Day Before, Or After - Sans The Turkey!

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Now playing: Carpenters - Yesterday Once More
via FoxyTunes

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Now playing: Eurythmics - When Tomorrow Comes
via FoxyTunes

Thanksgiving called for some caramelised onion relish, roasted cranberry/pear relish, carefully preserved Farmer's market corn and of course BACON! Have more than you need? Make some tasty cornbread!

Special Skillet Cornbread

2 big spoons of rosemary laced caramelised onions, chopped (2 big sprigs of rosemary in with the cooking onions, remove later, a dash of balsamic vinegar and a few pinches of chopped fresh parsley)



4 big spoons roasted cranberry/pear relish (coat 3/4 c. fresh cranberries, 2 peeled, diced pears with 1/4 c. brown sugar and cinnamon to taste....place on baking sheet lined with parchment. Roast until cranberries pop and sugars thicken.)




3 rashers streaky bacon (prepare in a cast iron skillet, cool and crumble, pour off bacon fat, but leave skillet coated with it.

1 and 1/4 c. flour

3/4 c. cornmeal

1/2 c. corn kernals

1/4 c. milk

1 egg

pinch of salt

Dash of hot sauce

Preheat oven to 400 deg f. Prepare batter and fold in relishes, bacon and corn. Pour batter into the prepared skillet and bake for 20 minutes.


Cornbread and soup make a good pair. Half of my last garden pumpkin went in the pie filling, the other half was int he soup.


Cream of Roasted Pumpkin/Chestnut/Potato Soup.

2 large roasted Russet potatoes (with the peel on, 1 hour at 400 deg F., otherwise known as a jacket potato)

1 doz. roasted chestnuts (same routine as the potatoes except make cross-like punctures in them first and 30 minutes)



1 half of a medium pumpkin, roasted (cut into chunks with peel on, toss with a bit of olive oil and roast for 1 hour)

2 handfuls prepared mirepoix

2 c. chicken stock

1 Bouquet Garnet

1/2 c. half n half, warmed

2 dashes hot sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

Peel the pumpkin and potatoes. Hull the chestnuts. Set aside. Sweat the mirepoix, add chicken stock, bouquet garnet and add the roasted ingredients. I used a pressure cooker and processed for 3 minutes after pressure was built. Process with a hand blender and strain. Add half n half, hot sauce and season. Bring back to temperature slowly. Serve.





The cider has been bottled and tried - very dry! It will have the final reveal when the bubbles develop.



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There is a budding tomorrow in midnight.
- John Keats

More Persimmon- This Time Cake

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Now playing: Cake - It's Coming Down
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Last time I used Fuyu persimmons, this time it is Hachiya, the best kind for baking.



In the cake recipe, I used 2 very ripe sort of mushy persimmons and a more firm one. The firm one was cut in med. dice. This added different textures along with dried cranberries. Coat the diced persimmon and the cranberries in a bit of flour first. My cake has a cardamom sugar crust, kind of a Scandinavian twist.

Persimmon Cake w/ Cardamom Crust

Preheat oven to 375 Deg. F

1/4 c. veg. oil
1/3 c. brown sugar
3 persimmons, prepared
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
zest of 1 lemon
dash of salt
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. milk
1 egg
1 handful dried cranberries

For crust:
3 tsp. cardamom
1/2 c. granulated sugar

Add dry ingredients mixed, slowly to the mixed wet ingredients. Blend the crust ingredients and sprinkle evenly over 12 prepared mini bundt cake forms. Roll the sugar to coat pan surface. Pour in cake batter and bake for approx. 20 minutes.




A side note, Lucie made the cool bowl!

The last of the garden 2011. The only thing after this is a lonely pumpkin. One last batch of green chili with the tomatillos, one last Caprese salad and batch of tomato juice with ripe toms, one last batch of fried green tomatoes.



Something new to my Etsy shop. Plastic shopping bag caddy. This keeps them neatly organised. I use re-usable shopping bags most often, but these plastic ones keep creeping into the house at times. Check out my shop for colours and styles available very soon!



We always hold hands. If I let go, she shops. -Henny Youngman