Pumpkin Ice Cream

My penultimate pumpkin foray is the creation of a pumpkin ice cream. As mentioned in my previous post I found a great cookbook, "Foods of the Southwest Indian Nations," and as I still had tons of pumpkin puree left I had to try the ice cream. My neighbor owns a countertop ice cream maker so that helped too!

The hardest part was the careful separation out of the many egg yolks. After that it was mostly down to keeping your eye on the prize. Heating the milk and later the milk/sugar/egg yolk mixture requires constant stirring so none of it boils and then curdles. I went ahead and added some cinnamon, nutmeg and powdered cloves to the mix too (it already had vanilla bean) but I dont think those flavors were very evident in the final product.

Most reviews of the ice cream said it wasnt very pumpkin tasting though the flavor was there. All did agree that it was tasty. I figure it would go well if paired with the last recipe I am currently scouting for... the holiday worthy pumpkin pie.

I have some pie crust recipe's in the works as I have a feeling that the pie falls flat without a good crust.  Im also thinking the pumpkin puree will need to be cooked down to make it more concentrated. It may turn out that all of these dishes would have been better if I had run the original puree through a sieve and then cooked out the water. It has also been suggested that next year I try finding a pumpkin type that is specifically good for cooking (as opposed to carving like the one I bought).

One thing is for sure... I wont have the energy to attempt this much pumpkin stuff for about a year!

Pumpkin Corn Soup

I recently went to Washington D.C. and found that I just loved the Mitsitam Cafe at The National Museum of the American Indian. Regional Native American dishes, such as South America's tamales and fresh Yucca fries were grouped together at one serving area. It is amazing how much of Native American food we think of as merely 'American' food. Pork and beans is a classic example, pot pie (like the rabbit pot pie I had while there) is another. Mmmm, and fry bread must be the ancestor to every good bread product you have ever had !

To no ones surprise I picked up a two cookbooks in the museum's bookshop; one focused on the Southwest, and another that covered many other areas as well. Earlier in the week I decided to try to make the Pumpkin Corn Soup from the first book... here is my adapted recipe and the book information at the bottom. This wont be the last recipe I try from this book!

A quick break from the pumpkin madness...

Black Bean Brownies???

Dont knock it until you try it! I dont have a picture because they all got eaten!!

Pumpkin Breads

The recipe I used for pumpkin bread is my roomate's grandmother's recipe. I made two batches. One with whole wheat flour and a half splenda, half sugar mixture. The other I used it as given below but with an extra accidental amount of flour! I was trying to halve the recipe (as this makes two loaves) and I put in 3 cups of flour instead of ~1 1/2 ! This made it a bit cake-ier but whose complaining! This recipe of course calls for a 16 oz can of pumpkin puree which I replaced with an eyeballing it equivalent amount. So far I've learned that pumpkin can be a pretty subtle flavor so its worth dumping in extra if you can help it.

Nana Black's Pumpkin Bread

2/3 cup vegetable shortening ( I used butter flavor )
2 2/3 cup sugar
4 eggs
16oz can of pumpkin puree
2/3 cup water
3 1/3 cup flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2/3 cup nuts (optional)

Mix the shortening and the sugar until well blended. In a second bowl mix together the eggs, pumpkin and water and then blend in to first bowl until thoroughly mixed. In another bowl mix flour, baking soda, spices and nuts. Blend this dry ingredients bowl into the wet mixture. Grease 2 bread loaf pans, pour half in each and put in the oven at 350 F for 70 minutes. Let cool completely before removing.

On the left, Whole Wheat version, on the right, Regular Flour (extra on accident)

Fresh Pumpkin Puree!

Ever made pumpkin pie using a canned filling? Maybe you thought you would go from "scratch" and use canned pumpkin puree and then add your own mix of spices...


If you find pumpkin pie, or pumpkin anything, not that enjoyable then maybe it's time for a fresher main ingredient! This past weekend I cut a pumpkin in half, scraped out the stringy bits and seeds, and roasted the whole thing (skin side up) in my oven for 45 minutes at 350 F. With my kitchen smelling wonderful I started to scrap out the fleshy pumpkin parts until I realized it might be easier to just cut off the skin and chop up what was left. All of this (in many, many batches) went into a food processor until well pureed. If you didnt do a good job getting the stringy bits out you might want to put it through a fine sieve. All this is pretty simple stuff but Ill warn you that its time consuming and obviously can get a little messy... aound the holidays that is half the fun! My pumpkin was pretty huge and filled 4 quart freezer bags for about 20 cups of puree. Thankfully the puree is supposed to last a few days in the fridge and a few months in the freezer... I dont know what I would do with 20 cups!


Personally, I love the squash family. Summer squash, zucchini, butternut, acorn - you name it I probably like it. I have never really found pumpkin, however, anything to get excited about. After making my own puree I took a spoon and tried a little bit.. It had the pumpkin flavor but with that roasted squash family heartiness that I love in all squash. I figured if this is what it is supposed to taste like then there are a few recipes I should try..


I'll start off with pumpkin bread and a soup... then hopefully later Ill get to pumpkin ice cream!

The Importance of Condiments

Today for lunch I had a turkey sandwich, which I'm sure to most people, doesn't sound very exciting. 

This sandwich, however, is a reminder to me of both the importance of condiments and to take the time to make something nice for myself. I will grant you that it took some time to pick up all the ingredients yesterday while out shopping, but I have to go to the grocery store anyway so why not get something new or different to try? Condiments can really change things up so give them as much importance as any of your other ingredients. In the morning it took all of 10 minutes to actually construct my little gourmet sandwich as I like to put everything in tupperware so I can compile it right before eating (no soggy bread thank you!), but even then we arent talking about very much time and the results are far better than your typical bread and meat combo.


If this is all too much mystery then I will relate the contents of my lunch sandwich so you can salivate in proper envy. I started with roasted garlic bread I found at Costco, layered on smoked turkey and a slice of swiss and a slice of havarti cheese. At this point I figured a bit more meat might even things out so I slapped on two pieces of salami as well. After some red-leaf lettuce, some sliced up roma tomatoes I figured I was almost done. I threw on a touch of salt on the tomatoes, added some avacado and some basil leaves I found in the fridge as well because at this point, why not!? The best part was adding in some mayo and a new three pepper mustard I got while in Virginia this past week. I was happy to find that Golding Farms sell their products online so I'll be picking up more mustard in the future. The next batch of deviled eggs scream for this mustard!


While in Virginia I also picked up some Spicy Plum Chutney, made by the Virginia Chutney Company, who also sell their products online. I am eager to try this on some kind of meat, though I have found just on bread with cheese to be excellent. I might sound like I am making a plug for these condiments but that is only because I have found them rather tasty and it can be surprising how much something like a gourmet (or just anything unique) condiment can really change up your lunch. I just wish I had more room in my condiment section of my fridge but I can't seem to throw any of it out... 

Chicken and Roast Vegetables Thai Style

Last night I made Thai-style roast vegetables from a recipe in Mark Bittmans NYTimes Blog. I altered it a bit and added chicken. Here is my version!

1/4 cup peanut oil
1 medium-to-large eggplant, diced
1 cup frozen red/yellow pepper strips or 1 red pepper, cored, stemmed and cut into strips
1 cup peas (I used frozen)
1 cup chopped fresh green beans
4 peeled shallots or 1 onion, quartered
8 to 12 cloves garlic, peeled
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 medium or 1 large tomatoe, cut into eighths
1/4 cup green, yellow or red curry paste, or 1 tablespoon chili paste,  or cayenne to taste
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Chopped fresh cilantro, mint and/or Thai basil leaves for garnish
2 large chicken breasts cut into pieces
1 tablespoon chopped ginger


1. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Place all vegetables except tomatoes into a large mixing bowl and add all but a tablespoon of oil, salt and pepper. Pour into a deep ovenproof skillet or casserole. Put pan in oven and roast, stirring once or twice, for 30 minutes. Add tomatoes, stir, and continue to roast until vegetables are tender and beginning to brown, about 45 minutes to an hour total.

2. Put remaining oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add ginger and curry paste and stir. Salt and pepper the chicken pieces and cook for a few minutes until chicken is no longer pink on the inside. Remove chicken from the pan with a fork leaving drippings. Whisk in coconut milk, peanut butter and soy sauce and bring to a simmer. Add chicken back in, stir and keep warm.

3. When vegetables are done, stir in coconut milk mixture. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more soy sauce or curry paste if necessary. Garnish with herbs and serve hot or warm.


I used cayenne and creamy peanut butter and no herbs as I forgot to add the cilantro. I also made extra sauce as a can of coconut milk is closer to 2 cups and I wouldnt know what to do with the other half of the can. Dont forget to stir up the coconut milk as it does separate. Next time I make it I will use a quartered onion instead of frozen diced onions though they did turn out fine. I also added some chopped garlic from a jar to the vegetables and the chicken becuase you really cant have too much garlic anyway.


Tonight I will put the left overs on top of some basmati or jasmine rice !