SO: where to start? We have a little presentation at work tomorrow, so something seasonably pumpkin is in order. I’ve made lots of pumpkin bread recipes for work, so though I’d make the cupcake recipe I’d tried and adapted. It calls for canned pumpkin, and wonderfully enough, exactly one whole can of pumpkin. It’s not as sweet as some cupcakes, and uses mostly oil instead of buttter, so it’s a little more substantial.

My former next-door neighbor, when she moved out, left me with about a quart of frozen “real” pumpkin that she had prepared the previous fall. That real pumpkin does make a difference in taste. But I haven’t done that yet. Maybe next year.

Pumpkin Spiced Cupcakes

Makes at least 2 - 3 dozen

• 3 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 3-1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground allspice
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1-1/2 cups dark brown sugar, packed
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• 1-1/4 cups canola oil (or other light salad oil)
• 2 tbsp dark unsulphured molasses
• 4 eggs
• 1 15-16 oz. can 100% pumpkin
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Sift together 3 cups all-purpose unbleached flour, 2 tsp baking soda, 2 tsp baking
   powder, 1 tsp salt, 3-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp ground allspice, 1 tsp
   ground ginger .  (If you haven’t sifted it into a bowl, put it in a large bowl.)
3. Add 1-1/2 cups dark brown sugar, packed.  Stir well to get rid of any lumps.
4. Add 2 tbsp melted butter, 1-1/4 cups canola oil (or other light salad oil), 2 tbsp
   dark unsulphured molasses
5. Cream all above on low speed until thoroughly mixed, scrape bowl

6.  In a separate bowl, whisk four eggs (room temperature).

7.  Add to eggs 1 15-16 oz. can pureed pumpkin, 1/4 to 1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature

8.  Mix gently and fold wet mixture into other ingredients with spatula.  Use
electric mixer on medium for a few seconds to blend everything. Don’t overmix.  Makes a very thick batter.

9.  Use non-stick muffin tins, or add paper or foil cups. Paper cups work slightly better for this recipe. Fill cups 1/2 to 3/4 full.  A scoop is best, but you can use a spoon or spatula to fill cups. You can use small, regular or jumbo size tins; adjust baking time accordingly. I used smaller size and regular size with paper cups.

10.  Bake at 350 degree oven for 20-23 minutes. Check after 18 minutes.; cupcakes are
done when tops appear dry and bounce back lightly when touched in center. Cool on racks.

Cupcakes may be frosted warm for “glaze” effect, or let cool completely if decorating. Use cream cheese frosting,  or dust lightly with confectioner’s sugar.

And the greens are back – turnip, mustard, etc…it’s just unfortunate that that is one set of vegetables I don’t like. But I found some bok choy, which I have enjoyed when eating out, but never tried cooking before. So I sense a saute in my near future.

And of course pumpkins and gourds are here for fall decorating & for eating. I have a baking pumpkin…which will become pumpkin bread eventually. Several traditional green acorn squash and one a yellowed pale-brown color.

And then decorative gourds which I just like. I like the long twisty stems on the pumpkins, big or small, I like the different shapes & textures. One of my grandkids was fascinated by the wooden bowl of gourds I have on my coffee table. At almost 2 years of age, and for the next 2 or 3 years, each fall, when I set a bowlful out, he picked them up out of the bowl, one by one – or at least one in each hand – turned them all around in his hands, tracing the lines and the bumps, pointing to the colors. Now he’s older and just nods at them when he passes by. I think the nod says “Nice.”

And then my classes at university. Sigh. I had hoped to be taking comprehensive exams this fall, the last step before being loosed on my dissertation. However, health & some life things this summer got in the way of completing required projects in order to take comps. So they are postponed until next semester. On the plus side, instead of being stuck in a room writing a qualitative or statistics comp question today on this beautiful sunny and still cool morning, I was down at the Farmer’s Market, then came home and sat outside reading. And I won’t have the other comps questions to do over the next 2 weeks. So I will enjoy the fall this year. And have time to cook some of these wonderful fall foods! I planted some of the pansies from last week in 2 pots, one of which a squirrel dug up almost immediately after I went inside. Dirt and plants tossed all around on the ground. But I replanted and all is still OK at the moment - I guess he was checking for the nuts he had hidden. And over the next few weeks I’ll slowly add pumpkins to enjoy outside for decoration. Fall is a long and pleasant season here, which almost makes up for summer.

And there were still a few local heirloom tomatoes at Market: Cherokee Purple, beautiful for slicing, a red zebra, and some yellow with red striations that I don’t know the name of, but are really good, too. And now that I have lettuce, I may have to get some bacon, and have a bacon, lettuce & tomato salad or two. Which is just what you’d expect: torn lettuce leaves, big chunks of tomatoes, and some strips of crisp bacon in bite-size pieces scattered over the top. And a touch of mayonnaise and some homemade croutons. I’ve played around with making croutons, both baking and stove-top cooking. But I since I like them on salads in the summer, I’ve gone with the stovetop version so I don’t have to heat up the oven.

Homemade Croutons

3 tablespoons olive oil & 2 cups bread, thick sliced & diced (measures are only approximate)

Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the bread cubes and toss gently to coat evenly with oil. Cook, tossing frequently, until toasty on all sides, about 5 – 10 minutes. I’ve also used half olive oil & half clarified butter (with the heat a touch lower and the time a little longer). And sometimes tossed in a little (grated) garlic or (very finely chopped) fresh herbs for the last minute or so.

Meanwhile, the end of summer foods are lingering: tomatoes, squash, peppers, eggplant; and the fall foods are coming in: acorn & butternut squash, apples, pears, lettuces, chard…and Pumpkins!!! The herbs are going tall & leggy in the garden and I’m harvesting and either drying or freezing them (more on that another day). The few flowers I’d planted this year, marigolds and lantana, are also leggy and and tired of blooming, and I bought pansies today to replace them. And a Fairytale Pumpkin – can’t you just see it turning into a carriage?

And even though it really is turning to fall here (after a high of 90 + humidity two days ago, the low was 49 last night, only heading for a high of 70 today, and the humidity has disappeared) there are still some summer flowers left. And I’m wondering if I should go get some bacon and thin-sliced white bread and make some Bacon-Tomato tea sandwiches. MMmmm. Gotta enjoy those still lingering summer foods!

Tomato Bacon Tea Sandwiches

6 slices
bacon, cooked till crisp and crumbled
¾ cup Helman’s mayonnaise
1 T Dijon-style mustard
16 slices homemade-style bread, crusts
removed (Pepperidge Farms)
App.4 tomatoes, sliced about 3/8” thick (enough for 8 slices of bread)

In a bowl stir together the bacon, mayonnaise, and mustard.
Spread the bacon mayonnaise on one side of each bread slice, place
tomatoes slices on top, cover with other slice of bread. Cut each sandwich into four triangles.

Makes 32 tea sandwiches (or hors d’oeuvres).

This winter, in January, in Memphis, we have had 3 snows that piled up and stayed around a few days. Very unusual for here. I did a little baking – pumpkin bread, cookies, actual meatballs. but no time for photos, or blogging. Cooking was a break in paper writing and tons of readings. My classes are over at the end of April, I’ll be heading through only more class next fall, and then research and dissertation. So I hope to be sharing stories & good food regularly again by this summer, and then continue it through next fall and winter and spring and summer……etc.,  etc., etc.

Come back in early May – the Farmer’s Market will be open and I’ll have time again!

The weather, however, does not know  summer is nearing the end: it’s still 100+ with a heat index of 100 billion (well, 118).

Some friends came for lunch  and brought me a bunch of  red & purple zinnias & beautiful basil. For supper, I snipped up basil leaves with lots of the tomatoes and a little fresh mozzarella cheese, with a splash of balsamic vinaigrette. Yum. And I’d made huckleberry pie. Huckleberries, as I’ve mentioned before, are like blueberries but smaller and darker and more tart and tasteful. One of my favorite berries, and they freeze so well and can be used in anything even when out of season. And homemade vanilla bean ice cream…with leftovers for supper dessert. Perfect!

Today I found currant tomatoes – teeny tiny tomatoes about the size of a blueberry – or smaller. Two different vendors had them. When ripe and red, they are incredibly sweet and burst open with flavor in your mouth. I’ve never been one to pop a whole cherry tomato in my mouth, I tend to cut them in half – besides I think that looks prettier. But these little bitty baby tomatoes have to be popped in whole. Delicious!

And then a tiger melon. This is about the size of a grapefruit, with a yellow and orange striped skin. The skin is thin, and can be peeled with a vegetable peeler for minimal waste. The flesh is reportedly white with a firm texture, and a kind of fresh pear flavor. That’s to try tomorrow or the next day.  I already had way too much cantaloupe from one I’d bought earlier this week, but I couldn’t resist. And this was such  nice personal-sized melon, at that. I think I may turn some of the cantaloupe into sorbet – I have always wanted to try that!

And of course I bought a variety of other wonderfully odd heirloom tomatoes : Roman candles, pink egg, peachies, black cherry tomatoes, purple Cherokee, and others I’ve forgotten the names of. This is still slice-and-eat season. I will get some fresh mozzarella at the store tomorrow, and make salad (guidance below – it’s too simple to be called a recipe). And small sweet peppers. The big beautiful sweet red  and yellow ones were not there this week. We have had excessive heat – highs of 105, and even the lows were around 87, minimal rain, and gardens have been suffering. One of my good heirloom tomato vendors was saying good-bye to all of us today – he hadn’t done a second planting of tomatoes, and though he would be good until Labor Day, but the heat has done his plants in a few weeks early. And corn – I did buy some more corn that looked good, and cut the cooking time down dramatically (to like 2 minutes), and it was very very good!

Fresh Tomato & Mozzarella Salad

For each person:

• about 1/2 to 1 cup heirloom tomatoes (I medium to large or several small)
• 1 – 3 ounces of fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into bite size chunks (depending on if this is a side dish or main course)
• fresh basil leaves, snipped in half if large, to taste.
• olive oil or balsamic vinaigrette

Cut large tomatoes into chucks, or slice smaller tomatoes. Toss gently with the mozzarella and basil leaves, Drizzle with olive oil or balsamic vinaigrette. You can make this first and let it sit for a little while to blend the flavors. But don’t refrigerate tomtaoes – they lose flavor.

August 10th, is, believe it or not, National S’mores Day. I LOVE  National Food Days!! 

A recipe for s’mores first appeared in a Girl Scout handbook in 1927. Campouts, cookouts, winter fires…have marshmallows, chocolate & graham crackers, and you’ve got s’mores.  I can’t seem to work this one into a local or sustainable food…but it certainly can be a “slow food” . That is,  a time to sit down with family and friends, savor the moment, the food, and the companionship.

It is not possible to gulp down a  real s’more on the run. A fire is required…although coals leftover on a grill are also quite acceptable (if still hot enough to potentially catch the marshmallow on fire) while a microwave is not. There is the need for a stick or elongated utensil for toasting the marshmallow yet not your hand. There’s a lot of package opening for those of us who usually cook “real” food. Marshmallows, Hershey’s chocolate bars, graham crackers. There’s breaking the chocolate bars exactly in half, and the graham crackers, too, to have  squares. There is the decision about one piece of chocolate on the bottom, or possibly a second piece on the top. Then, there is the perfect toasting of the marshmallow – I like mine all melty and just lightly browned. Some folks flame them. Intentionally, even. Then there is the placing of the chocolate square on the graham cracker square, and getting the marshmallow sandwiched firmly between the top and bottom crackers without dropping anything. Then it has to melt the chocolate and cool just enough to eat (seconds, possibly) without burning one’s mouth.

And I’m experimenting with drink recipes for August 15 – National Relaxation Day. Not exactly a food holiday – but time to slow down and relax. With a tall cool drink. Especially as the temperature here today is going to be 103, with unmentionable humidity and a heat index of 119. Now really! This means salads for supper – or maybe take-out pizza from our local Market that hand makes it with local produce – heirloom tomato slices and basil. Mushroom, zucchini and potato. All sorts of interesting things.

Or, as far as tomatoes are concerned, just eating them. I love heirloom summer tomatoes. Slice and eat. Slice onto a salad. Slice into a sandwich. Pick up and eat like an apple (preferably over a sink or outside; they are very jucie and drippy.As I kept wandering the farmer’s Market this morning, I kept seeing tomatoes at different vendors that looked wonderful. So I bought  few here..and a few there….and then I went to another community farmer’s market on my way home to my very favorite heirloom tomato place, and bought even more. And one person said, this was his peak week, and volume would be lessening after this week. So could I stop buying then, knowing the season is almost halfway through?? So, when looking for corn, I found  a pineapple tomato, and some little yellow/green cherry tomatoes. So I ended up with all these beautiful tomatoes today. Can I eat them all in a week before they go bad?? Let’s see – three meals a day… I think I can…I think I can….

So..the pineapple tomato is the red and yellow one in the back left..beautiful striations when sliced. Hopefully I will remember to photograph it! There are two Brandywine tomatoes on the far right, several Cherokee purple in the back right, the two blush ones in the front are peach tomatoes (just the color looks like a peach), with a pink egg to their right, a green zebra in the middle back, some very dark cherry tomatoes that I’ve forgotten the name of already, and some elongated yellow, red and striated ones. The pale yellow one on the right is a hybrid. And below are the little cherry tomatoes, which are incredibly ripe and marvelously sweet.

And the cucumbers and mesculun lettucy mix I bought just disappeared under the tomatoes. I still have some peaches and almost half a cantaloupe, so, hard as it was, I did not buy fruit any of the luscious smelling fruit. I did buy sunflowers as well as zinnias – they are just beautiful!!

Two tomato sandwich recipes follow – one for you and one for company:

The Perfect Personal Tomato Sandwich:

• Two slices of homemade bread (this is one place where whole wheat is not as traditional as white bread, but if you insist on whole wheat, use the white wheat, which makes a softer bread).
• 1 large tomato, sliced about 1/2 – 3/4″ thick
• Helman’s mayonnaise (some Southerner’s will dispute this choice of mayo, but this is MY recipe!)
• Spread mayo on each slice of bread, as generously as you dare. Place tomato on 1 slice of bread, cutting tomato slices to cover the bread with a little overlap over the bread sides. Cover with other slice of bread. Do not slice – it just falls apart. Eat carefully over a plate or the sink, with napkins handy. Enjoy!!

Tomato Bacon Sandwiches

Makes 60 hors d’oeuvre sandwiches. (from Gourmet, long, long ago) 

• 8 slices bacon
• 1 ½ cups mayonnaise
• 3 T Dijon-style mustard
• 30 slices homemade-style bread with crusts removed (Pepperidge Farms)
• 5 tomatoes, sliced

 In a large heavy skillet cook the bacon over moderate heat, stirring until it is crisp, transfer to paper towels to drain, and chop it fine. In a bowl stir together the bacon, mayonnaise, and mustard. Spread the bacon mayonnaise on one side of each bread slice, sandwich the tomatoes between the slices, and cut each sandwich into four triangles.

Broiled Cheesy Tomatoes

Cut any tomato in half, and place on a pan or tray with edges (or on foil), with cut sides up. Sprinkle with cheese, either grated hard cheese, parmesan, or small slices of soft cheeses – whatever looks interesting.  Place under a broiler until cheese melts. The tomato will be heated pretty much through, but still have some texture.

note: My favorite is to use Katie’s cheese (described in July 6 post), a hard white cheddar, which melts and drips over the edges as it broils.

Tomato Pie

• 1 cup Bisquick
• 1/4 cup milk
• 4-6 medium tomatoes, coarsely chopped (I usually peel)
• Basil * Chives * Lemon Pepper * Crazy Jane’s Salt* whatever you like with tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cups sharp shredded cheddar
• 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise

 Mix bisquick and milk, pat in a pyrex pie pan. Bake at 450 for about 10 mins. Fill crust with chopped fresh tomatoes. Sprinkle generously with all the spices until green on top. Mix mayo and cheese, then spread on top like you are icing a cake.

Bake at 350 for about 30-35 mins, until turning golden. Let cool some before slicing. (is also excellent served cold the next day or gently reheated)