrigerator for months. Note: You can process the stems as well.
Fresh Sweet From My Garden
Later when you are ready to make pesto….just add fresh garlic, grated parmesan cheese, pine nuts, more olive oil, sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste. Pesto recipe to finish the processed basil that you would use to cook or garnish with. There is at least one other way to preserve the fresh taste of the basil…. that is to make a herb (basil) infused oil.
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