Friday, 10 October 2014

It's The Great Pumpkin









I've been feeling extremely under the weather for the last week. I spent an entire day in bed yesterday which I hardly ever do. Anyway enough of the woe is me. When I'm feeling crummy (v.punny) I like to bake: cakes, bread, puddings- it all brings a little cheer to an otherwise dull day. 

Pumpkin pie is something I've never made before today. I had a rather bad run in with it as a child when my mum forgot to put the sugar in (whoops!) and for a number of years I avoided nibbling on any pumpkiny products, deeming them all flavourless and bland. However, last year I was invited for Thanksgiving dinner by a very good Canadian friend of mine and there I sampled the most delicious pumpkin pie; I was converted, it is light, delicious and full of complex flavour. I truly do love it, and for the last week I've been craving a slice. So today for a little light activity during my bout of flu I decided to bake one.

 I followed a recipe from The Guardian which actually turned out to be very time consuming (I'd probably do it a little differently next time). Ever the maverick I made a few additions in the way of adding ground ginger to my pastry (adds a lovely warmth) and nutmeg to the filling as well as substituting the evaporated milk (yuck!) for whipping cream.  I also added much more of each spice than stated as I feel English recipes often tend to under spice. I think next time I might not blind bake the pastry as I'm really not convinced it needed it.  Overall, the results were pretty tasty! It had a lovely colour and the the pastry was delicious; thin and crisp (no soggy bottoms here!)

What recipes have you all tried out recently? I'm always after inspiration!

I'm hoping to be back on my feet next week; I have an exciting project in the works and lots of photographs to shoot!

Happy pumpkin season all! I sadly can't find the full episode online but here's a clip from It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown



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9 comments:

  1. hippyatheart10 October 2014 at 12:07

    looks amazingly yummy!!

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  2. freckleface10 October 2014 at 13:43

    Our American friend always throws a Thanksgiving party for which she makes pumpkin pie. It surprised me too! Hope you are feeling better soon. We've been poorly this week too. I Rang in sick for the first time in 4 years, but guess what, I baked too. Nothing exotic, just crumble. Maybe it's a symptom of having the lurgy? X

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  3. The Dainty Dolls House10 October 2014 at 14:04

    Mmmm...so good :) I love this. And The Great Pumpkin episode from the Peanuts comic was a favourite as a child as well. This recipe is slightly different from the one I use that I brought with me from America. I also have found that instead of using pie crust, it's nice to use crushed up digestive biscuits as well, just the regular ones without chocolate. They work well. Am glad you liked it :))) Have a wonderful weekend doll xx

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  4. Connie10 October 2014 at 16:05

    This a mom speaking here: pumpkin pie is FULL of vitamins!!! Good choice. You are eating your dessert AND your vegetables. Lovely yummy photos. Hope you're feeling better.

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  5. Sydney10 October 2014 at 19:44

    I've had a real itching to try pumpkin products this year, seemingly out of no where and have been eying up pumpkin pie recipes. Mentioning it to other English people has gotten me a resounding "Urgh!" so I'm glad to hear something positive at last and will definitely keep your advice about under seasoning in mind. I've bought a miniature pumpkin to attempt a soup with first as it felt like a safe place to begin!

    I hope you're feeling better!

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  6. Unknown11 October 2014 at 12:36

    One of my favourite things ever is pumpkin pie though I've never made one yet! Yours looks wonderful, I'm going to have to give it a try :) Hope you feel better very soon! XXX

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  7. Vix14 October 2014 at 11:16

    I've never tried pumpkin pie. I've had it in soups and curries and love it but I'm not really a fan of sweet stuff. Hope you feel better now. x

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  8. Lostvestige14 October 2014 at 15:15

    Hope you are feeling a lot better! mmm that homemade pumpkin pie looks delicious! I've never had it homemade and I would definitely love to try it.

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  9. Anonymous19 October 2014 at 13:01

    It looks great! I just bought one yesterday too :) You can join my giveaway here if you like, you can have the chance to win a cardigan http://fashionskyfall.wordpress.com/2014/10/15/cardigan-giveaway/

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