Pumpkin Syrup to Round out the Season

I have finally finished roasting the last of my pumpkins. Luckily, they keep a good long while if kept cool and dry. And I got to the last one before we finally got freezing weather here in lovely central New Jersey.

My favorite type of pumpkin to prep for later jamming and pieing and such are cheese pumpkins. These are delightfully rich with a touch of natural sweetness. They almost smell like cantaloupe when you cut into them. My 4 rather large pumpkins from Giamarese Farm yielded about 40 ounces of roasted mashed pumpkin. That's quite a bit for future use! And it also gave me about 9 cups of sweet, earthy pumpkin juice.

What to do? Time to make some Pumpkin Syrup! It's a slow process - but soooo worth it. As Alton Brown says - Your patience will be rewarded.

First, I took the pumpkin juice and simmered in down a bit to enhance the flavor. I kept it on a very low simmer, so it wouldn't over cook. When it simmered down to about 8 cups, I added 2 sticks of cinnamon, a little ground nutmeg, and some allspice berries and let it continue to gently simmer for about an hour.


I took out the spices, then added 1 cup of chai infused honey, 1 cup of white sugar, 1 cup of turbinado sugar, and one cup of the mashed, roasted pumpkin. This then simmered for about another hour.

The trick to make this smooth is to blend it all together. I took my stick blender and gave it a good whir. I then brought the whole thing up to a boil, stirring frequently. Watch it carefully or it will bubble over. Once it comes to a good boil, turn it off and remove from the heat. Let it cool
completely.

One of the blessings and curses of being an herbal student is that I tend to have bottles and jars a plenty. I put the the syrup in 3 cute little bottles.

I've kept this in my fridge for up to 6 months and it's been fine. It's divine in chai tea, heavenly over waffles, and oh so marvelous over ice cream.

You can always play with this recipe a bit. I've made it before adding some maple syrup or some brown sugar.  For me, an extra dash of cinnamon never hurts either.

This is the perfect way to keep the Season of Everything Pumpkin going, so you'll want to make  sure to have some on hand.

Before the Season of "Everything Pumpkin" - Take time to Savor the Apple

I do adore pumpkins. Soon enough it will be the Season of Everything Pumpkin. But for me, September is the season of the apple.


Apples are the glorious gifts of late summer and early fall. There are so many varieties to choose from, and in New Jersey we have a plethora of pick your own farms. Some apples, like Cortlands, are on the sweeter side. Empires are great for eating raw and have a bit of tartness. Fuji's are wonderfully sweet and last a very long time. Granny Smiths are lovely if you prefer the tartness of apples. Jonathans are great for making applesauce, but not for baking because the mush. Yorks are great for baking. I could go on and on, since there are over 100 types of apples grown for commercial use. Actually, there are over 7,000 types of apples grown world wide, but that would take us rather far afield.

There is so much that apples give us. Not just for eating and cooling. On these first cool nights as summer fades to autumn, there is nothing like some warmed apple cider with a cinnamon stick in it. Around here, Delicious Orchards has the best cider. A great place for pick your own apples is Terhune Orchards. They also make some yummy apple wine. And of course there are the amazing benefits of apple cider vinegar.  We use it in many of our products because it is so good for you on the inside and on the out. Ooh - and I've recently discovered the fun of hard cider, but that again is another story.

Apples are packed with nutrition and fiber. They contain lots of vitamins like A, B, and C. They have antioxidant components, quercetin, collagen, and elastic which make then wonderful for your skin, boost your energy, and aid in digestion.

Applying apples to your outsides might seem strange - but your skin will certainly appreciate it. Here are a few quick tops to try:

• Take a nice fresh apple and run it through the blender with just a little water or green tea. Take that fabulous smelling mush and rub it in to your skin after a hot day. Rinse with cool water and you'll be washing away the heat and damage you've imposed on your face.
• Kick the apple treatment up a little by blending apple mush with honey and make yourself a skin loving face mask. It will brighten and soften your skin.
• Use a little apple mush or gently run a slice of apple under your eyes to help alleviate those dark circles. 
• After shampooing, pour some apple juice through your hair and then rinse. It will help with dandruff and add some nice shine.
• The pectin and tannin in apples helps soothe bug bites. Rub a piece of apple on a bite or apply a little mush.

Of course the best thing you can do with an apple, especially fresh and in season, is eat one a day. It may help keep the doctor away, and it will definitely taste great and make you happy.

In the Season of Everything Pumpkin ... It's all about the Spice

Although Halloween has past, the Season of Everything Pumpkin continues. After all, a staple of the Thanksgiving meal is the luscious rich finish with Pumpkin Pie. 

  Everywhere you turn you find Pumpkin Spice everything: Pumpkin Chai, Pumpkin Spice Latte, Pumpkin spice muffins and breads and cookies, puddings, marshmallows, ice cream, yogurt, gum.... you name it and there's a pumpkin spice version of it. It makes you wonder though - is this frenzy really about the pumpkin? Or is it about the spice?

I love pumpkin, don't get me wrong. I have pumpkins all over my yard. Some turn into jack o'lanterns for Halloween. Others get roasted and then frozen. A few get chopped and added to stews or sauteed like other vegetables. Several of them get sliced and dried and ground to be used in some of our products as well as tossed into sauces and such.  Pumpkin is full of vitamins and nutrients, but on it's own it is not a strong flavored fruit. It needs a little something. These autumn gourds handle savory flavoring very well, like rosemary, garlic, and sage. But the biggest draw is for that sweet spicy zing.

 I really believe that most people aren't enamored of pumpkin so much as the spice blend typically associated with it. Most blends are a balance of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and ginger. Maybe a dash of allspice or cardamom. Below is a basic recipe for Pumpkin Spice.

PUMPKIN SPICE BLEND
1/3 cup ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground allspice
1 1/2 teaspoons ground clove
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground nutmeg (or a mix of nutmeg and mace)

Mix everything together and store in an airtight container. Use the blend whenever pumpkin pie spice is called for. Or even apple pie spice.  Mix a teaspoon or two with some sugar or maple syrup and sprinkle over pancakes and waffles. Yum!

This blend is so warming on a chill autumn or winter night. These spices are part of so many things we associate with the warmth and coziness associated with the season. They help with digestion, ease pain, and improve circulation. All of those are important for the more insular, colder time of the year. Even the fragrance is a spirit lifter.

What do you think? Is the Season of Everything Pumpkin about the pumpkin? Or is it about the spice?

Patchouli & Pumpkin make Halloween Magic - Limited Time Offer

Patchouli is one of those fragrances that people seem to either love or hate. It has a rich, sweetly earthy scent which only improves with age. It's a wonderful essential oil for you skin, as well as anti-inflammatory and anti-depressant. The fragrance always reminds me of Halloween.

And what would Halloween be without pumpkin! Pumpkin seed butter and oil are rejuvenating and restorative for dry and damaged skin.

And so, we created two products for your Halloween Holiday pleasure.

Rhiannon's Midnight Moon Lotion Bar  
Sensual patchouli laced with jasmine blossoming under a midnight full moon. Ginger adds brightness like the light. These lovely essential oils are wrapped in pumpkin seed butter, hemp seed oil, seabuckthorn berry oils and other butters and oils that will nourish, soften and add a little magic to your skin.
$6.00 for 1.5 oz bar                               $5.00 for a .75oz push up tube

Autumn Amber Whipped Sugar Scrub
This sugar scrub is a heavenly Autumn blend of patchouli, roses and amber. A lusty and lush fragrance blended with pumpkin seed oil, hemp seed butter and seabuckthorn berry oil . The sugars gently exfoliate while the butters and oil provide nourishment and moisture. And then there's the fragrance! It lingers loving on your skin.
$6.00 for a 4oz jar                                    $11.00 for an 8oz jar



 

Both items are only available until October 31st! 

Get them while supplies last!

The Pumpkin Aftermath

My archenemies, the evil squirrels, can now munch happily on the carved pumpkin carcasses lying around my front yard. I only managed to carve 8 of them, but I was pleased with the results. The squirrels can pick for another day, and then the pumpkin parts left over will be taken to a back neglected garden and dumped. They'll rise from the dead, I'm sure. Either by nourishing the soil for next season when I try to revive the garden - or a surprise pumpkin or two may appear from the wreckage.

I did have several pumpkin in a few varieties that were uncarved and will find life in a number of ways.

The cheese pumpkins, the beige ones that look like - well, a wheel of cheese, will be roasted and used in pies and cakes and pumpkin butter. They have a lovely, sweet pumpkin flavor and process to a smooth and creamy consistency.

The little grey one in the picture is a Jarrahdale. It's supposed to be a very sweet, stringless pumpkin. Hmmmmm, I'm thinking Pumpkin cheesecake for this little baby.

The white pumpkins seemed to be everywhere this year. I'm not sure if these are Lumina's or Cotton Candy's, but they will be roasted up for some edible goodness. I might trying cutting these into chunks and tossing them into stews or roasted along with the potatoes.

My orange pumpkins will serve in a number of ways. Some will be made into our Honey Pumpkin Face Mask. Some will be dried and ground for some new skin care product experiments ( ;-) ). And some will be roasted and mashed and added to the food of my multitudes of cats and my dog, Rudy. Pumpkin is a great digestive regulator for cats and dogs. Plus they think it's yummy!

I'll also be saving some of the seeds from this collection to roast - and to plant for next year. In fact, looking at this list of things to do with all these pumpkins, I may have to look for a few more.

The Carving Calling

It happens almost every year. I get over whelmed by the urge to hack into helpless pumpkins and turn them into luminous globes of eerie visions. So I put aside my pumpkin cooking craziness for now (it will return after Halloween), and get out the weapons of creation - large and small knives, tape, paper, markers, candles, and scoops.

My collection of pumpkins is very varied this year - large round traditional orange pumpkins, a green pumpkin, a few smaller white pumpkins, cheese pumpkins, more-gourd-than-pumpkin pumpkins, and a few grey heirlooms. The main trick for the past few days has been to beat off the danged squirrels. But with Halloween just a few days away, it's time for the carving to commence.

I am not overly artistically inclined. Mixing herbal and skin care preparations is one thing. But I can't draw. Lazy daisies are about the extent of my abilities. Luckily, carved creations are guided by stencils and patterns gathered from years of collecting and a few choice websites. I'll share those in a moment.

Many sites give carving tips and guidelines. They all offer similar and wise advise - cleaning and saving your pumpkin, how to use patterns, etc. If you're new to pumpkin carving, take some time to scan a few. But there is only one true way to learn about carving - just do it!

Whether it's a traditional pumpkin face or an elaborate carved and sculpted combination it doesn't matter. Grab some weaponry and have at it.

When I was younger, I always did the pumpkin face variations. Not much more than that. Then I discovered Pumpkin Masters and the world opened up. The tools are very good (although some of the fine saws are a little flimsy if you have a particularly thick skinned subject). They have an excellent assortment of patterns.

I've tried extreme to simple patterns and even done some mix and matching. I have also cut through pieces that weren't supposed to be cut through or lost my place and mangled some images something terrible. It's Halloween for goodness sake - gruesome works! If it's that badly botched, just grab a fake hand or some other prop and stick it into the pumpkin to cover up the oops.

This year I discovered The Pumpkin Wizard. Although it is a membership site, their fee is basically the same as a carving book would cost. And they have some excellent tips and fantastic patterns.

I've also found Pumpkin Carving 101 to have some excellent tips for preserving and burial and all around pumpkin carving advice.

Tonight I take another pumpkin and let my Halloween spirit flow. Be brave and take a stab at pumpkin carving and bring out your inner ghoulish artistry. It's fun and you'll be rewarded with lots of smiles.

The Colonial style Pumpkin Pudding Experiment

Well, it happened. The pumpkin fever has come over me and the experimentation has begun. I warned you.

The other day I had picked up a little sugar pumpkin, about 3.5 to 4 pounds, nicely shaped. It has been sitting on the table, reminding me that Halloween is fast approaching.

Last night was the first night of the full moon and there was a definite chill in the air. As I walked by the little pumpkin, I remembered my Colonial Pumpkin pudding recipe. Perfect! I thought, scooping up the little fellow and dashing to the kitchen.

Husband, cats and dog were wise enough to clear the way.

It didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped, but check out the recipe and results below to see for yourself.

Colonial Whole Pumpkin Pudding

• One 4 to 6 pound sugar pumpkin
• 6 eggs
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp molasses
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 2 tbs butter

This is the basic recipe. Usually, when I find a new recipe I stick to it the first time around. Then, if I like it enough, I'll play with it the next time to make it a little more me. I like playing with my food, but more about that another day.

Prep the pumpkin as if making a jack-o'lantern.

In a separate bowl or large measuring cup, mix all of the ingredients except the butter.

Pour into the pumpkin, careful not to over fill (that's something I learned by overfilling last night).

Top with the butter in a few pats and put the pumpkin top on.

Place in a large baking dish and place in the oven.

Bake at 350F for about 1 1/2 hours until the mixture has set.

Let stand and cool for about 10 - 15 minutes.

Serve from the pumpkin, scraping up the pumpkin meat to go along with the pudding. Should serve about 6 people.

The project wasn't a complete success. It took longer for the pudding to set then indicated. I took the top off for the last 1/2 hour and that seemed to do the trick. I did overfill which made for some spillage.

And it really wasn't very pretty....
But it was pretty yummy! Especially with some ice cream!


More experimentation to come.

Next up - carving!

Welcome to Pumpkin Time!!!!

I LOVE pumpkin!!! I just love how bright and cheerful they look. Seeing them begin to populate the grocery stores and farmers markets tells me that Halloween is coming soon with all it's mystery and spooky goodness.

I guess you could say I'm a Pumpkin head - although I prefer Pumpkinaholic. I love to carve pumpkins for decoration, cook them for everything from appetizers to dips to dinner to dessert, make

Honey Pumpkin Face Mask, and just have them around to look pretty and bright.

I also enjoy experimenting with these favorite Autumn squashes. Last year I tried make pumpkin jelly, but it didn't really work. It never really jelled and had a rather slimy and gloppy consistency. It did make a great Halloween prop though!

This year, I'm going to expand my pumpkin experimentation by trying something Native Americans did with pumpkin skin. Native Americans would take the skins, cut them into strips and dry them and weave them into mats.

My other experiment will be the predecessor of pumpkin pie. During the Colonial times, they would scoop out the seeds of the pumpkin, then add milk and spices and place the whole pumpkin in the hot embers to cook. This makes a type of pudding, which is basically the filling of pumpkin pie. In fact, the Colonials used to use pumpkin mush as an ingredient in their pie shells. I don't know if I'll be that brave, but when Pumpkin fever strikes, you never know what can happen! I'll keep you posted!

Pumpkin Wrap Up

Unfortunately, time and family business kept me from writing more about my favorite squash - the Great Pumpkin!

I did get to carve a few of my dozen pumpkins in time to tantalize our trick or treaters. And I also had the opportunity to start the roasting. This is the time of year that I store up on mashed pumpkin for future recipes of pies, butters, cookies, breads and face masks.

So many people opt for canned pumpkin, when its so easy to roast your own. Simply cut
the pumpkin into halves or quarters (depending on it's size). Scrape out all of the seed and strings (see the previous post for a yummy use for the seeds). Place the pieces, skin side up, into a large roasting pan. Put about 1/2 inch of water into the bottom. Cover with an aluminum foil tent and place into a 350 degree oven. Check in about 25 minutes.

Don't let the water totally boil out. If the shell is soft, the pumpkin is done. Remove from the oven and let it cool in the tent (it will finish steaming that way).

Once the pumpkin is cool, turn over and simply scrape out the soft, sweet pulp. You can freeze this or store in the refrigerator until you're ready to whip up some great and tasty treats. When you defrost the pumpkin, if it's too juicy, simply drain through a few layers of cheese cloth.

There will be a lot of pumpkin juice in the bottom of the pan or when you defrost your pumpkin. I like to mix pumpkin juice and sparkling cider or ginger beer.

So don't let you uncarved pumpkin simply turn into squirrel food or a pile of mush. Roast them up and be ready for Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pies, Pumpkin Muffins, or any number of sweet autumnal goodies.

It's Pumpkin Time!!!!! Getting the seed of an idea.

I LOVE this time of year. I love the crispness in the air, the bright color of the turning leaves, and the suspense that seems to build around the coming of Halloween. Don't love the fact that it starts getting darker earlier, but I'll accept it knowing that it leads to glowing orange globes delighting passersby and trick-or-treaters. You know - pumpkins!

Every since I was a small child, many years ago, I've adored carving pumpkins. There's something so viscerally cool and yet creepy about slicing off the top of these fruits of Autumn and pulling out all those slimy, icky insides. Cleaning and carving transform the simple pumpkin into a frightful - or playful - vision that dances in the long night.

Over the next few days I'll give carving tips, recipes and preserving ideas for keeping the pumpkin going. Today, however, lets get to the guts of the matter.

Pumpkin seeds are little gems inside even bigger gems. They are packed with zinc, manganese, copper, iron and protein. Their sweet nuttiness makes them a great addition to salads or any dish. And they are a terrific snack.

You can easily buy shelled pumpkin seeds, called Pepita's, but making your own is so easy. This is the recipe I typically use, but you can change around the spices to suit your own taste. Sugar pumpkins have slightly smaller, softer shelled seeds. We leave the hulls on for some extra crunchiness.

Garlic Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Pumpkin Seeds - about 3 cups
Paprika: Sweet, Smoked and Hot
Garlic Salt
Kosher Salt
6 tbs. salted butter
Garlic Powder

Take the pumpkin seeds from your carved pumpkin and rinse them off, removing all the strings and any visible pumpkin pieces. Put 1/4 cup of kosher salt in a bowl and add pumpkin seeds. Fill with water to cover seeds. Stir, then cover with a dish towel or saran wrap and let sit for at least 2 hours, overnight if possible.

Drain the seeds and rinse off. Spread on a clean, dry dish towel and pat dry.

Set the oven at 375 degrees. In a roasting pan or cookie sheets with sides, place the butter and put in the oven. In about 5 minutes, remove from the oven. The butter should be mostly melted. Add the pumpkin seeds, 1 tsp of smoked paprika, 1 tsp of sweet paprika, and 1/4 tsp of hot paprika. Sprinkle on garlic powder and garlic salt (about 2 tsp of each). Stir into the seeds and spread them out to a thin layer. Return the pan to the oven.

Let the seeds roast undisturbed for about 15 minutes. After that time, stir up the seeds and check for browning - you want them brown and crunchy, not burned. If needed, put in to another 10 to 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and stir. You can add more garlic salt or kosher salt if you'd like. Let cool completely and put in an air tight container.

Munch away any time you want a snack. These are also great in Nuts & Bolts (similar to Chex Mix). And they're the perfect munch while watching Halloween horror movies!