Soup on a Cold, Windy Night :)

CURRIED PUMPKIN SOUP

I love the combination of curry and pumpkin. This soup is super creamy, vegan friendly (unless you add a little sour cream garnish, like me) and involves toasted curry. You can toast curry in a dry pan over medium heat for just a minute or two to bring out the flavor. And, added bonus, it makes your whole kitchen smell amazing!Curried Pumpkin Soup, makes 4 servings

Needed: 2-3 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 yellow onion, 1 tablespoon minced garlic, 3 teaspoons toasted curry, a pinch of cumin, 1/2 teaspoon sriracha, 1 can pumpkin puree, 1 can coconut milk, 2-3 tablespoons veggie stock or water (optional) and curried pumpkin or sunflower seeds to serve.

In a pot over medium, heat saute the chopped onion and garlic until soft. Stir in the toasted curry, cumin and sriracha. Now add in the coconut milk and pumpkin and cook until warmed through. If you want to thin the soup out a little then you can add a little stock or water. I blended my soup with an immersion blender to make it more creamy. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed. Serve with curried seeds.To make curried seeds, simply toast seeds in a little olive oil and curry and toast on the stove top for a few minutes. I really liked serving this soup with seeds instead of croutons or bread. Fun change and added protein.

Borrowed from friends @

http://www.abeautifulmess.com/

Great Blog. Check it out! :)

xo

Rach

From Rachel's Kitchen: Pumpkin Cake Pops

Are these not the cutest ever?

c'monnn.

Cake pops are a whole lot easier with these buttons that you can now get in the supermarket – no more hunting down Wilton Candy Melts or having to colour your own chocolate – perfect pumpkin colour!

This is the recipe for cake pops I am using (Thanks JJ!)- but feel free to use your own:

You will need:

• Cake Mix
• Cream Cheese Frosting 
• Candy Melts (Orange)
• Lollipop Sticks
• Cookie Sheet
• Wax Paper

Cream Cheese Frosting:

• (2) 8 oz packages of soft cream cheese
• 1 stick of butter (soft)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1-2 Cups of Confectioners sugar
• 1-2 tbsp milk

Mix all together in mixer. Add one cup of sugar at first and add as you mix to desired taste.

Instructions:

1. Bake Cake (Homemade or pre-mix)
2. Let completely cool
3. once cool crumble the cake into a bowl (really break it down)
4. Add Cream Cheese frosting to the crumble (start with a handful and add as you go along). Mixing the crumble and frosting  with your hands will allow you to feel the consistency.
5. Pack into small ball shapes and place on wax paper and cookie sheet.
6. Once chilled take one of the lollipop sticks and indent four grooves around each pumpkin cake ball.  You can’t do this before chilling as it just smooshes the shape so press gently on the chilled ball as you don’t want to crack them.

7. Now melt up the chocolate – perfect pumpkin orange buttons courtesy of Silverspoon.

8. I’ve mentioned my chocolate melter before but it does make cake pops much easier – in they go, turn it on, 10 minutes lovely melted chocolate!  If you’re melting in the microwave a small deep bowl will work the best, short 30 second bursts – you don’t want it to burn.

9. Take a stick and dip the end into the melted chocolate,  push this into the base of the cake ball.  The stick should go about ¾’s of the way into the ball.

10. Set it back onto the tray and repeat until all the balls are on the sticks.

11. Now you need to set yourself up with a cake pop stand – try an empty egg box tray it worked a treat for me.  Set it onto a chopping board and then you’ll be able to move it easily.  Punch holes through the tall spiky bits to post the cake pop sticks into.  Punching the holes initially with a skewer is much easier than trying to do it with  a lolly stick.  If you buy your eggs from a farm shop or the like they will usually let you have a tray or two!  Alternatively you could use a piece of polystyrene to hold them upright.

12.Okay cake pop stand done now take each pop in turn and dip it into the melted chocolate.  Twirl the cake pop around as you take it out allowing the excess chocolate to drip away.  This does take a bit of patience which is not something I have by the bucket load but it is worth taking your time.

Once the excess has dripped away place the cake pop into your stand and move onto the next.

13. Once all the pumpkins are a lovely glossy orange allow the chocolate to set and dry.  I didn’t want to put them in the fridge as sometimes I find they lose their shine so mine dried at room temp overnight.

14. Once they’re set and firm mix up a batch of royal icing – follow the directions on the box but go sparingly with the water, you need the royal icing thick enough to pipe and stay in shape.

15. Split the icing into three, one portion remains white and can be added to a piping bag right away.  The other portions need to be coloured green and black.  Gel colour pastes are far and away the easiest way to colour anything a really vibrant colour without changing the icings consistency.  Here are a couple of links to Amazon but Hobbycraft and cake decorating shops sell them too.  Sugarflair green gel paste  Sugarflair black extra gel paste colour.

16. Add the coloured icings each to a piping bag.  I have fitted piping tips to the bags but it can be done just as easily by snipping off a tiny piece of the end of the bag if you don’t have a multitude of piping tips.

17.Take the white icing and pipe two small balls to the pumpkins face for eye balls.  If the icing has little pointy peaks take a slightly damp paintbrush and pat them back down.

18.Using the black royal icing pipe on pumpkin mouths – I’ve done a variety of different styles (because I get bored easily).

Add pupils to the eyes, again patting down any peaks with the damp paintbrush.

19. Now for the pumpkin tops –Squiggly on the green royal icing to make the leafy pumpkin top.

20. Allow the royal icing to set and then your pumpkin cake pops are ready to serve! Cake pops will keep for three days at room temp or upto a week in the fridge.  Make sure they are in an airtight container before going in the fridge otherwise they will sweat when you take them out.

xo,

Rach

Credits: Recipe borrowed from The Pink Whisk

http://www.thepinkwhisk.co.uk/

Like Warm Apple Pie

There is a first time for everything...

and well, 

tonight I baked my first apple pie.

Well Apple Crumb to be exact.

First of all, you can't bake without a cute apron on.

Thats rule #1.

Apron courtesy of my beautiful sister-in-law Stephanie :)

Channeling my domestic goddess.

The recipe I found was easy enough and can be found here:

Apple Crumb

Use Granny Smith apples - they are tart and crisp and practically begging to be baked.

Mom gave me this apple corer for Christmas one year and I thought
"When the heck am I ever going to use this?"
And now I know. :)

The filling of cinnamony goodness.

Topping now in place. She is ready for the oven!
Why is the pie a she you ask?
Because do you see the pie being male? I rest my case.

Besides a few minor hiccups along the way

( like finding the shell of a larva in my brand new flour - thats always a nice surprise!)

and having to go back to the grocery store for more flour - 

which I had a small meltdown about because:
 1. I didn't want to go back out.
  2. that was a brand new, really good, bag of flour from Trader Joe's!
 3. I hate worms. Any and all kinds. ESPECIALLY in my flour.

AND using a zester for the first time
(and zesting my knuckle - thats always a good time!)

I made it through fairly unscathed
(my knuckle might say otherwise.)

Don't worry - my skin didn't make it into the pie.
The recipe didn't call for Rachel zest, just orange and lemon.

I can say I baked an apple pie!

(If you say it doesn't count because its apple crumb, 

I go back into the garbage pail, find the unhatched larvae,

and bake you a nice little slice!)

Success!

Ok- now I go babysit my oven 

and my sweet little masterpiece.

My mouth is already watering over just the smell.

Ahhh, just something about the scent of cinnamon in the Fall...

My first apple pie - so proud!

xo

Rach

P.S
Here she is...in all her glory.

Final Product. 

Recipe Alert: Short Ribs with Wine and Cream

Short Ribs with Wine and Cream

 Print Recipe

Prep Time: 10 Minutes  |  Cook Time: 3 Hours  |  Difficulty: Easy  |  Servings: 6

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Ingredients

• 12 whole Shortribs
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 cup Red Wine
• 32 ounces, fluid Beef Broth Or Beef Stock
• 2 Tablespoons Minced Fresh Rosemary
• 2 Tablespoons Grainy Mustard
• 1 cup Heavy Cream
• 2 Tablespoons Capers (more If You Want!)
• 16 ounces, weight Assorted Mushrooms: Cremini, Oyster, Baby Bellas, Etc.
• Olive Oil, For Drizzling
• Rosemary Sprig, To Be Fancy

Preparation Instructions

Heat olive oil in a heavy pot over high heat. Sprinkle short ribs on both sides with salt and pepper. Quickly sear both sides of the short ribs, using tongs to flip them halfway through. (Just sear about 1 1/2 minutes per side.) Remove the shortribs to a plate.

Pour wine and beef broth into the pot. Add rosemary. Stir to combine, scraping the bottom of the pot to deglaze. Return the shortribs to the pot, reduce heat to low, then cover the pot and simmer it for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. (You can also put the pot into a 300 degree oven if you'd prefer not to simmer on the stovetop.)

After they have cooked, carefully remove the shortribs from the pot again. Stir in mustard, cream, and capers, then raise the heat and allow it to bubble up and gently boil for a good couple of minutes, or until it has thickened a bit. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Return the shortribs to the sauce, put on the lid, and turn off the heat.

To roast the mushrooms, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Arrange the mushrooms in a single layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper, then roast the mushrooms until they're golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Serve the shortribs on top of the mushrooms, then drizzle with extra cream sauce. Add a little rosemary sprig if you want to be fancy.

This is absolutely divine.

Thank you Stephanie Yarmosh, for passing along the recipe!

Its whats for dinner tomorrow :)

xo,

Rachel