Pumpkin stuffed with Cranberry-Raisin Bread Pudding

Image from Southern Living.

I made this bread pudding one year but never tried it in individual pumpkins. I think the idea is cute and would be great for when you host Thanksgiving or a fall party with friends. I'll just have to host Thanksgiving this year and try this out or just throw a party for my friends and try it out. One way or another, I'm going to have to try this out.

Ingredients:   Pumpkin*, 2 Tbsp butter, melted, 2 Tbsp sugar, 2 eggs, 1 c sugar, .5 c butter melted, .75 c half-and-half, .75 c chopped pecans*, 1 loaf of raisin bread, .5 c fresh cranberries, 1 vanilla bean, 2 Tbsp cornstarch, 1/8 tsp sea salt, 1 Tbsp butter, 2 Tbsp lemon zest, 1/3 c fresh lemon juice.

Instructions: (1) Preheat oven to 350F. Cut off the top of a 2.5-3.5 lb. pumpkin. Keep the lid with the stem. Scoop out pumpkin seed and pulp and use for another time. Brush inside of pumpkin with 1 Tbsp melted butter and sprinkle with 1 Tbsp sugar. Top with lid and bake for 35 minutes. (2) Brush inside of baked pumpkin with another Tbsp of melted butter and sprinkle with another Tbsp of sugar. (3) Stir eggs, sugar, .5 c melted butter, half-and-half, pecans, cranberries and bread that has been cut into 1" cubes. Spoon mixture into a greased 8" square pan. (4) Bake Pumpkin and bread pudding at 350F for 25 minutes. (5) While pumpkin and pudding are baking, cook the vanilla bean, 1 c water, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a saucepan over med heat, stirring until smooth and thickened. Stir in butter, lemon zest and lemon juice and cook until thoroughly heated. Removed vanilla bean. (6) Let pumpkin cool, then spoon pudding into pumpkin and serve with sauce.

*I toast the pecans before using them.
*You can use individual pumpkins (.5lb). Scoop out seeds and pulp. Sprinkle each shell with 1 tsp. butter and 1 tsp sugar and bake with bread pudding. You don't need to pre-bake if you are using smaller, individual pumpkins. You will need about 12 little pumpkins.

Spiced Caramel Apple Bread Pudding

 Apple Picking is one of my favorite this to do in the fall. If I can't have warm sunny weather every day, then a cool crisp day picking apples from a local family farm is where I want to be. Sometimes I get luck and have some warm apple cider donuts while picking apples. I'm not big on warm apple cider for a drink. Last season friends of our went with us to pick apples. At first we were all set on the types of apples we wanted to pick but as soon as we were introduced to the SPENCER, we gave up our other options and just filled with bag with Spencers. If you haven't tried a Spencer apple, you are missing out. They are delicious, sweet, crunchy...kind of puts a Honeycrisp apple to shame; in my opinion.

Here's a recipe for an apple bread pudding. I usually make this with Granny Smith apples but will be trying it out in a few weeks with Spencer apples once I get back from apple picking with friends. Enjoy.

Ingredients:  1 Granny Smith Apple, .5 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 a loaf of Italian bread, cooking spray, 3 eggs, 1.5 c milk*, 1 c apple cider, 1/4 c packed brown sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, .25 tsp nutmeg, .25 c pecans, .75 c sugar, 1 tsp corn syrup, .5 c evaporated milk, 1.5 tsp butter, 1/3 c water

Instructions:  (1) Peel and chop the apple and saute it and .25 tsp of cinnamon in a lightly greased skillet over medium-high heat for 2 minutes or until tender. Cut bread into bite-size pieces and add bread and mixture to a 11x7" baking dish that has been coated with cooking spray. (2) Whisk eggs, milk, cider, brown sugar, vanilla, nutmeg and remaining cinnamon. Pour over bread mixture and cover and chill for 1 hour. (3) While pudding is chilling, preheat oven to 350F and bake chopped pecans on a baking sheet for 8-10 minutes. Sprinkle sugar in an even layer in a small saucepan and stir together syrup and water, and pour over sugar in saucepan. Cook, WITHOUT stirring, over med-high heat for 12-14 minutes or until sugar is dissolved and mixture is golden. Remove from heat and gradually whisk in milk. Stir in butter and pecans. (4) Preheat oven to 350F, if not already warm from toasting pecans, and bake mixture for 45 minutes or until top is crisp and golden brown. Serve warm with sauce.

*I usually use whole milk but you can use 2% if you want.

Pumpkin Caramel Pecan Bread Pudding

Image from Southern Living.

There are few bread puddings that I like and this is one of them. I got this recipe awhile ago from Southern Living Magazine. It was a hit when I made it one Thanksgiving. I love the caramel pecan sauce. It reminds me of eating pralines. Having individual ramekins, makes this dish more personal but you can cook it in one large dish* if you don't have them.

Enjoy.

Ingredients:  4 large eggs, 2 cans (15 oz) of pumpkin*, 1.5 c milk, 1 c half-and-half, 1 c sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, .5 tsp sea salt, .5 nutmeg, 1.5 tsp vanilla, 1 loaf of French bread, 1 c pecans, 1 c packed light brown sugar, .5 c butter, 1 TBSP corn syrup

Instructions: (1) Whisk eggs, pumpkin, milk, half-and-half, sugar, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, .5 tsp vanilla in a large bowl. (2) Cut bread into 1" pieces (about 10 c) and add bread pieces to mixture. Stir to coat thoroughly. Cover with Saran-Wrap and chill for 8-24 hours. (3) Preheat oven to 350F. Spoon mixture into individual 6-oz ramekins that have been lightly buttered*. Place ramekins on a foiled lined baking sheet. Bake for 50 min. and shield with foil after 30 min. (4) While pudding is baking, make sauce by adding pecans to a medium skillet and heat over med-low heat, stirring often for 3-5 minutes. Add brown sugar, butter, corn syrup to a small saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally for 3-4 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in 1 tsp vanilla and pecans. (5) Drizzle sauce on ramekins and bake for 5 minutes more or until sauce is heated through and begins to boil.

*I usually make my own puree from freshly grown sugar pumpkins from a local organic farmer.
*If you are using ramekins, you will need about 12. I use PAM to spray the ramekins.
*If you are baking as one dish, spoon chilled mixture into a 13x9 baking dish that has been lightly buttered. Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Add sauce and bake for another 5 minutes.

Hello Fall!

The crisp cool mornings. The lessened daylight hours. The arrival of butternut squash, apples, and pumpkins to farmer's markets. The leaves turning colors. These are just a few tail-tell signs of Autumn. Another sign of fall, is cranberries. I travel some back roads on the way to work every morning and get the privilege of passing many cranberry bogs. This morning, I saw my first truck carrying a load of cranberries to the Ocean Spray facility. More and more trucks will be traveling from all over the Cape and South Shore to bring in these tarts berries. Soon towns will be having their Cranberry Festivals and others can see what goes into harvesting these berries. Living here, we sometimes take for granted this delicious fall crop. I stock up on tons of cranberries during this time and give bags away. My neighbor is a grower so I get fresh harvested berries every year. So fresh, I usually have to clean out the leaves and twigs before using them in pies, breads, muffins, pancakes, etc.

Another sign of fall is the Autumnal Equinox and this weekend is the official start to fall. It's that time of the year where the Sun's path is at the Equator and is projecting equal amounts of sunlight on the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Everyone on Earth will be experiencing the same amount of daylight. For those of us living in the Northern Hemisphere, this means that our amounts of daylight will continue to decrease as we move into fall and winter seasons. For those living in the Southern Hemisphere, this means that their amounts of daylight will be increasing as they move into their spring and summer seasons.

This time of the year has me craving comfort foods like stews and soups, breads, cinnamon rolls, and hot drinks like tea and hot chocolate.  I'm going to try and post a recipe every few days. Some recipes might be for stews/soups, others might be for baked goods or desserts. Either way, it is a win-win situation. I get to make those foods I enjoy during this time of the year and you get to enjoy some fall items that I like to make.

First I'm going to make a few bread pudding recipes. I'm not really big on bread pudding but there are a few recipes that I enjoy.  So we'll see where I go from there.

Happy Fall Everyone. Enjoy!

Where did summer go?!

The summer has blown by fast and we have enjoyed our time at the Cohasset Farmers Market. Our last Cohasset Market is Thursday, August 25, 2011. Since I have to report for school on the 30th and due to Bob's change in workplace, we won't be able to a vendor at the market during the week. Guess this comes with being a mom and pop operations. We will still be at the Hingham Market on Saturdays until November. We are there September 3rd and every other Saturday after that until Nov. 19. Hingham is one of the few markets that start in May and end in November.

This time of the summer one can find fresh blackberries, blueberries, strawberries and raspberries. Some apples are already starting to show up and don't get me started on fruits like peaches and plums. I've been making what I call Farmers Market Muffins. These muffins have tons of berries purchased from local farms. I even made apple spice muffins with early fresh Macintosh apples.

Even though the summer is waning,  we are gearing up for the fall and that means creating yummy fall concoctions that will cause your taste buds to explode, in a good way.

Just a reminder. If you haven't signed up for the e-newsletter do so today. There are some Back-to-School specials happening for the month of September not to mention, you'll get notice of any other new specials, discounts, or information on new items.

Enjoy the last few days of summer and get ready for the fall.

"Whatever happens, give Thanks."

 Thanksgiving Eve. Normally I would be busy preparing for Thanksgiving dinner but this year we are not hosting Thanksgiving dinner. All I have to do is bake a Sugar-Free Blueberry Pie for my father-in-law and bring some Pumpkin Bread.  Thanksgiving is a time to gather with family around a table, enjoy a nice meal, catch the parade and a game or two. In my family, we spent the time before dinner talking about what we were thankful for. Some years it would just be the four of us; other years it would include other family members and friends. Whether it was filling Thanksgiving baskets, volunteering at a shelter or visiting a nursing home, we always were willing to give back.

While growing up, my dad lost his job twice. The second time he lost his job was the longest period. It eventually had us moving away from Louisiana. During those times of unemployment, my dad would do odd jobs around town. He was the maintenance guy at an apartment building, the custodian at the church, a night security guard, and other job titles that paid much lower than what he was use to. Because of him losing his job, we, as a family, cut corners and did without. We would help clean out apartments at the apartment building when needed or help clean up Sunday School rooms. We might not of had the newest gadget or the top name designer clothes but we had a roof over our heads and food on our table. God always provided for us. His timing was perfect every time. Thinking back over the years, my sister and I never complained. We just did. Our parents taught us that it wasn't about how much stuff we had but about what we could do for someone else in need.

Here in the United States, we have more stuff than what we really need. At times we take this for granted. The ability to head to a grocery store and have a huge selection to choose from or the ability to hit several clothing stores for particular items. The ability to grab a bite to eat out or order delivery whenever we want. Most people in other parts of the world are happy if they have clean drinking water, a pair of shoes, food to eat, or even the chance to go to school.

Don't worry about what deals might be out there on Black Friday or about what you want for Christmas. Stop focusing on what you don't have but on what you DO have. No matter what happens in our lives, there is ALWAYS something to be thankful for.  What are you thankful for?

When's Daylight savings?

The month of October has been a blur. All of the markets are done for the season and to be honest, it's nice not having to worry about doing a market on top of everything else. The market season was great for us and we've already decided to do Hingham full time next season along with Cohasset and Carver. We might even pick up a few spots here and there for a little while.


The New England Fall Festival is coming up shortly. Anyone who "likes" the FB page will be entered into a drawing to earn gift certificates from vendors competing in the festival. The festival is held on the waterfront on 11/20 from 11 am to 4 pm. Stop by to try delicious desserts, party foods, soups, and chowders. Since the fall festival is not far away, we're in the process of preparing for it. We're thinking of how we want to decorate our spot, preparing the bags with our labels and getting all our items ordered so that when it comes time to bake 2,000+ samples, Yes, I did say 2,000, we're ready. We've even thought about inviting friends over for free food as long as they help us bag cookies.


I've been jotting down ideas to try out and other things to experiment with but so far I haven't had the time to spend in the kitchen. As the weather gets cooler and the nights get darker, I'll be hitting the kitchen and whipping up a batch of something.

We did open an Etsy account and have a store through Etsy. Etsy is a site that promotes craters and producers. Check it out and give us feedback. Not all items are listed on Etsy as on our original store website but there is a representation. Spread the word for us if you please.

Also on our plate is to meet with local businesses and see about getting some of our products in the stores. We'll let you know as things unfold.

Have a great week. Enjoy the beautiful fall weather and this lovely Indian Summer we're currently experiencing.

Crisp Morning Air

 Yesterday I had the pleasure of spending the morning in the kitchen experimenting. Outside was sunny but very cool. Fall is marching in and this time of the year has me playing around with different tastes and scents. I started the morning off with baking a batch of jumbo Blueberry Muffins with the blueberries harvested from a local grower. Instead of making Blueberry pies for the market this week, I went with the muffins instead. That way if they didn't sell, I would have easy breakfast food for the mornings.

After twelve plump and delicious smelling muffins came out of the oven, I tackled a few new breads. Orange Nut, Oatmeal Raisin, and Cranberry. The zest from the oranges filled with kitchen with that nice summer scent. I just wanted to keep zesting oranges just for the fun of it. I used locally grown cranberries just harvested from the bogs for the cranberry bread and the cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice made the oatmeal raisin bread mouth watering.

 The day was perfect for experimenting and several new customers were impressed with the breads and loved the muffins. As one customer stated "I'll take 7 muffins. They look delicious and I can see the blueberries." Not bad for a morning spent playing in the kitchen.

Maples Leaves are falling.

 Is it me or are the leaves turning earlier this year? Its the end of September and all around me the leaves are starting to show their other colors besides green. I could break into a science lesson on photosynthesis and chlorophyll production and tie it into the orbit of the sun but I won't. It is pretty to see the oranges, yellows and reds show up however, to me, it signals the end of a very busy summer and that dreaded Old Man Winter is on his way.  It's also a message to tell me that I need to do fall yard and garden clean-up when I have a free moment. But besides all that, it's a message that lets me know that I can start experimenting again with recipes. Usually during the height of the summer and the busyness of the market season, I don't get a chance to experiment and explore different things. I have a list of items I want to make and try but never the time to do it during the summer. So I guess you can say that in a way I am looking forward to the fall.

Last weekend I had a few extra minutes to try a few items out. I wasn't able to get to what I had planned to do that day but what was accomplished was great. First, I made some pumpkin muffins with brown sugar sprinkled on top. Not your average size muffins but the jumbo kind. Of course getting muffin tins big enough for the jumbo pan was a challenge and still is at this moment but it's on the ever growing to-do list for when I have a few extra minutes. Anyway, the muffins came out great and now I want to do other muffins to sell at our last few remaining markets. Maybe we'll start offering them for purchase on-line.

Second, I made a Maple Walnut Bread. I figured since the leaves were starting to fall off my Maple Tree in the front yard, why not try a bread that says "Fall". Grade A Dark Pure Maple Syrup from a local vendor was used in this recipe. Walnuts were split into two piles and one pile was crushed into a meal that was added to the flour. Everything was mixed by hand and turned out into several bread pans. While the breads were baking, the smell of maple filled the air. Just another scent of fall my sister would say. The breads not only looked good but were amazing when sampled. This item we'll only offer during the fall season. If you are in Cohasset this Thursday or Carver on Sunday, you can get one for yourself.

In the upcoming weeks, a lot of experimenting will be taking place in our kitchen. We'll keep you updated on the progress as time goes on. For now, enjoy the scenery and all the smells that fall has to offer.

It's happened again.

This Thursday we'll be debuting a new biscotti: Cherry Chocolate Hazelnut. The biscotti has a rich chocolate taste and the cherries, which have been soaked in a port wine, give it an additional burst of flavor. So if you're interested, stop by Cohasset and see Bob for a bag. We have a feeling they might go fast.   Another new biscotti, not to us but to the market, is the Pecan Oat Biscotti. This biscotti is great with just about any type of beverage. The nutty flavor with a hint of white chocolate make this biscotti a great cookie.

So since we're talking biscotti, where do they come from? What is their origin?

The biscotti has its roots back to the time of the Romans. The legions of soldiers needed a food source that had a long shelf-life so these unleavened, finger-shaped wafers were first baked to cook them then baked again to dry them out. This method made the wafers durable for travel and provided nourishment to the travelers. The word biscotti is derived from the Latin "bis" meaning twice and "coctum" for baked (which was later changed to "cotto" meaning cooked.  After the fall of the Roman empire, survival was the foremost thought so it wasn't until the Renaissance that the biscotti re-emerged in Tuscany and since then people have been enjoying these twice baked wafer as a morning treat with coffee or tea or as an after dinner treat.

Some of my Italian friends call the biscotti cantucci  and any other crunchy cookie, whether round or square or elongated, biscotti.  Some pronounce biscotti, bee-SCOAT-tee, while others pronounce them, bis-Cot-tee. Whatever you call them or how ever you pronounce them, you can find a wide range of flavors. Currently we offer the following flavors: Chocolate Coffee Cashew, Pecan Oat, Cherry Chocolate Hazelnut, Anisette, Pistachio Cherry, Orange Cherry Almond. All can come plain or some of them can be dipped in Dark or White Chocolate or drizzled with White Chocolate. So if you are in the market for a good biscotti, give us a call.

Fall Specials

It's that time of year again, Back to school. The changing of the air, the winter clothes in the stores, the school supply ads all point to the fall. Students don't enjoy this time of year whereas parents are very happy and excited for this time of year.

We decided to offer two discounts this fall. One is a Back-to-School discount. Receive 15% off your entire order. Use the promotion code School10 when you checkout. The discount is available until November 1, 2010.

Another discount we are offering is for teachers. Being an educator, I know first hand how much money I spend to get supplies for my classroom or for those students who can't afford it. I love finding a bargain or sale just as much as the next person. If you are an educator, you receive 15% off your entire order not only for the fall but the entire school year. Just use promotion code Teach during checkout.

Enjoy this time of year.

Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall!

The summer sure has been a beautiful one but it has gone by way too fast. As we prepare to do the last official market of the summer, I'm thinking ahead to the fall and all that it will bring. Bob will be doing the markets in Cohasset the month of September and October. Both of us will still be doing the Carver Market. The dates for Carver are 9/5, 9/19, 10/3, 10/10. Fall time is the time we bring out the pumpkin bread, pumpkin pies, the buckles (blueberry and cranberry), zucchini breads, the Holiday and Cinnamon Chip cookies, Sour Cream Coffee Cake, and we might try some muffins. There is talk of doing some apple crisp while at the Carver market. So come check us out.

Many markets will be celebrating the fall with some sort of fall festival. Most markets end the middle of October but there are a few that will continue into November. A few places even do a winter market. Check out Edible South Shore to find which markets are open later in the year.

With the fall comes the New England Food Festival. Plymouth host a variety of activities prior to Thanksgiving. Check out http://www.usathanksgiving.org for more information. We decided to see if they had all the vendors for the festival and they needed one more so we signed on. Now the daunting task is to decide which item to enter into the festival. The festival will be held on the waterfront on 11/20 from 11-4pm. If you are in the area, stop by. Vendors will be competing in areas of Best Chowder, Soup, Dessert, Party Foods, Decor, Local and Fresh. Judges will award a prize to a lucky vendor in each category. A people's choice award will also be awarded. Should be a fun and exciting time.

Enjoy the sunshine, the cooler morning temperatures, and the signs that fall is on its way.