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Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Welcoming the holiday season (or an ode to delicious eats)

Hey all! Sorry for my extended hiatus. My life has just started going back to normal (okay, not really back to normal, but less chaotic) since I started my term of service with Americorps! I think I've finally gotten adjusted enough to come back and show what I love to do: make yummy foods! Here's what I've been up to recently:

Sunday was my cooking day after the long Thanksgiving weekend.

I made some soup:

 This soup was super simple to make. I threw lentils, 4 cups of water and a vegetable bouillon cube into my slow cooker and put it on high for an hour or so. Then I added some chopped carrots, and after another 30 or so minutes it was done. Yes, it's a bit plain and not really fancy or anything, but I found that it goes well with the fresh bread I made:

Usually, I'm completely afraid of making bread unless Ralph is with me (he's the best at kneading it and letting me know when it's ready to rest). However, I stumbled upon a great french bread recipe here. Okay, okay, I know I'm not making the most perfect loaf of bread, but that's okay. If you have a good recipe, you should always be as accurate as possible with your measurements. Despite doing that, your bread will not turn out the same every single time you bake it. I mean, it will definitely come close, but if you change the way you knead it or give it more or less time, it will turn out slightly different each time, and that's what makes bread baking so much fun!

Another fun thing I made: Pumpkin scones! (I had 1/2 cup leftover canned pumpkin, so this was the perfect way to use it!) 
I adapted a recipe from the NY Times's Pumpkin and Ginger Scones recipe. I modified by totally omitting the ginger pieces and maple syrup. Instead, I added pumpkin pie spices, such as 1tsp cinnamon and 1/2tsp nutmeg. I also used 2Tbsp brown sugar and also dusted a bit on top of each scone for a little more sweetness.

Other than those small changes, I followed the recipe to a T and ended up with 13 1/2 palm sized scones.
Yum! All autumn I've been dying to make pumpkin scones. These were worth the wait!

Stay tuned for more seasonally inspired eats. Since tomorrow is the first day of Hanukkah, I'm thinking of making latkes, but we'll just have to wait and see. Until then, have a good night!