The Pumpkin Queen Has Returned

Well it certainly has been a good long while since I've written a post here on the beloved UYS.  I think about it often, but between the two moves that I've made since Sar and I parted ways, the new job I've started, and my general laziness (le sigh), I've neglected to share with anyone the delicious things I've been cooking.

I would also like to admit that I don't bake nearly as much bread as I did when I was with Sar.  Its hard to keep up with bread-baking when you're the only bread-baker in the home.  It's much more of a team sport.

So what brought me back?  Pumpkin, obviously.  And the fact that I now have space for my KitchenAid in my new apartment!!!

{Queue the fireworks and celebratory brass band}

Now, as much as I loved to join Sar in a 15 minute kneading relay, there is something to be said for a beautiful stand-mixer that will do that for you.  I confess that many a delicious-looking bread recipe got passed over by me since leaving the Upper East Side because I didn't have the counter space or energy to be The Lone Kneader.  And now that I have granite countertops, crumbs tend to get lost in the dark/speckled surface and it freaks me out that I never have it clean enough.  I don't want to knead any errant crumbs or God-knows-what into my breads, now do I??  So the KitchenAid really just does the trick.  No messes or sore arms; only delicious baked goods.

So what did I bake this weekend?  Pumpkin Bagels! And holy cow are they good.  I used this recipe for Spiced Pumpkin Bagels from The Galley Gormet and made only the slightest alterations, so I'll share those here, but you'll need to follow Nicole's lovely post to get all of the deets. 



• While I prefer adding the spices individually as her recipe calls for, I have a small container of Pumpkin Pie Spice that I'm trying to use up.  I replaced all of her spices with 2 teaspoons of Pumpkin Pie Spice, an extra dash of cinnamon because it's amazing, and also a dash of ground cloves because I feel like they belong there, too.
• I used dark brown sugar instead of light because a) it's all I ever buy and b) I really like molasses so it just appeals to me more.  I think straight molasses would be too over-powering to add to the recipe, though.
• I didn't do this, but will when I make the bagels again...add salt.  I think the recipe needs 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of salt added to balance the sweet flavors and add a little depth.  The OJ gives it a little something, but I missed the balance that salt brings to the table.
• I added about 2-3 tablespoons of malted barley syrup to the water that I boiled the bagels in and I reduced their boil time to 1 minute per side because I was lazy and also because I've read that 1 minute is about all you need.  I don't feel too strongly on that timing either way, for the record. Do as you please :)

Take a look at these beauties!

The bagels smell just like fall and had that perfect crunchy outside and completely soft and chewy inside.  That's bagel heaven, right there.

So Sar and I had a good long chat and I think we're going to try to keep up with this blog better.  And we also plan on adding posts about the other non-yeasted foods that we cook...both baked and otherwise.  We're not going to change the name, though, because it's too clever to give up.  Here's to The Upper Yeast Side and beyond!

XOXO,

Lil

SOURDOUGH Pumpkin Raisin Muffins

For these muffins I used the Pumpkin-Cranberry Muffins from Versatile Vegetarian Kitchen.  I made some minor modifications...

Some spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger) in with the dry ingredients.

Raisins instead of cranberries.

And some sprinkled sugar in the raw on top.  

They rose beautifully.  The sourdough is happy again.

Sometimes I get a minor sourdough aftertaste but other than that they taste like a pumpkin-y, raisin-y, sweet hearty muffin.

Looking forward to breakfast (as always),
Sarah

Halloween Pumpkin-Maple Rolls

Live from Brooklyn: Halloween Pumpkin-Maple Rolls!

We (Emily, Yi and I) were inspired by this Tasty Kitchin recipe.  We modified Lauren's recipe by using only a scant 1/2 cup of sugar in the dough, adding a little bit of pumpkin puree, Tazo Black Chai Tea concentrate, extra cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice to the filling.

All photos courtesy of Yi.

It was not the cleanest process....

Nor was I particularly accurate in cutting the rolls equally...

Pre-icing drizzle:

Drizzle process shots:

These sticky rolls were at least as good as they look in Yi's photographs.

Next time ideas include: 

1. Adding more pumpkin to the dough and modifying the amount of liquid (water/milk) so that we get the right consistency
2. Rolling out the dough more thinly to get lots of layers.  
3. And along with that, not trying to get all of the filling into the rolling process because it will just ooze out the ends anyways.  Instead, saving what looks like it will ooze and adding it on top before baking.  
4. Make less icing - maybe even half as much.  We didn't use all and they were perfectly sweet and sticky.

Happy Halloween!  Lily is going to post about some Seitan (read Satan) Stew soon so stay tuned.  The pictures are half as good but the delicious factor is comparable.  

Boo,

Sar

Pumpkin Coffeecake = Love

In my heaven it’ll be pumpkin season all year.  This weekend I rang in pumpkin season with a bang: pumpkin beer on Friday and TWO pumpkin dishes yesterday.   I woke up craving coffeecake and realized that I had a ton of cake flour leftover from Dennis’ birthday cake, so it made perfect sense to get baking ASAP.  I was also excited to use the oven with our brand-new knobs that Andy so skillfully grabbed off of a stove that was being removed from another apartment.  Look at this beauty:

I wish you knew what the old knob looked like.  Thanks, Andy!

I had found a recipe for coffeecake on Smitten Kitchen and it looked fabulous, but it was meant to be a rhubarb coffeecake and I had no rhubarb and wasn’t in the mood for a fruity cake.  SK’s recipe did have a fantastic crumb topping that included cinnamon and ginger – both of which naturally go well with pumpkin.   I had almost no choice but to make this a pumpkin coffeecake. 

True to my pumpkin-loving ways, I have an entirely pumpkin cookbook (A Harvest of Pumpkins and Squash by Lou Seibert Pappas) that has a delicious looking walnut-cranberry pumpkin coffeecake recipe (I haven’t tried that one yet).   This recipe had no crumble, though, so I decided to go with a hybrid and take my favorite parts of each recipe and combine them.  The result was to die for – this cake is truly fabulous.

Pumpkin Coffeecake

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen’s Big Crumb Coffeecake & Lou Seibert Pappas’ Cranberry-Walnut Pumpkin Coffeecake

Crumbs:

1/3 cup dark brown sugar


1/3 cup granulated sugar


1 teaspoon ground cinnamon


1/2 teaspoon ground ginger


1/8 teaspoon salt


1/2 cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) butter, melted


1 3/4 cups cake flour

Combine and set aside.  If you're like us and have no real kitchen and no real living room, you can let your crumbs hang out with the herbs.  

I love our herb garden.

Although, now that I'm thinking about it, our kitchen/living room really is a living room...since there's not many other places in this apartment to do your living.  That's neither here nor there - now on with the coffeecake!

Cake:

1 ¼ cups cake flour

1/3 cup yellow cornmeal

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

½ cup sugar

2 eggs

6 tablespoons softened butter

1/3 cup sour cream

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 cup chopped and dry roasted walnuts

To make the batter:  

1) Roast the chopped nuts in a 350 degree F oven for 10 minutes until fragrant but not visibly browned.  Leave the oven on for baking the cake.

 I love our well-used cookie sheets.

2) Allow the nuts to cool on the cookie sheet while you combine all cake ingredients up through sugar and stir or sift to combine them.

3) In a separate bowl, do the same with the eggs through the pumpkin and whisk to make sure it's good and homogenized (SAT word).

I love our new couch with its weird cover.

I also love that the coffee table plays a large role in our cooking endeavors.

I also love my new computer - all the better for blogging.

4) Now stir the dry into the wet and mix only enough to combine everything - really try to restrain yourself.  I love to stir, so I can understand why that could be difficult.

5)  Fold the walnuts in gently so that they're evenly distributed throughout the batter.

6) Pour the batter into a buttered/floured 8"by8" or 9"x9" baking dish.  Use your hands to crumble the crumb topping evenly over the batter.  Make about 1/2 inch-or-so sized crumbs.

I've loved cooking in this pyrex dish since I was little.  

Thank goodness my mom had two so I could steal one.

7) Pop the crumb-topped beauty into the oven for 40-45 minutes or until the top is nicely brown and a knife comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cake.

I don't love our tiny stove.  But we make do.

8) Let cool for a bit...but only long enough so that you wont hurt yourself when taking the first, most spectacular, bite :)

I LOVE this cake!

I highly suggest eating a piece of this when it’s still warm – ice cream wouldn’t be a bad addition, although it’s very moist on its own.  It was perfect for breakfast this morning alongside some vanilla yogurt (Sar’s suggestion) and coffee, obviously.

In case you’re wondering, the other pumpkin dish I made was pumpkin soup from Jacques Pepin’s Fast Food My Way.  It was outrageously simple and delicious: onion, celery, garlic, veggie broth, and the leftover pumpkin.  As suggested in the book, I toasted some walnuts with a few dashes of salt and cayenne and enjoyed those and a dollop of sour cream with the soup.  What's not to love about a pumpkin-filled meal?

Happy fall!

-Lil