We had exceptionally beautiful warm weather all September, but this week has been wetter and grayer, the leaves seem to turn more quickly to shades of orange and yellow and brown, and we're beginning to spend more time indoors (coughing and nose-blowing too).
And so it is that I have been busy in the kitchen and at the sewing machine yesterday. We were out of everything for breakfast and I had been eyeing a pumkin scone recipe so I got to make it. I use potimarron, I think it's called Hokkaido squash, it is a small variety that has a dense flesh with a hint of chestnut flavour (hence the name). It is ideal for all recipes calling for pumpkin or butternut, and you can cook and eat the skin too -less waste, more vitamins, and above all by my book, less work!
These scones were a bit dense, but nicely flavoured with a hint of cinnamon, and smeared with Nutella, they were quite easy to eat but dunk anything in Nutella and we'll eat it. Though perhaps not bacon or sausages...
I also made an apple galette, following a pastry recipe I found in this book. Galettes may sound French but they're not. We'd call that a croustade because of its crunchy edge. Say galette and we all think of the Epiphany and galette des rois. But I digress. I find it an easy twist on tarte and love the rustic look. I caramelized the apples a little in a pan , tatin-style. The pastry turned out nice and crunchy, flaky and with a delicious rich taste. It had crème fraîche and butter in it.
Sewing wise, I finished a little project for Maya. I use this book, it has nice "plain" models with patterns for children. It isn't really aimed at beginners like me, because the explanations aren't super clear, but some models are really feasible. This model is supposed to be made in towelling as a throw-on bathrobe but I thought it' d be great for outdoors in fleece for the cooler days. We have a shop in town that sells pricey but lovely fabrics, and I found the flower print fleece there. Maya chose the white/pink flowers and I got some in pink/red for Alma to make the same hoodie. I didn't know fleece was a bitch to sew with then. Ha ha!
I also hope to put the finishing touches to a pair of PJs I made for myself, and some cord pants for Maya.
While the galette was in the oven, I whipped up some molten chocolate cakes at Maya's demand. She'll only eat chocolate baked goods, what am I gonna do? So here's a little recipe to share with you, if you're pressed for time and need a chocolate fix :
chocolate babycake and potimarron
Makes 4 muffin-sized babycakes (the silicon type)
Melt 75 g dark chocolate with 20g butter in a biggish bowl in the microwave. Add a pinch of salt and 3 tbsp sugar and mix. Add an egg and mix it in quickly. Add 1 heaped tbsp flour with a pinch of baking powder. Mix well. Pour into muffin tins and bake at 180°C for 10 minutes. They should still be soft and gooey in the middle. Eat hot/warm/cold. Do NOT use the microwave to bake them, I tried one in there and burned it.
And so it is that I have been busy in the kitchen and at the sewing machine yesterday. We were out of everything for breakfast and I had been eyeing a pumkin scone recipe so I got to make it. I use potimarron, I think it's called Hokkaido squash, it is a small variety that has a dense flesh with a hint of chestnut flavour (hence the name). It is ideal for all recipes calling for pumpkin or butternut, and you can cook and eat the skin too -less waste, more vitamins, and above all by my book, less work!
These scones were a bit dense, but nicely flavoured with a hint of cinnamon, and smeared with Nutella, they were quite easy to eat but dunk anything in Nutella and we'll eat it. Though perhaps not bacon or sausages...
I also made an apple galette, following a pastry recipe I found in this book. Galettes may sound French but they're not. We'd call that a croustade because of its crunchy edge. Say galette and we all think of the Epiphany and galette des rois. But I digress. I find it an easy twist on tarte and love the rustic look. I caramelized the apples a little in a pan , tatin-style. The pastry turned out nice and crunchy, flaky and with a delicious rich taste. It had crème fraîche and butter in it.
Sewing wise, I finished a little project for Maya. I use this book, it has nice "plain" models with patterns for children. It isn't really aimed at beginners like me, because the explanations aren't super clear, but some models are really feasible. This model is supposed to be made in towelling as a throw-on bathrobe but I thought it' d be great for outdoors in fleece for the cooler days. We have a shop in town that sells pricey but lovely fabrics, and I found the flower print fleece there. Maya chose the white/pink flowers and I got some in pink/red for Alma to make the same hoodie. I didn't know fleece was a bitch to sew with then. Ha ha!
I also hope to put the finishing touches to a pair of PJs I made for myself, and some cord pants for Maya.
While the galette was in the oven, I whipped up some molten chocolate cakes at Maya's demand. She'll only eat chocolate baked goods, what am I gonna do? So here's a little recipe to share with you, if you're pressed for time and need a chocolate fix :
chocolate babycake and potimarronMakes 4 muffin-sized babycakes (the silicon type)
Melt 75 g dark chocolate with 20g butter in a biggish bowl in the microwave. Add a pinch of salt and 3 tbsp sugar and mix. Add an egg and mix it in quickly. Add 1 heaped tbsp flour with a pinch of baking powder. Mix well. Pour into muffin tins and bake at 180°C for 10 minutes. They should still be soft and gooey in the middle. Eat hot/warm/cold. Do NOT use the microwave to bake them, I tried one in there and burned it.
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