Skip to main content

Pumpkin Potluck!

Every year, for the past five years, we've headed to the not-too-distant wilderness for an annual Halloween camping trip. Sugar-Nazi that I am - notice the witch costume which isn't too far from the truth most days of the year! - this camping trip is a way to ensure that my kids get to enjoy Halloween festivities such as trick-or-treating (just the sites for the families who have joined us) but we aren't bombarded with a bunch of stuff we aren't going to eat.

We have a pumpkin carving contest, we potluck, we trick-or-treat, we camp, and we have a blast. We all bring appetizers, whatever we want to toss on the grill, and shared potluck dishes for an evening feast. I won't tip my witch's hat before the trip, but I'm excited about the dishes I've picked as my contributions this year.

Last year I brought a pumpkin soup, some pumpkin-shaped cheese balls, and pumpkin-ginger truffles. But my favorite dish was a Pumpkin Pâté.

Pumpkin Pâté
2 C pumpkin puree
2 C raw cashews (soaked and drained)
1/2 C water (use soaked nut salted water)
1/4 C organic maple-agave syrup (sweeten to taste)
3 T pumpkin seed oil
1/2 t pink Himalaya salt (salt to taste)
1/4 C tangerine juice (use lemon juice for a more tart flavor)
1 t cinnamon
1 t nutmeg
1 t ground ginger
1/2 tsp cayenne

1. Soak the raw cashews for 30 minutes in salted water. Drain, but reserve the water for use in the dip.

2. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

3. Add the drained cashews, pumpkin, maple-agave syrup, tangerine juice, oil, salt and spices to a food processor or high speed blender.

4. Add the water in a few splashes at a time. Process until the desired texture is reached.

5. Season to taste. Add in more spices/salt/sweetener/tangerine juice as you wish. You can also add in additional flavor changers like harissa for a smoky, spicy taste; or crushed sage for a warm herb flavor; or extra black pepper for a little kick.

6. Pour your pâté into your baking serving dish. Shallow dishes will result in a firmer/drier end product. Deep dishes will keep your smooth creamy texture.

7. For a shallow dish, bake at 250 for 50+ minutes. For the deep dish where you only want to warm the center and crisp the top you only need to bake at 250 for 20-30 minutes. The pâté will dry out the longer you bake it.

8. Plating. Serve warm or chilled. You can also add a drizzle of pumpkin seed oil and/or maple-agave syrup over top.

Comments

  1. camilla...i love this recipe...YUM!

    ReplyDelete
  2. ooh this is too cool Camilla! Thanks for sharing! I bet this is a much-anticipated annual event !!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Meyer Lemon Custard-Filled Matcha Turtles #BreadBakers

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely bread by following our  Pinterest board  right here. Links are also updated after each event on the  Bread Bakers home page .  We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. This month Stacy of Food Lust People Love  is hosting and she wrote: "Your bread can be large, as in one big animal, or small - animal-shaped rolls. Use your imagination! Points for flavor and shape!" If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send an email with your blog URL to Stacy at foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com. Here's the animal-shaped bread basket from the #BreadBakers... Beef and Sweet Onion Dim Sum Pandas from Karen's Kitchen Stories Bird Bread Rolls from Ambrosia Easter Bunny Buns from Cook with Renu Ham and Cheese Elephant Rolls from Food Lust People Love Hedgehog Bread from Making Mir

Connecticut Lobster Rolls, Canned Lobster Bisque, and a 2019 Henry Fessy 'Maître Bonhome' Viré-Clessé #Winophiles

This month the French Winophiles group is looking at affordable wines from Burgundy.  Host Cindy of Grape Experiences wrote: "Burgundy, or Bourgogne, is known for its wines of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir... as well as Aligote, Gamay, Sauvignon, César, Pinot Beurot, Sacy, Melon in lesser quantities. Many of the well-known wines are quite expensive, but there are plenty of values to be found." Read her invitation here. And there won't be a Twitter chat for this event, so you will have to dive into the articles themselves to read about our pairings and findings. Here's the line-up... Wendy Klik from A Day in the Life on the Farm enjoys Domaine Chevillon Chezeaux Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits, 2018 Paired with a Maple Pecan Chicken . Camilla Mann from Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares her love of Connecticut Lobster Rolls, Canned Lobster Bisque, and a 2019 Henry Fessy 'Maître Bonhome' Viré-Clessé. Jeff Burrows of FoodWineClick! explains why we should Look t

Quick Pickled Red Onions and Radishes

If you've been reading my blog for even a short amount of time, you probably know how much I love to pickle things. I was just telling a friend you can pickle - with vinegar - or you can ferment - with salt - for similar delicious effect. The latter has digestive benefits and I love to do that, but when I need that pop of sour flavor quickly, I whip up quick pickles that are ready in as little as a day or two. I've Pickled Blueberries , Pickled Asparagus , Pickled Cranberries , Pickled Pumpkin , and even Pickled Chard Stems ! This I did last night for an upcoming recipe challenge that requires I include radishes. Ummmm...of course I'm pickling them! Ingredients  makes 1 quart jar radishes, trimmed and sliced organic red onions, peeled and thinly sliced (I used a mandolin slicer) 3/4 C vinegar (I used white distilled vinegar) 3/4 C water 3 T organic granulated sugar 1 T salt (I used some grey sea salt) 6 to 8 grinds of black pepper Proce