Fall is here - well mostly - Pumpkin time

Today it was in the 90s again. ugh.


We went to the pumpkin farm a couple of weeks ago. It was the first time being at one for the 4 years old. I love the wagon filled with the pumpkins and gourds! It says fall, harvest, work done well. We purchased a few pumpkins, my favorite being the small "sugar" pumpkins. There's one right in the center front of the wagon. Smooth skinned and small.

They'll go directly in the oven after a good scrub to the outer hull. Then insert a knife at the top and begin to split the pumpkin in two, cut through the skin on both sides of the pumpkin. Once it's split, cut off the stem and core the pumpkin. If you wish, you can quarter the pumpkin to roast it. I usually just set them on a cookie sheet, with a bit of water in the pan - about a cup or so - and roast it in the oven at 375F for about and hour or until the skin is tender.

Cool and scrape out the flesh into a food processor bowl. Pulse to puree the pumpkin. They are lighter in color than canned pumpkins and have a bit more "juice" too. I allow my fresh pumpkin puree to drain a bit to firm it up a bit.

It can now be used as you would the canned stuff or if you wish you can combine it with canned puree for a more traditional color. The puree will be good for about 3 days in your refrigerator, or you can freeze it at this point to use later. It will be good for six months.

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Summer's Here!

Saturday it was sooooooo hot here we decided to try going west to escape the heat. It was not a very successful attempt. In Oceanside it was 98 degrees! Ugh. Still we took a nice drive down PCH and decided to stop in at our favorite fruit stand.



It is off La Costa Ave at Saxony Rd. Why drive so far? Well first we were trying to get cool. Second:



Yes, we could buy all the same stuff at our local grocer but since we were already down there we thought why not stop off and pick up some fruit. We really wanted to get our hands on some locally grown tomatoes but had no luck finding any at all.

However, at the end of La Costa Ave to the west we found this:



Now that was worth the drive!

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Fresh Fig Tarts - Get ready to run to the store!

Figs, originally uploaded by foodchronicles.

The amazing Tartelette had a recipe up earlier this month that I just had to try. And, seeing that I had some fresh figs that cost me a WHOLE lot, I thought I would give her recipe a try.

Yes, the theme lately has been swoon worthy. And this one does not disappoint! I chose to use my recipe for the tartlettes, but other than that I stayed true to the recipe on her blog.

So quick! Run buy some figs, and some raw almonds if you don't have any. Other than that I expect you'll have the other ingredients on hand. Oh, oops, I did replace the rum or brandy with rum flavoring.

Her recipe is adapted from Bon Apetit Magazine October 1998

Makes 3, 4- inch tartelettes (enough for 6 or 3 big appetites)

For crust
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons ice water
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

For filling
1/3 cup whole almonds (about 2 ounces)
1/3 cup sugar1 large egg
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
4 teaspoons rum or brandy
12 ounces ripe figs, cut into halves
1/4 cup apricot marmelade



Make crust:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Combine first 3 ingredients in processor. Using on/off turns, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix 2 tablespoons ice water and vanilla in small bowl. Pour water mixture over dough. Process until moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Roll out on floured surface to 12-inch round. Cut 3 rounds about 5 inches big, fit into pie plate and trim excess dough. (or use shapes and molds you like) Using fork, pierce dough all over. Bake crust until pale golden, about 30 minutes (crust may shrink slightly). Cool on rack. Maintain oven temperature
.


Make filling:
Finely grind almonds with sugar in processor. Add egg, butter and 2 teaspoons rum. Process until batter forms. Pour filling into crust. Arrange fig halves atop filling. Bake until figs are tender and filling is golden and set, about 25 minutes.
Melt jelly with remaining 2 teaspoons rum in heavy small saucepan over medium-low heat. Brush jelly mixture over figs. Cool tartelettes. Serve at room temperature.





Thank you Tartelette! These were fabulous.

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