Spiked Pumpkin Bread & Savory Pumpkin Dip Recipe for Halloween and Weekly Menu Plan

Hi ! How are you ? Is it cold in your corners yet ? Here in LI, it is getting a bit chiller by the evening... but the mornings are gorgeous. Bright and sunny !  Our New Hampshire trip, followed by the trip to my cousin's place and then the preparations for the toddler's  birthday party had thrown me off my routine. but after a lazy week at home, I am back on track. Totally charged up for Halloween and Diwali. 

This will be my first Halloween and Diwali here. Actually my second one.. but the first one doesn't count since it was within weeks of the toddlers birth... and i was still recovering from the C-section. In any case I am excited. We haven't yet zeroed on any costume for the toddler...but with this bandana in mind, we are thinking along the line of pirates... 

that is if he obliges... we'll see....

Now about my Spiked Pumpkin Yeast Bread. In my post on Pumpkin Yeast Bread, I had mentioned that I had been playing around with the recipe. What I actually did was that I spiked it up the dough with Pumpkin Ale. I substituted the milk and water in the recipe with an equal amount of beer and baked my first batch the same way as the Pumpkin Yeast Bread... except that I baked it in the form of a Savory Pull Apart Loaf and 4 buns.

The buns were nice and soft and were perfect for sliders. The Pull Apart Bread was also good..  but I wouldn't really recommend it in the form I made. The bread was good and the pumpkin dip that I had slathered on the rolled out dough was also good and the two tasted good together. but it would have been better if I had baked the loaf by itself and served it with the dip.  the dip somewhat made the moist loaf soggy... and texture-wise less appealing. it was however yummy !

Anyways having learnt my lesson, I ditched the idea of a pull apart bread and decided to try out a beer glazed bread for my second batch. Again I did this in two ways. With the Dutch Crunch topping in mind I prepared a mixture with beer, yeast, rice powder, maple syrup and oil . Then shaping the dough into 6 buns and a 6 inch round loaf, I glazed the spiked loaf and 2 buns lightly with the solution and spooned some of the beer and rice flour mixture over two other buns and left the remaining two un-glazed. I baked the un-glazed buns for 20 minutes at 375 degrees F and the others 425 degrees F.  Initially I was quite excited with how they looked. specially the ones with crunch-topping...

But as they say... All that glitters is not gold. While the un-glazed buns, the loaf and the lightly glazed buns were moist and super-flavorful, the buns with crunch topping were terrible. I could not eat those beyond a bite. it was that BAD. I am not sure what the problem was... but since it looked good I have decided to try it again soon. Will let you know it if and when it works out. For now here are the recipes that worked... the Spiked Pumpkin Yeast Bread and the Savory Pumpkin Dip...

Spiked Pumpkin Yeast Bread (Bread Machine) Adapted from my Pumkin Yeast Bread
Preparation Time : 2 hours                                                                                         Baking Time: 30 mins  Yeild: a 9x5 inch loaf + 4 buns or a 6 inch round loaf and 6 buns
Ingredients    for the dough 1/3 + 1/4 cup Harpoon Brewery's Pumpkin Ale (UFO) 1/4 cup yogurt +1/16 tsp baking soda (as a substitute for 1 egg) 3/4 cup pureed pumpkin, fresh or canned(I used canned) 2 tbsp vegetable oil 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour 1/8 cup light brown sugar 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp ground ginger 1/4 tsp ground cardamom 1 tbsp bread machine yeast for the glaze 20 ml Harpoon Brewery's Pumpkin Ale (UFO) 2 tbsp rice flour 1 1/2 tsp instant year 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil 1/2 tbsp maple syrup -  Instructions Put all the dough ingredients in the bread machine pan in the order specified by the manufacturer and set it to the dough setting.  When the machine beeps at the end of the cycle, turn the dough into a lightly oiled surface. Shape it into a loaf or a loaf and 4-6 buns and place the loaf it in a well greased 9x5 inch  loaf pan or 6 inch round pan and the buns on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Cover the loaf with a greased plastic wrap and let it rise until doubled 30 to 45 minutes.  In the meantime preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and mix all the ingredients of the glaze and let it stand for about 15 minutes.  Once the dough doubles, lightly glaze the loaf and the buns with the beer and rice flour mixture and transfer the pan/ baking tray to the preheated oven. Bake the buns for 20 minutes and the loaf for 30 minutes. Immediately afterwards remove the loaf from the pan, cool the buns and the loaf on a wire rack, then slice and enjoy with savory Pumpkin dip or otherwise...

So that was all about my experiments with pumpkin bread recipe.  Do let me know if  you have any pointers about the Dutch crunch topping. I'll be happy to work on your suggestions.

Sending the first photographs "Spirit of Fall"  The Colour Me Photography Challenge Series" ~ Colour Me Orange , a photography event  at Priya's  place The Humpty Dumpty Kitchen.


Now this week's Menu at Ma Niche

	This Week's Menu Plan
Sunday	Chicken Fry,  Leftover Lentil curry with veggies and rice
Monday	Moussaka with Radish Salad,  Pasta with yogurt, Cheese Omlet and boiled carrots for the toddler
Tuesday	Carrot and Pea Stir Fry, Gatte ki Kadhi and Roti, Deconstructed Oliver Salad and Teff Crepes for Toddler
Wednesday	Hurry up and Wait Roast Chicken  and Roasted Potatoes
Thursday	French Onion Soup and Vegetable Sandwiches
Friday	Dinner Rolls with Japanese Cream Stew
Saturday	Masoor Dal and Briami with Steamed Rice

 Sharing this with Meal Plan Monday @ Organizing Junkie 

                                       and Meal Plan Monday at The Diary of a Real Housewife.

Yeastspotting the loaf. Also sharing it at the following weekly parties..

Monday Food : Marvelous Mondays @ This Gal Cooks, Melt in your Mouth Mondays, Inspiration Monday Party, Sharing Monday, Inspire Me Monday, Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Maniac Monday Linky Party,Mix it up Monday, The Scoop,  Meatless Monday @Veggie Mama's,  Meatless Monday My Sweet and Savory

Tuesday Food:  Totally Tasty Tuesday @ Mandy's Recipe Box, Tasteful Tuesday Party @ Nap Time Creations,  Show Me What You Got @ Our Delightful Home,  Hand Made Tuesday @ Ladybug Blessings, Share it Link Party @ Winthrop Chronicles, Tasty Tuesday, Hearth and Soul blog Hop

Wednesday Food : What's Cooking Wednesday @ Buns in my Oven, Cast Party Wednesday @ Lady Behind the Curtain , Show and Share @ Semi Homemade Mom, Wonderful Food Wednesdays at @ Home Take 2

Thursday Food: Link it Up Thursday @ Seven Alive, Creative Thursday @ Michelle's Tasty Creations, Fantastic Thursday @ Three Little Chiefs, Thriving on Thursdays @ Domesblissity, Freedom Friday @ My Turn, Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage  

Friday Food: Foodie Friday @ Home Maid Simple, Friday Favorite (DYI too) @ Simple Sweet Home, Foodie Friday @ Not Your Ordinary Recipes,  Foodie Friday @ Rattlebridge Farm , Weekend Wonders @ The Thriftiness Miss, Friday Food Frenzy @ Mostly Food and Crafts , Weekend Potluck @ Sunflower Supper Club,  The Weekend re-Treat @The Best Blog  Recipes  

Recipe Card : Oven Roasted Escarole

Oven roasted Escarole .... a quick healthy snack to accompany your cup of evening chai. 

a recipe inspired by Nomnom Paleo.

Sharing this with Nupur's event  Whats with my cuppa ? which is being hosted at Nandoo's Kitchen this month.

Monday Food

Made with Love Mondays, Marvelous Mondays @ This Gal Cooks, Melt in your Mouth Mondays, Inspiration Monday Party, Sharing Monday, Inspire Me Monday, Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Maniac Monday Linky Party,Mix it up Monday, The Scoop

Tuesday Food 

Totally Tasty Tuesday @ Mandy's Recipe Box, Tasteful Tuesday Party @ Nap Time Creations,  Show Me What You Got @ Our Delightful Home,  Hand Made Tuesday @ Ladybug Blessings, Share it Link Party @ Winthrop Chronicles, Tasty Tuesday, Hearth and Soul blog Hop

Wednesday Food

What's Cooking Wednesday @ Buns in my Oven, Cast Party Wednesday @ Lady Behind the Curtain , Show and Share @ Semi Homemade Mom, Wonderful Food Wednesdays at @ Home Take 2

Thursday Food

Link it Up Thursday @ Seven Alive, Fantastic Thursday @ Three Little Chiefs, Thriving on Thursdays @ Domesblissity, Freedom Friday @ My Turn, Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage  

Friday Food

 Foodie Friday @ Home Maid Simple, Friday Favorite (DYI too) @ Simple Sweet Home, Foodie Friday @ Not Your Ordinary Recipes,  Foodie Friday @ Rattlebridge Farm , Weekend Wonders @ The Thriftiness Miss, Friday Food Frenzy @ Mostly Food and Crafts , 

Weekend Potluck @ Sunflower Supper Club,  The Weekend re-Treat @The Best Blog  Recipes 

Cheese Souffle # French Fridays with Dorie

They say 'third time's a charm.' Probably that is why it took me a three trials to get the souffles right. After the first two trials I had given up but all the FFwD posts kept nagging me to try one more time.... and look I got it right this time :) 

I almost followed Dorie's instructions... just that I used Swiss Cheese and not Muenster for that is all I had in hand. Also I whipped up two third of the recipe. Since I did not have a lot of time to cool the bechamel before adding in the egg whites,  I simply let the bechamel sauce rest while I was beating the egg whites and soon after folded in the egg whites. The souffles rose in 17-18 minutes. I let it stay in the oven for another couple of minutes and then took it out. 

The tops had browned nicely and the souffles was light, fluffy and cotton soft. Though my husband really liked it and was more than happy to eat off most of the toddlers portion, like my toddler I did not enjoy it too much. I found it a bit bland and after a while slightly boring. I blame the Swiss Cheese for it and plan to try this recipe again with a tastier variety of cheese. Also since the souffle was an impulsive inclusion for dinner i had not prepared the recommended tomato pepper salad to go with it. I guess the souffle would have tasted less flat had I accompanied it with a perky salad. Anyway the texture was impressive and I plan to make it again soon with better cheese and a salad by the side and probably serve for lunch.

As a member of french friday's with Dorie I am not supposed to post the recipe on the blog. However you can find this particular recipe here. For more delicious recipes order your copies of Around the French Table from Amazon or from The Book Depository and join us as we cook our way through the book.

Paasi Paruppu Payasam # South Vs North Annivesary Celebration

This October,  SNC completed a year in this blogging world and as a celebration we were challenged to cook any one recipe among the 12 challenges that had been posed in the past 12 months. While I have cooked my way through all the challenges since March, I hadn't written about Paasi Paruppu Payasam. 

 

Back in August Divya Pramil of You Too Can Cook had challenged the Northern Team of South Vs North Challenge to cook Paasi Paruppu Payasam. I had prepared it for Janmasthami and had planned to take the photographs the next day... which did not happen.... and then..... we rolled into September and the photographs and the post was forgotten till I received Divya's mail at the beginning of the month...

In the North Indian lingo, Paasi Paruppu Payasam would be called Moong Dal Payash or Moong dal Kheer. In the west, a dessert such as  Payash or Kheer will probably be labeled as a sweetened porridge. Though North Indians use lentils in sweets such as a moong dal halwa, preparing kheer with lentils is relatively uncommon. They typically prepare their Payash or Kheer by boiling rice or suji (semolina) with milk and gur(a form of jaggery) or sugar and flavor it with cardamom, raisins, saffron and cashews. So for us, this kheer with lentils was quite a departure from the usual. We however enjoyed it thoroughly and I certainly look forward to making it again during festivals and special occasions.

Paasi Paruppu Payasam Recipe Source: You Too Can Cook
Preparation Time: 15 minutes    Cooking Time: 20 minutes      Serves: 6-8
Ingredients    1/2 cup Yellow Moong Dal 1/4 cup Raw rice (optional) 1 cup milk 5 pieces Jaggery 1/4 tsp Cardamom powder 3 tbsps Grated coconut Cashew nuts - 10 to 15  Ghee - 1 tablespoon (i used browned butter)  -   Instructions Wash the dal and rice and keep it aside. Mix the grated coconut and cardamom powder and keep it aside.  Put the blocks of jaggery into a paper bag.  Crush it into smaller pieces using a meat tenderizer, hammer or wooden rolling pin. Then using the blender, grind the jaggery pieces into a fine powder. Next add the moong dal and rice in a pressure cooker along with 2 cups of water and pressure cook for 2- or 3 whistles until the dal is properly cooked. Switching off the heat, wait till the lid of the cooker drops. Then mash the dal-rice mixture and stir in the milk. Now switch on the heat once again and cook the contents over low flame. With the added milk the consistency of the dal should be fine, but if you find it too thick add some water to the mixture at this point. Once the mixture begins to simmer, stir in the jaggery and coconut mixture. Check the sweetness and add more jaggery if the payasam is not sweet enough for you. Stirring frequently continue to simmer the mixture for another 4-5 minutes. Meanwhile in a separate pan, melt 1 tablespoon of ghee and add the cashews in it. Once the cashews turn brown, add them to the payasam. Switch off the heat. Your Paasi Paruppu Payasam is now ready to serve !  With time, the payasam tends to become more thick. If it thickens too much, add some milk or water and heat it slightly before serving.

Congratulations Divya for successfully running the South Vs North Challenge for the past one year and happy 1st anniversary to all the members of SNC !! Its been wonderful cooking and learning with all of you .  Hope we continue to learn and cook many more wonderful south dishes in the years to come and celebrate many such anniversaries together !

Sharing this with 

• Swathi's event Favorite Recipes Event: Kheer/ Payasam hosted by The Big Sweet Tooth, 
• My Legume Affair Event, an event started by Susan of the Well Seasoned Cook, presently managed by Lisa of Lisa's Kitchen and hosted this month at  Spicy Foood.

I shall also be sharing this at the following weekly parties...
Monday Food: Made with Love Mondays, Marvelous Mondays @ This Gal Cooks, Melt in your Mouth Mondays, Inspiration Monday Party, Sharing Monday, Inspire Me Monday, Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Maniac Monday Linky Party,Mix it up Monday, The Scoop

Tuesday Food:  Totally Tasty Tuesday @ Mandy's Recipe Box, Tasteful Tuesday Party @ Nap Time Creations, Show Me What You Got @ Our Delightful Home,  Hand Made Tuesday @ Ladybug Blessings, Share it Link Party @ Winthrop Chronicles, Tasty Tuesday, Hearth and Soul blog Hop

Wednesday Food: What's Cooking Wednesday @ Buns in my Oven, Cast Party Wednesday @ Lady Behind the Curtain , Show and Share @ Semi Homemade Mom, Wonderful Food Wednesdays at @ Home Take 2
Thursday Food: Link it Up Thursday @ Seven Alive, Fantastic Thursday @ Three Little Chiefs, Thriving on Thursdays @ Domesblissity, Freedom Friday @ My Turn, Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage  

Friday Food: Foodie Friday @ Home Maid Simple, Friday Favorite (DYI too) @ Simple Sweet Home, Foodie Friday @ Not Your Ordinary Recipes,  Foodie Friday @ Rattlebridge Farm , Weekend Wonders @ The Thriftiness Miss, Friday Food Frenzy @ Mostly Food and Crafts , Weekend Potluck @ Sunflower Supper Club,  The Weekend re-Treat @The Best Blog  Recipes 

Spiced Pear Jam

Yesterday morning I spotted three soft green Anjou pears in the fruit basket that were desperately seeking my attention. One had browned in parts and the others were threatening to take that route. after a week of birthday cakes, no one in the house was in the mood for another cake... so a preserve was in order. Soon after the boys left, I googled for a recipe of pear jam, one that did not require pectin. This one popped up and minutes later a big pan was set to simmer with all the listed ingredients and a few more... Two hours later I was rewarded with two jars of DELICIOUS jam. Husband loved it and I did too... and ever since I have been wondering why we have never bought a jar of pear jam. Its so darn delicious ! 

Spiced Pear Jam Adapted from Taste of Home
Preparation Time : 5 minutes                          Cooking Time: 2 hours 15-30 minutes                        Yield : 22 oz
Ingredients      4 cups of chopped Green Anjou Pears ( I chopped 3 pears, did not peel them. just removed the bruised and damaged parts)  2 cups sugar 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 4 sticks of clove 11/2 tbsp lime juice zest and pulp from 1/4 of a juicy orange -   Instructions Combine all the ingredients in a large enough preferably non-stick container. Simmer, uncovered for 2 hours to 2 hour 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir more frequently as the mixture thickens.  Once the mixture has attained the desired consistency, switch off the heat and ladle the mixture into sterilized jars.

Sharing this at the following weekly parties..

Monday Food: Made with Love Mondays, Marvelous Mondays @ This Gal Cooks, Melt in your Mouth Mondays, Inspiration Monday Party, Sharing Monday, Inspire Me Monday, Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Maniac Monday Linky Party,Mix it up Monday, The Scoop

Tuesday Food:  Totally Tasty Tuesday @ Mandy's Recipe Box, Tasteful Tuesday Party @ Nap Time Creations,  Show Me What You Got @ Our Delightful Home,  Hand Made Tuesday @ Ladybug Blessings, Share it Link Party @ Winthrop Chronicles, Tasty Tuesday, Hearth and Soul blog Hop

Wednesday Food: What's Cooking Wednesday @ Buns in my Oven, Cast Party Wednesday @ Lady Behind the Curtain , Show and Share @ Semi Homemade Mom, Wonderful Food Wednesdays at @ Home Take 2

Thursday Food: Link it Up Thursday @ Seven Alive, Fantastic Thursday @ Three Little Chiefs, Thriving on Thursdays @ Domesblissity, Freedom Friday @ My Turn, Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage  

Friday Food:      Foodie Friday @ Home Maid Simple, Friday Favorite (DYI too) @ Simple Sweet Home, Foodie Friday @ Not Your Ordinary Recipes,  Foodie Friday @ Rattlebridge Farm , Weekend Wonders @ The Thriftiness Miss, Friday Food Frenzy @ Mostly Food and Crafts , Weekend Potluck @ Sunflower Supper Club,  The Weekend re-Treat @The Best Blog  Recipes 

Pradyot's Second Birthday & Weekly Menu Plan

Last week our little boy turned two. Since it was in the middle of the week, we had a quite breakfast celebration at home 

and later in the day we took a big cake for his friends and teachers at the daycare. A simple Vanilla cake with Vanilla Frosting.. all from the store, just as they had specified from the daycare.  The kids loved it and we did too... 

With that in mind I had prepared a simple Vanilla cake with Cool Whip frosting for the party that we had arranged on Saturday. 

The cake did not look brilliant but it tasted good... the M&M and gum balls did a good job of hiding all the icing imperfections.. so it wasn't all that bad :) but what turned out really good were these Whole Wheat Sugar Cookies...

these Whole Wheat Star Cheese Crackers...  

and the Mashed Potato Croquettes which I forgot to photograph... They looked attractive and tasted really good. However there weren't many littles to enjoy them :(  We had invited Pradyot's classmates from the daycare for a play-date... Had hung a few balloons and a birthday banner on the wall to get them a little excited. But unfortunately none of his friends could make it. So it was just us, our family friend, the Nayaks and a table of little treats. I won't lie, at first I was disappointed by the fact that no one turned up.. but looking back i think it wasn't so bad. The Nayaks have two sons and the boys did enjoy themselves choo-chooing the trains, rolling down the bean bag, playing with the balloons and grabbing a snack from the table every now and then. Since all three were constantly on the move, we couldn't take any photographs containing the three in a single frame. Also after a while we stopped bothering about photographs. Everyone simply felt at home and it was nice to spend an afternoon with friends and toddler-approved snacks :)  

All in all we had a nice time and I guess the little one enjoyed the party too...
I intend to update you with all the recipes over the week... for now here is this week's menu at Ma Niche...

	This Week's Menu Plan
Sunday	Moong Dal with Spinach, Carrot Coconut Subzi
Monday	Gozleme with Black Masoor Dal and Briami
Tuesday	Oats Khichudi and Steamed Broccoli and Carrots for toddler's lunch  Moong Dal, Potato-Green Beans Stir Fry and Steamed Rice
Wednesday	Savory Pumpkin Souffle, Apple Escarole Salad and Pumpkin Bread
Thursday	Sabudana Khichudi & Baked Sweet Potato fries for toddler's lunch Leftover Black Masoor Dal, Phulkopir Dalna(Bengali Cauliflower Curry) and Steamed Rice
Friday	Dinner Rolls with Minestrone
Saturday	Leftovers

Sharing this with Meal Plan Monday @ Organizing Junkie

and Meal Plan Monday at The Diary of a Real Housewife.

p.s : For those interested we printed the letters for the birthday banner from here... and bought the subway t-shirts for Pradyot and his Dad's tshirt  from the New York Transit Museum  Store.