A Jeanne in the Kitchen

Pumpkin season is in full swing and I love it. I am one of those pumpkin lovers that enjoys pumpkin every which way I can get it. I like it in pie, I like it in soup, and I like it both savory or sweet. And now, I found I like it as bread too, especially with cranberry jelly. YUM!

This bread is the fall, pumpkin version of Challah. Challah is a yeast bread that is enriched with eggs, similar to brioche. The biggest difference between the a challah bread dough and brioche dough is that brioche contains lot of butter while challah contains oil. Challah is a rich, traditional Jewish bread served on the Sabbath or to celebrate holidays. It is so good. I could easily eat the whole thing in one setting, but I have to pace myself.

Pumpkin Egg Bread

2 1/4 ts dry active yeast (or 1 package)

3 TBSP warm water

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1 egg

2 TBSP brown sugar

2 TBSP softened butter

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp salt

2-2 1/2 cups flour

egg wash

Dissolve the yeast in he water.

In a separate, larger bowl, combine the pumpkin, egg, brown sugar, butter, pumpkin pie spice, salt and the yeast mixture along with 1 cup of the flour. Mix together just until everything is blended together and forms into a soft dough.

Add in as much of the remaining flour as the dough can hold without making the dough to stiff. You want this to be a very soft dough. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 6-8 minutes. Coat a large bowl and the dough with olive oil. Cover and let set to rise for about 1 hour or until the dough doubles in size.

Once the dough is ready, divide it into three equal pieces and roll into a long roll, about 16 inches long. Then braid the dough ropes together, pinching the ends together and fold them under to seal it.

Cover and let rise again for about 45-60 minutes. or until the dough has doubled again.

Preheat the oven to 350* F or 180* C.

Brush the dough braid with an eggwash and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Once the bread was done, I brushed it with melted butter as soon as it came out of the oven to give it a little extra flavor and richness.

I discovered a delicious cranberry jelly that goes perfectly with this bread. I think pumpkin bread and cranberry jelly is one of those partnerships like peanut butter & jelly. They are just a perfect match and each other very well.

Enjoy the season. Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.

I have more fall colors to share. The tall grasses are golden right now.

With fall and the cooler weather now here I am looking for recipes that will warm us up from the inside out. Sometimes it is soups and chowders, sometimes it is heartier foods, and sometimes it is something that is just good comfort food. One such recipe was for an all-in-one casserole type dish that was shrimp, rice and vegetables with a light lime-cilantro sauce. I added some whole pinto beans and some pumpkin egg bread or pumpkin challah and a citrusy white blend to complete the meal.

As I mentioned above, this is an all-in-one type dish. Sometimes these are my favorite things to make because they are so easy to prepare. I thought for sure I had both zucchini and crookneck, but I only had the crookneck squash, which works just fine on its own too. My sister-in-law sent home a large bag of sweet peppers, tomatoes and beets with Larry when he returned home from visiting with his mother in Kansas. So I had to use some of those too. Nothing is better than fresh from the garden.

Lime-Cilantro Shrimp and Rice

2 cups cooked rice

2-3 TBSP olive oil or lime olive oil

1-1/2 lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 cups corn

2 zucchini or crookneck or 1 of each, sliced

1 shallot, sliced thin

1/2 each red bell pepper and green bell pepper, diced medium

3-4 sweet peppers, sliced thin

1 TBSP Peruvian peppers, optional

1 tsp red pepper flakes or to taste

1 TBSP garlic

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1 TBSP lime zest

2 TBSP lime juice

salt and pepper to taste

cheese for topping

Get a large skillet nice and hot and add either the olive oil or the lime olive oil. I am LOVING my lime olive oil and am using it for just about everything. Saute all the vegetables except the Peruvian sweet peppers and seasonings for about 5 minutes, or until they soften a bit yet still retain some of their crispness. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Add more oil if necessary and then cook the shrimp until they are cooked completely and are nice and pink. Add the lime juice and re-add the vegetables and the cilantro. Combine everything together well and add the cooked rice and the Peruvian peppers and continue to cook for about 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently.

Once everything is cooked, it is time to serve it up. You can serve it as is, but I felt it needed a little something extra, so I added some whole pinto beans on top. Add a little of your favorite cheese if you like, and it is ready to go. Delicious and easy-peasy; my favorite way to cook.

Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.

I have more beautiful fall colors for you. Everything is just bursting with color. Enjoy.

I made my lemon and almond tart the other day because we were having friends over for dinner. Italian Lemon and Almond Tart Of course I actually served dinner too, and not just dessert, although life is short and sometimes we do need to eat dessert first. 🙂

Dinner was a Mediterranean/Middle Eastern theme. I had simple appetizers to serve while I was cooking. The main meal was lamb and chicken skewers with a pumpkin sauce served over Israeli pearl couscous, a Moroccan carrot salad and pita bread. It was a warm, welcoming meal for a cool fall day. Everyone loved the meal. After wards, we all sat around and visited while playing a few rounds of the game Left-Right-Center (a dice game).

This simple salad was so colorful and so tasty. It was perfect for a fall dinner, but you can serve it anytime. it’s not just for fall.

Moroccan Carrot Salad

1 lb baby carrots, cut in half

1 cup orange juice

1/4 cup olive oil

salt to taste

1-2 TBSP honey

1-2 TBSP lemon juice

1/2 cup Kalamata olives, cut in half

1/4 cup pomegranate seeds

1 tsp cumin

1-2 TBSP fresh cilantro, chopped

1 TBSP fresh mint, chopped or 1-2 tsp dried mint

1/3 cup toasted pine nuts

Saute the carrots in olive oil for about 5 minutes, or until they soften a bit. You do not want them to soft. You still want a little crispness left to them.

Heat the orange juice in a pot and cook until the liquid is reduced by about half. Then combine with all the rest of the ingredients and add the carrots. Toss everything together and serve.

I served this with some lamb and chicken kebabs. I did not make the sauce. I just doctored it up a bit. I had a butternut squash sauce, aka pumpkin sauce to the rest of the world, and I added some cumin, oregano, cayenne pepper and balsamic vinaigrette to make it a bit spicier and zestier. I cut both my lamb and chicken into large pieces and marinated it all in the sauce (on separate skewers) for about 4 hours before grilling it all up. Then I reduced the sauce on the stove to top the skewers with once the meat was cooked. Delicious!

It was a fabulous, healthy and colorful fall meal that we got to enjoy with friends both old and new. We all had a fun evening and full satisfied tummies as well.

Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.

We had about 10 flakes of snow yesterday, but more is on the way. I can’t really even call it our first snow though. To me, our first snow means we actually have snow on the ground. So until that happens, we still have some beautiful fall colors to admire.

I love to entertain and feed people for many reasons. One of my favorite reasons though, is that it gives me an excellent opportunity to make new recipes and try new things that I might now cook for just the two of us. One such recipe was this delicious Italian lemon and almond tart. It is a win/win/win/win. I love Italian foods of all kinds. Check. I love both lemons and almonds. Double check. And I love to make tarts, so check again. This recipe covered them all. This lemon tart has a little more texture and body than it’s French cousin because of the addition of the ground almonds. It was a big hit with our guests.

I made the dough first. I kept it tightly wrapped up for about a week before actually using it for my tart though. I knew I was going to make the tart, but something came up, and I did not make it when I had originally planned. The dough was still perfect and delicious when I did end up making the tart. So now you know, the dough will keep and you can make it ahead. You can also freeze it as well.

The dough is a pate sucre, though a little different than how I normally make it. This one called for regular sugar, yet most of the pate sucres I make call for powdered sugar. Both are good. I didn’t see much difference in either though.

The Dough

2 sticks of cold butter cubed

2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 egg

I make my dough in my food processor, but you can mix it or do it by hand too. I mix the flour, sugar and cold butter first until it resembles a crumbly, fine sandy texture.

Then add the eggs and mix together until the dough forms into a ball. Your dough will be a firm, stiff dough. This is the consistency you are looking for.

Once your dough forms into a ball. wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1/2 an hour before using, though like I mentioned above, I kept it in the fridge for about 1 week, and it was still fine.

Some people bake the dough first before adding the filling. I don’t usually do that. I prefer cooking the dough and the filling at the same time so the dough doesn’t burn. Usually it is the filling that requires more cooking time, so if the crust is browning to much, I just cover it with aluminum foil and let it cook until the middle sets.

The Filling

Preheat the oven to 375* F or 190* C.

Roll the dough out and firmly press into a fluted tart pan.

4 eggs

2/3 cup sugar

3 TBSP lemon juice

1 TBSP lemon zest + more for topping, optional

1 stick of melted butter

2/3 cup ground almonds

whip cream for topping

Mix the eggs, sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest together until they become light and fluffy, or for about 5 minutes.

Fold in the ground almonds then pour the batter into the dough and spread evenly.

Bake uncovered for about 30-40 minutes, or until the dough is golden brown and the middle is set and does not jiggle. If the edges of the crust are browning to quickly, cover with aluminum foil and continue to cook until the center is set.

Allow the tart to cool slightly before removing it from the pan, then allow it to cool completely before adding the whipped cream. I added a little lemon zest to my whipped cream as well, but this is optional.

All that’s left to do is is to enjoy it with friends or family. Everyone is going to love it. I promise. !Buon Appetito!

Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.

Today is the first day of November. We are dead smack in the middle of Fall, though the temperature is beginning to drop considerably and snow is in the air. Our trees are doing their best to maintain their beautiful colors, though they are beginning to drop their leaves quickly. I still have a lot of great fall shots though, so hold tight. 🙂

Today, it’s the colors of gold.

Yesterday, our church held it’s annual Trunk or Treat event. You read that right. I did say Trunk or Treat. Trunk or Treats are becoming quite popular. People decorate their cars and the kids are all in one safe location, and rather than going from house to h0use trick or treating, they go from car to car instead. So many cars were there all decorated for the day.

Larry is out of town visiting his mother, so I joined some friends and we decorated her car in a Hawaiian theme. I went as the punked out surfer chick and my friend Lauren was all decorated with leis and flowers. Mike, Lauren’s husband, and I were also some of the official photographers.

This is not Mike, it’s Allen. We took photos of each other taking photos.

Jonathan and Priscilla were all decked out as well. Jonathan was Luke Skywalker and Priscilla was Mary Poppins.

We had a lot of games, popcorn and fresh made cotton candy, as well as hot dogs for everyone who wanted them.

Jonathan, I mean Luke Skywalker, was helping with the games, while Priscilla, excuse me, Mary Poppins, was face painting.

We had planned on having about 300-350 kids, but we had almost 1000 instead. We ran out of candy a few times and had to make a few candy runs, but it was definitely a smashing success. Eadie, our Pastor’s mom, was in charge of getting all the candy to the cars.

We had all kinds of costumes. Some were very cute, others were super heroes and some were down right scary. But everyone had a great time. I took over 350 pictures, so needless to say, I am NOT going to share them all with you, but I will share some. There was A LOT of creativity all around, that’s for sure.

We also had a Police officer there giving out candy as well. One of my favorite pictures is this little junior police officer with the real Police officer, but then it is really difficult to pick favorites. All the kids were so cute.

As we were all having fun, handing out candy to everyone, Pastor Matthew was busy watching over his flock.

Halloween is for the kids; kids of all ages. We went through a ton of candy. Everyone had a great time, and those of us who worked the event all had a blast too, but boy were we all tired after wards. We were all talking about how tired we were today in church.

Whether you are trick or Treating or Trunk or Treating, or just partying things up, have a great time and be safe. Happy Halloween Everyone.

I have more fall colors to share with you.

Happy Halloween. Stay safe and depending on where you are, stay warm if you go out Trick or Treating.