Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

My dear friends in America. You know how important pumpkin spice everything is to the truest of basic chicks and if you're in New England, you know very well that pumpkin spice is the sign that fall is upon us. It's the beacon for chunky sweaters, knee-high boots, black puffy vests, plaid, apple picking and beautiful foliage.

My dear friends in the UK. I've probably done a poor job explaining the religion that is pumpkin spice and why it's so sad that it's lacking in my life here. You say "but you can wear chunky sweaters and plaid and knee-high boots and black puffy vests while apple picking here, what's the problem?". The problem is you can stick a Christmas tree in your living room and wear red and green in July but it doesn't make it Christmas! The same goes for pumpkin spice. You can wear your Boston-fall-finest in England and step on a stray leaf but it's just not the same!!!

 

I've spent the last month looking for canned pumpkin. I know it exists here. I've seen it on the bottom shelf of the 'American' section of the Tesco. But for some reason, when I truly desire it, I can't find it. And now, I have a pumpkin problem. Behold! Pumpkin! And miracles of miracles, this country has finally realized the market of expats obsessed with pumpkin spice and they have given us: Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal. Rationally, I know this is normal oatmeal with sugar and cinnamon and nutmeg and cloves BUT it's the principle of the matter. I fell into the marketing trap and purchased the Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal. Because when it comes to fall, I'm as basic as they come.

 

There have been a number of pumpkin recipes gracing this blog (and many others) over the fall years but this is a first! Because what's more basic than pumpkin spice? Brunch. And so, we have pumpkin spice brunch for one, on the balcony, overlooking the pseudo-foliaged park. Because I will make fall a thing!

 

This recipe made 6 palm-sized pancakes and were perfect with a little maple syrup. No eggs or butter required either! Flour, spices, baking powder and a little bit of brown sugar are mixed in one bowl. Pumpkin and milk in another. They come together to create a beautiful orange batter which is cooked in a lightly oiled frying pan to make pancakes. The end. 

 

Recipe

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salte
• 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup milk

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour through sugar). Add more or less cinnamon or nutmeg as you like.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the milk and pumpkin puree.
3. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture and stir to combine until you can  no longer see any flour.
4. In a lightly oiled and heated pan, cook the pancakes as usual. They may not have as many bubbles as normal pancakes so check the bottom after a few minutes and flip until cooked through.
5. Top with maple syrup. You could also add pecans or chocolate chips to the batter for extra flavor.

My Fair Verona

Some of my favorite 'life journey' movies take place in Italy: the 'Eat' of Eat, Pray, Love and Under the Tuscan Sun, both amazing find-yourself-movies and both involve eating whatever you want. So naturally, before I went to Verona, I did some movie research by watching Letters to Juliet and watching Italian week on The Great British Bake-Off. Beyond that, I didn't know what to expect of Verona so went with a group and was not disappointed. Pretty much everything you eat in Italy will be amazing but if you find yourself in the beautiful and quiet city of Verona, definitely check out some of these sites and restaurants!

1) Ristorante Pizzeria San Matteo Church  - It's pretty hard to pick a bad restaurant in Verona when it comes to food. That may apply to all of Italy. But we closed our eyes and picked random restaurants all weekend long and the food was great. Ristorante Pizzeria San Matteo Church though was a recommended place for pizza on the cheap. Some of our group were splurging on a posh dinner so the rest of us elected for a plebeian experience instead. Our group was initially 12 and that was the overestimated number. That quickly grew to 17...like as we sat in the restaurant and more people met us until we had to be like 'you can't sit with us!'. But the restaurant took it like a champ, accommodating us all. The pizza was amazing all around with everyone finishing their pizzas (they also have gluten-free options). There were three pages of pizzas to choose from so I went for the San Matteo because when in Rome/San Matteo's! The restaurant is inside a converted church so I was expecting some kind of dim churchy atmosphere but it is exactly the opposite. While there are some pieces of the original structure exposed, the walls are painted pink with smokey mirrors where the church windows once were. It's also decorated with 80's style technicolor masterpieces and ceramic/glass/metal sculptures so that was a bit odd. The waitstaff was very nice and patient with our large group and the wine was flowing so if you're in Verona, definitely check it out! It's a little hard to find but on a side alley near Porta Borsari.

2) Sfogliatella - If you're a fan of The Great British Bake-Off, you will recognize this pastry from Italian week which was the week I left for my trip. Un seigno de Dio! And if you're not a fan, get on it. This was the signature challenge, one I will not be attempting, made of many layers of thin pastry and stuffed with chocolate or creme or cheese. Since it's so time-intensive, it didn't seem to be available in all bakeries or shops but I did find it at Tarantella Foods, in the shadow of the Arena. They serve other food there as well, not just pastries, and have English menus. The woman working there asked me 'how is your height?!' when I walked in which was endearing coming from a small Italian woman.

3) Adige Rafting - For a unique view of the city, we took a rafting trip down the Adige. Taking a bus outside the city, we then paddled and floated our way back to the city center, getting a history lesson along the way. The guides were very fun and we had a little race at the end (my boat won, for the record) and it was not a strenuous activity at all with only a couple of rapids when going under some of the bridges. Don't forget to wave 'ciao!' to the people on the river banks!

 

4) Giardini Giusti - I went on this trip with my choir so we had a couple of impromptu performances, one of which was in the Giardini Giusti. Complete with fountains (one has a large family of turtles living in it, another a family of koy fish), a labyrinth, old chapel, look out point, it's a beautiful gem that's quiet and charming. There was a wedding photoshoot happening before we started singing and the setting couldn't have been more perfect. While I can't promise there will be a lovely choir singing when you visit, it's definitely worth taking a rest on one of the stone benches here.

5) Casa di Giulietta - Prior to my trip to Verona, I watched the Amanda Seyfried romcom Letters to Juliet which naturally, takes place in Verona. The premise is Amanda Seyfried is in Verona with her fiance and visits Juliet's balcony (which is not authentic but was installed in the 30's for tourism #itworked) but finds the courtyard filled with women writing letters to Juliet herself. She then sees someone collect them and discovers The Juliet Club who collects and responds to all the letters left for Juliet. Well, it's a romcom so Amanda Seyfried answers a letter she finds hidden in the wall from 50 years ago and falls down a romantic rabbit hole around Italy to reunite lost loves. Well, the wall does exist and people DO leave notes, often attaching them with gum which is unfortunate (and not allowed), and The Juliet Club does answer them (allegedly, I'm anxiously awaiting my reply!). People also leave love locks and touch the statue of Juliet for luck in love. Okay, they grope the statue because it's specifically her boob you're meant to touch for luck. Jury's out on the effectiveness of that tradition as well, FYI.

I was only able to spend a weekend in Verona but the city is an easy bus ride away from Lake Garda and a train ride away from Venice or Bologna. Adventure awaits!!

Thoughts During a Half Marathon

I have a feeling that the majority of people who read this blog are my close friends and family so you probably already saw this because I emailed it to you in thanks for support my recent half marathon for Cancer Research UK. But in case I'm pleasantly surprised (or you didn't donate but are still a friend), I recently ran a half marathon for Cancer Research UK! And it was tough!! It was my third half so maybe I thought I had this down and went into it a little too prepared to kick butt and less mentally prepared to get through it. Either way, here is a summary of what it feels like as told by the stages of grief:

1. Denial- Miles 1-4 when you're in denial about how difficult this is going to be. When you're still surrounded by people chatting and wearing bells and tutus, excitedly starting this journey. Crushing your pace and feeling on top of the world like "I've so got this, acing it, it's going to be so easy".
2. Anger- Miles 5-7 when you're mad at your past denying self for running too fast and now you have to conquer the one hill on the course. Or was that the hill back there? Is there another hill?? Why didn't you take the snacks they were handing out? Why didn't you go to the bathroom one last time? Why did you even sign up for this?? You crazy fool. 

   

3. Bargaining- Mile 8-10 when you're just trying to get from one mile marker to the next. If you make it to the mile 9 sign, then you can take another snack. If you make it to the mile 10 marker, your mind will shut down and your body will just take over and you will wake up at the finish line. If you finish this race, you never have to run again.
4. Depression- Mile 11-12 when you know you aren't going to make it, you're going to be on this course for hours and hours and your spectators will wonder where you are. When you regret sharing your bib number and tracking link with anyone. When you have the thought "I'm never running again. Period". When you ask part way through mile 12 how much further and are told "you're not far". Lies. So far. 
5. Acceptance- Mile 13 when you realize you are going to make it after all and it doesn't matter if it's not your best time, you made it and someone still gets a video of you actually running as proof. When you realize you can have a burger, sweet potato fries, a beer, cookie, hot chocolate, macaroni and cheese and STILL not make up the calories you just burned. When you accept this race wasn't for you anyways and that's something to be proud of. 

So while I am currently still in the "I'm never running again" mindset, I'm sure that will pass soon enough. And after that comes "okay, I'll run again but I'm never running a half marathon again" which I'm sure will also pass. We shall see....

Great British Bake-Off Week 4: Millionaire Shortbread

We'll get back to Week 3, the terrifying bread week, at a later date. My efforts to make bread have not been very successful, fail proving! So I'm taking it to the pros, more to come.

Something I do know and enjoy, unlike Prue, are sweet things! I'm not sure you should confess to not liking sweet things when you're the judge on a BAKING show. Just sayin'.

Anyways, a friend of mine makes something similar to this shortbread but it uses crackers and some peanut butter chips instead. So it's a low maintenance version of this and it's amazing. But I'm also sworn to secrecy so I'll do the British version instead. This isn't really a common thing in the US but shortbread is a known, as are caramel and chocolate, just as separate entities.

I've made caramel once before and learned the hard way, don't poke the hot caramel. Like for real, even when it's out of the pan and is spilled on your counter, it's not safe. Blistering will happen. Much pain and sorrow WILL HAPPEN. Just don't do it, okay? Okay.

In theory, this is a simple recipe. The shortbread consists of cubed butter (no softening required!), flour and sugar which is mixed together by hand and then pressed into a square baking tin. Once it is browned, you can add the caramel which is just melted butter, golden syrup and condensed milk. And once the caramel is set and cooled, you just add melted chocolate. Simple.

But when the caramel ingredients are melting and you take a moment to enjoy the sunset and then realize you've left the caramel unattended and even though it's supposed to boil, it's somehow burnt a bit and you can tell from stirring that you've burnt the pan as well--well, then it becomes more complicated.

Never fear though, the caramel was salvaged. If there's one thing I learned from Bake Off, you don't throw the whole baked Alaska out with the soft ice cream, ammiright? True fans know what I'm talking about. So I used the caramel anyways which had the nice flavor of toasted marshmallow. The only problem was it never fully set, it stayed as a thick goo. So when I cut the squares, it became a caramel sandwich which oozed out.

In a bin. This is not a recommended serving suggestion for Baked Alaska. #GBBO #BINGATE pic.twitter.com/FqgNX9f5Lc

— BBC One (@BBCOne) August 27, 2014

They were still tasty and they were still mass consumed by my colleagues as well. I brought them in to raise funds for a charity half marathon I'm running in less than 2 weeks! So maybe they ate them out of charity, twice over.

Recipe
Crust

• 225g plain flour
• 175g unsalted butter, cold and cubed
• 75g sugar

1. In a food processor, pulse together the flour and cubed butter until crumbly. Alternatively, mix by hand in a medium bowl until the butter is well incorporated and the mixture is crumbly.
2. Add the sugar and mix to combine.
3. In a parchment lined square baking tin, dump the dough and press evenly to fill the pan.
4. Bake in the oven at 150C (300F) for 15-30 minutes until slightly browned.
5. Allow to cool before adding the caramel.

Caramel

• 150g unsalted butter
• 379g condensed milk
• 100g golden syrup

1. In a saucepan, melt the butter, milk and golden syrup together.
2. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring frequently, until it is a golden brown and has thickened.
3. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
4. Once cooled, pour the caramel over the shortbread, still in the baking tin. Allow the caramel to cool and set completely before adding the chocolate layer.

Chocolate

• 350g dark chocolate

1. In a double boiler, melt the chocolate.
2. Pour on top of the caramel.
3. Allow to set before cutting into squares. The easiest way to do this is to lift the mass out of the tin by the parchment paper edges and cut on a cutting board (rather than cutting in the tin).

Great British Bake Off - Week 2: Biscuits

Here in good ole England, biscuits are cookies and cookies are not a thing. But biscuits are not the exact same thing as cookies in the US, they tend to be harder and crispier, ideal for tea dunking. Everything I've learned about biscuits, I've learned from Great British Bake Off. For example:

1. Biscuits must not be soft, they are meant to be softened by a cupper (that's what the local kids call cup of tea). 
2. Two is the number of thine dunking, no more, no less. Three dunkings is right out! And also catastrophic as the biscuit will pull a Titanic, break in half and be lost to the deep depths of your tea.
3. Biscotti means twice-baked. 10 points to Gryffindor (the name of my next pub quiz team, for sure)! But actually, that did win my trivia team points in a food-themed quiz. 
4. I'll never be able to make biscuits as pretty as Biscuiteers (unless I take their icing course where I assume I will become an icing wizard) so I'll just take pictures and stalk them on Instagram instead. 

   
5. I think gingerbread houses could really take some lessons from the biscuit show stoppers from last week's episode, like for real. Those were masterful and I can barely get a ready-made kit to frost together long enough to be the centrepiece of a Christmas spread.

Anyone have a strong biscuit recipe? I may just stick to gingersnaps until then!