The farm just missed being snowed on the last couple of days, but we’ll see what happens tonight. We’re covering some crops that are a little delicate, like lettuce, and some that we’re going to harvest tomorrow morning and don’t want to have to dig out of the snow, like carrots. It should be an abundant Thanksgiving week, though, no matter how dark the weather.
With all the rain and snow we’ve been having, I have been baking almost daily. Even if it’s just a squash or two, I’ve been finding any excuse I can to turn on our oven (when we have power, that is…). So here are some recipes for a couple of things I’ve been baking with our veggies lately, and some soup too: Pumpkin Cupcakes with Brown-Butter Frosting, my favorite Spiced Pumpkin Pie, and Winter Vegetable Chowder. You can substitute any variety of winter squash for any other in these recipes (and any recipe calling for pumpkin, really). I especially like delicata pie, which tastes a lot like sweet potato pie, and pumpkin in soup.
Pumpkin Cupcakes with Brown-Butter Frosting
(Cupcake recipe adapted from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World)
Makes 12 cupcakes
Cupcakes:
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/3 cup oil
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
¼ cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 ¼ cups white whole wheat flour, or all purpose flour
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. cloves
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
¼ tsp ginger
¼ tsp allspice
¼ tsp. sea salt
Frosting:
8 T. butter (can be salted or unsalted)
2-4 T. milk
2 cups powdered sugar, approximately
pinch salt, if using unsalted butter
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with cupcake papers, or grease it well.
2. Mix together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
3. With an electric mixer, thoroughly beat together the wet ingredients, minus the milk.
4. Add half the dry ingredients to the wet and mix gently until almost combined. Add the milk and mix until almost combined, then add the rest of the dry ingredients. Mix until totally smooth, but not too long.
5. Using a ¼ cup measure, scoop the batter into the cups; they should be about 2/3 full. Divide any extra batter between the cupcakes.
6. Bake for 20-24 minutes, or until the tops spring back and a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool a few minutes in the pan, then move cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.
7. While the cupcakes are baking, make the brown butter. Put the butter in a small pan on medium-low heat and melt. Continue cooking the butter until it stops foaming, turns golden brown, and smells nutty. There should be little brown bits sticking to the bottom of the pan; don’t let them become too black.
8. Immediately pour the brown butter into the bowl of an electric mixer and let cool.
9. When the brown butter is room temperature, beat in 2 cups of powdered sugar. It will look very crumbly. Add a couple of tablespoons of milk and beat until the mixture smoothes out. Add a little more powdered sugar or milk if needed to achieve a frosting consistency, and beat for at least a minute, or until very fluffy.
10. When the cupcakes are completely cool, frost generously with the brown butter frosting.
Spiced Pumpkin Pie
(Adapted from a recipe in the Better Homes and Gardens baking book)
Makes 2 large, deep-dish pies
5 cups pumpkin puree
1 to 1 ¼ cups packed brown sugar (depending on how sweet the pumpkin is)
2 T. flour
¼ tsp. salt
1 T. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. nutmeg
½ tsp. cloves
2 T. vanilla extract
6 eggs
1 pint cream
2 deep-dish pie crusts (unbaked)
1. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt, and spices.
2. Mix in the brown sugar, then the pumpkin, then the eggs (1 at a time), then the vanilla.
3. Slowly whisk in the cream, mixing until completely combined and smooth, but don’t incorporate too much air.
4. Divide mixture evenly between pie crusts.
5. Bake at 350 degrees until the pie is set on top, and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted just off-center in the pie, about 50-60 minutes. It’s OK if the toothpick comes out a little wet when inserted into the direct center of the pie; it will continue to set as it cools, and it will be moister if it’s not over-baked.
Winter Vegetable Chowder
This is more of a guideline than a recipe. You can use whatever you have on hand, and it will be a little different every time.
1 ½ lbs. root vegetables, approximately, such as carrots, beets, potatoes, turnips, or celery root
1 ½ lbs. butternut squash, approximately, or pumpkin, other winter squash, or sweet potatoes
1 medium onion
2 garlic cloves, approximately
2 T. olive oil
¼ cup fresh herbs, such as sage, thyme, parsley, chives or rosemary
1 head broccoli, or 1 bunch cooking greens such as chard, kale, spinach, or arugula
1 can white beans, or 1 cup cooked, shredded chicken
1 quart broth, chicken or vegetable
1 quart water
1 tsp. salt
¼ cup cream, optional
1. Scrub or peel and rinse the root vegetables and cut into chunks. Peel, seed, and cut the squash into chunks. Chop the onion and mince the garlic and herbs.
2. Heat the olive oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, then add the garlic and half of the herbs. Cook for another minute or so, until the onions are translucent.
3. Add the root vegetables, squash, broth, water, and salt, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer until everything is soft, about 15-20 minutes.
4. While the soup simmers, rinse the canned beans, if using, and wash, remove the stems, and chop the broccoli or greens.
4. When the vegetables are soft, puree about ¼ of the soup in a blender with the vent open on the lid and a dish towel held firmly on top, being careful not to burn yourself. Return the puree to the soup and add the beans or chicken and the broccoli or greens. Taste and add more salt if needed (this will depend a lot on what broth you used).
5. Bring the soup to a gentle simmer and cook just until the broccoli or greens are tender, about 3 minutes. Add the cream if using and the second half of the herbs and stir well. Serve while hot.
