Pickled Pumpkin Preserve

It’s Halloween and Pumpkin time. Seeing the photographs of carved pumpkins on a friend’s blog reminded me of my grandfather’s Pickled Pumpkin Preserve. I used to wonder how a pumpkin could be transformed into this delicious accompaniment to cooked meals, but was too young to think of asking for the recipe (he died when I was 12). I have searched for the recipe for years, and now, at last – here’s something akin to the recipe Morfar (Grandad) used to make, if my memory serves me right.

My sister tells me that it was at our other grandparents’ we had pickled pumpkin preserve, and she may well be right. I know Morfar grew pumpkins, and seem to remember eating the preserve with steamed cod at their flat in Oslo, while it was served with cooked ‘gravy’ meals and sometimes used in place of cranberry sauce at our other grandparents’ house. The jury remains out – but the memory of the flavour remains – and I suddenly want some! With oven baked salmon, please.




Pickled Pumpkin Preserve

1 kg (2.2 lb) Pumpkin flesh, cut into pieces 2.5cm cubes (1”cubes)
400ml (15 fl oz) spirit (clear) vinegar
750 g (ca ¾ lb) sugar
50g (2 oz) whole ginger

Cut pumpkin in half and remove all seeds and scrape back to the flesh. Cut into smaller segments, peel carefully and cut into cubes. Peel ginger and chop into a few pieces. This can be removed when the preserve is done.
Bring vinegar, sugar and ginger to the boil and add pumpkin cubes. Simmer till the pumpkin pieces are tender and shiny. Ladle pumpkin into sterilised jars, simmer the vinegar and sugar for another 10-15 minutes, until the mixture thickens. Pour over pumpkin, cool and seal.

How long can I keep it before eating it, I wonder? I reckon Christmas time might be good.

Tip: Pickled Pumpkin Preserve should be kept in a cool, dark place.

Did you know that… the original name for pumpkin was the Greek word ‘pepon’, which means large melon? It then mutated to ‘pompon (French) and ‘pumpion’ (English), before the American colonists changed ‘pumpion’ to ‘pumpkin’. Perhaps it was just the matter of illegible handwriting!

When Shakespeare referred to ‘pumpion’ in ‘Merry Wives of Windsor’, he was referring to ‘pumpkin’ – but you all knew that, didn’t you?

But did you know that... Native Americans dried strips of pumpkin and then wove the strips into mats?

And then of course, when the tradition of Jack-o-Lanterns were brought over to America, the colonists found the native pumpkin to be ideal for making their own version.
The tradition began in Ireland, I believe.

Marit’s Gluten Free Version of Paola’s 5-4-3-2-1 Apple Cake

It’s more to converting a recipe to gluten free than merely replacing ordinary wheat flour with the gluten free kind, so being a little inventive is par for the cause.
In making up this recipe I did have to add a little extra milk, as gluten free flour absorbs liquid quicker than wheat flour. Paola suggested that we could replace some or all of the sugar with honey, or add some pureed apple to the cake mixture. I’ll try that out next time I make the cake.
Paola is right in pointing out that it is a fool proof recipe. I didn’t make any mistakes, and it was so good that I had to make it two days running, to make sure everyone got a taste.

Gluten Free 5-4-3-2-1 Apple Cake

5 tbsp gluten free self raising flour (if you’ve only got plain flour, add an extra 1 tsp of baking powder and 2 med eggs, rather than 1 lge)
4 tbsp Demerara sugar
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp semi skimmed milk
1 lge egg
1 tsp baking powder
1 pinch cinnamon
The original called for a pinch of salt, but I avoid using salt in cakes, so omitted it.

For the Topping:

1 apple, peeled, cored and chopped finely (or you could use thin slices)
A little sugar and cinnamon to sprinkle on top of the cake – but be sparing.


Put everything in a bowl and beat well, then pour into an 8”-20cm sandwich tin (greased and dusted with a little gluten free flour). Bake at 180C (fan oven) for ca 25 minutes.


Tip: Use a loose bottomed sandwich tin as this cake is very light and needs to be turned out gently.

Did you know that… The English word ‘cake’ can be traced back to the 13th century and that it derives from the Old Norse word 'kaka' (modern Norwegian = kake).

Gluten Free Banana Loaf with Lemon Icing

Banana Loaf with Lemon Icing

1 cup corn flour
1 cup plain white gluten free flour
1 cup (approx. 5 good tblsps) softened margarine
1 ¼ cup Demerara sugar
2 medium, ripe bananas
3 lge eggs
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla sugar

For the Icing:

4 tblsps icing sugar
Lemon juice to mix (about 1 tblsp)

Cream margarine and sugar together and stir in mashed bananas. I use a good sized mixing bowl, so just mash them against the one side before mixing it all well. Add a little of the flour and stir in the eggs, before adding the rest of the flour together with the baking powder and the vanilla sugar.
Pour into a large, greased 2 lb loaf tin (I like to grease and flour even non-stick tins) and bake at 180C for 1-1 ¼ hour, or until the cake is just firm, and a knife or skewer comes out clean.

Cool for a little while before turning out and mix and add the icing while the cake is still warm.

Tip: For a crunchier icing, use ordinary granulated sugar – or caster sugar - instead of icing sugar and apply to cake while still hot.
This cake is quite fragile, but since making it I have sourced gluten free self raising flour, which have xanthum gum added. This gives the mix back some of the elasticity lost with the removal of gluten. If using self raising flour, just add 1 tsp baking powder instead of the stated 4.

Did you know that… Sir John Mandeville (14th C.) referred to bananas as Apples of Paradise and Long Apples in his manuscript Travels?

A Light Lunch/Cucumber Salad

A Light Lunch/Cucumber Salad

My light lunch did not consist of just cucumber salad. That would be taking the eating snack size meals a bit too far! I did however decide that a light lunch was the order of the day, after last Sunday’s disastrous attempt at eating a nigh-on normal meal. The pain was not going to feast on my stomach again.

I sought out a cucumber salad recipe, as I was having a piece of baked salmon (with a little olive oil), and the two make a very good combination. Besides, four small cucumbers were left on my wall outside the front door the other day, and needed using. My neighbour has kept us in cucumbers for what seems like months. The only time we grew them, they were big and beautiful, but totally inedible. They were bitter, and we don’t know whether it was because of over-feeding – or for not cross-pollinating. No bees in the old greenhouse to do the job – and we were just ignorant first-timers. We haven’t grown them since.

The recipe is a variation on my mother’s recipe, but how much of a variation I don’t know. I have tried to remember what my mother did, but my last attempt at making it went very wrong. I sprinkled the thinly sliced cucumber liberally with salt – a little too liberally as it turned out. I left it in the brine overnight, then rinsed it off the next day, and added cider vinegar as a dressing. It was saltier than the old briny itself.

So here’s my variation:

Cucumber Salad a la Norway

1 large cucumber (or equivalent)

For the dressing:

5 tbsp vinegar (cider vinegar is best, but I used ordinary malt vinegar)
5 tbsp water
1 tsp sugar
A pinch (!) of salt and a little white, ground pepper

Mix the dressing and set aside.

Wash cucumber and cut off any blemishes, but do not peel if the skin is okay. Slice thinly. I use a Norwegian cheese-slicer. It’s ideal for slicing cucumber thinly, peeling carrots – and cutting the cheese in nice thin slices. It’s available here in the UK now, but mine was bought in Norway many years ago, and still going strong, despite being in daily use.

Pour the dressing over the cucumber slices, then set aside in the fridge until cold. Nice with fish, but also with a mixed salad, or as part of a buffet.

Did you know that … the green cucumbers we eat are actually not ripe? The ripe, yellow cucumber is generally too bitter and sour.


Health Benefits:


Despite the cucumber containing mostly water (96 %), it also contains a lot of beneficial vitamins and minerals. Its alkaline-forming minerals represent 64.05%, against 35.95 % acid forming minerals and this ratio apparently means that the cucumber is very good for us. Never mind the doc who said cucumbers are nothing but wind and water!

Eating cucumber regularly is supposedly good for maintaining the alkalinity of the blood, as well as being a natural diuretic.

Surprisingly (to me, anyway), the juice of the cucumber is excellent in treating gastric and duodenal ulcers, as well as hyperacidity.

Combined with carrot, beets and celery juice, cucumber is also beneficial to those of us suffering from arthritis and rheumatic disorders, such as Gout, as it reduces the level of uric acid in the body.

Besides several other benefits (it can be used in the treatment of cholera and urinary disorders), it is also very good for treating ‘skin eruptions’. To speed up its healing effect,it’s best mixed with carrot and lettuce juice.
Regular use of grated cucumber as a face mask will prevent pimples and blackheads, and we all know of its cooling effect on tired eyes.

But did you know that… regular use of cucumber mush on the face can also prevent wrinkles and dry skin? And that cucumber juice promotes hair growth (hopefully not on the face after repeated face masks!), because of its high silicon and sulphur content? This is particularly helpful, apparently, if mixed with lettuce, spinach and carrot juice.

Tip: The vitamins and minerals sit close under the skin, so the cucumber should be eaten with skin intact, if possible.

Gluten Free Challah-style Bread

Looking for different bread recipes to convert to gluten free and try out, I came across Challah bread. Looking through the ingredients it wasn’t much different from the recipe on the back of the gluten free bread flour bag, but that comes out a bit like cake – and I want something more akin to actual bread.
Challah bread is Jewish, and when not made in a bread maker, like mine was, generally plaited. It is traditionally eaten on the Sabbath and other Jewish holidays, with the exception of Passover. Challah is also called ‘egg bread’ as some of the recipes use a large amount of eggs.
Apparently there are as many Challah recipes as there are Jewish cooks - and varying ethnic traditions call for variations in the recipes.
I’d quite like to try the one where the top is brushed with beaten egg and then sprinkled with poppy seeds or sesame seeds. I have been told that this is supposed to represent the manna sent from Heaven to the Israelites as they wandered in the desert.

Tip: This bread is quite sweet. Reduce the amount of sugar for a more savoury loaf, or increase slightly for a sweeter loaf – and add dried fruit if desired.

Did you know that … on the Sabbath, the bread becomes a symbol of holiness?



Gluten Free Challah-style Bread

175 ml (6 fl oz) semi skimmed milk
2 large eggs
450g (14 oz) gluten free bread flour
3 tbsp caster – or granulated – sugar
½ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp or 1 packet dried yeast
6 tbsp olive oil

This makes a small loaf. Use the 450g setting on your bread maker.
Mix milk, eggs and oil in a bowl, then transfer to bread maker. Add flour, salt and sugar, then sprinkle yeast on top. Start machine. After a few minutes, open the lid and with a spatula, loosen the ingredients from the sides of the tin. Close lid and leave until the end of the program.
As gluten free bread dough tend to be a little sticky, using a bread maker is easier than using your hands, making the bread the traditional way. Personally I wouldn’t be able to do all the kneading required anyway – and the bread tastes as good out of the machine.

A Bouquet for Nan

A Bouquet for Nan

‘What are you doing, nan?’
‘Making a cake, sweetheart. What have you been doing?’
‘Picking flowers,’ Molly held out a bouquet of dandelions and buttercups, ‘for you.’
Old Mrs Jones stopped beating the butter and sugar. ‘Well, thank you, Molly!’ She kissed her nose. ‘You’re a good girl.’ She sniffed the bouquet… Ah!
Now where was she? Butter, sugar… ah, eggs. She broke the eggs into a cup, one by one. She had once broken an egg open to find a chick in it. She hadn’t eaten eggs for a long time after that.
‘Could you pass the flour, please, Molly?’
‘Can I put the flowers in?’
‘Yes, of course you can. Flour, not flowers, sweetie. I’ll just mix the eggs in first, then you can stir in the rest.’
Old Mrs Jones turned the oven on - three clicks - and set the timer, click, click, click.
‘What do I do now, nan?’
‘Get the cake tin out for me and I’ll grease it, then you can pour in the mixture.’
‘Okay. Nan?’
‘Yes?’
‘The mixture doesn’t look like it does when mummy makes cakes.’
‘Doesn’t it? Never mind, dear.’ She put the cake in the oven on the middle shelf and turned towards Molly. She was glad of her help since her eyesight failed. ‘Could you get me a vase and fill it with water for me, sweetheart?’
‘What for, nan?’
‘For my flowers, silly.’
‘But nan, I put the flowers in the cake, like you said!’

An acrid smell rose from the oven as the dandelions started to burn.



♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

Gluten Free Broccoli Flan

The ‘Flan’ seems to have originated in ancient Rome, when the Romans first started keeping domesticated chickens so that they could use their eggs. They again consulted the knowledge of the Greek – known for their culinary skills – when faced with a glut of eggs. The Romans then set to and developed a new dish – initially just savoury – now known as Flan. A sweet honey version soon followed.
The word Flan comes from the Latin word Flado (flat cake), and in Old French this became ‘Flaon’, before becoming Flan.

But… is it a quiche or is it a flan?


Quiche

Some say that Quiche originally came from the north-eastern region of France called Alsace, but it seems that it was actually first made in Lothringen – which was under German rule at the time. The word ‘quiche’ comes from the German word ‘kuchen’, meaning cake – and Lorraine – as in Quiche Lorraine, from Lothringen. This seems to suggest that Quiche Lorraine was the original quiche.

Quiche consists of a buttery pastry shell filled with a savoury egg and cream custard. The most classic quiche filling is Lorraine: a bacon and gruyere mixture, although cheese was a later addition. Initially it would have been an egg and cream custard with smoked bacon or pieces of pork added. With added onions it would be transformed to Quiche Alsacienne.

After World War II, quiche became popular further a-field and arrived in the UK, and then the US.

Did you know that… the bottom crust was originally made from bread dough? And that ‘real men don’t eat quiche?’ Well that’s what they said when it first arrived here, apparently, because of its mainly vegetarian ingredients. Hm, so it wasn’t quiche Lorraine they were talking about, then?

It seems that quiche and flan are inter-changeable when speaking of the savoury kinds, so I’ll continue to use both – as we all do – although evidence seems to point to Flan being the origin of both.


Broccoli Flan

1 cup gluten free plain flour
¼ cup margarine, cubed
2 ½-3 tbsp cold water
2 large eggs, beaten

For the Filling:

12 medium sized broccoli florets - or equivalent
1 ½ cup (200ml) single cream
1 cup grated cheese


Steam broccoli until it begins to soften.

Rub together flour and margarine until it resembles bread crumbs, then gradually add cold water and mix well. Get you hands in to knead/pull the dough together. I had a little help from my two year old grandson, Aleksander, who loves cooking with his nan. The next step was to rest it in the fridge for half an hour.

We then got a child’s rolling pin out and rolled the pastry on the floured bread board till it was big enough to cover the base and sides of a 20 cm/8” sandwich tin - previously oiled by his chubby little hands. I pushed the dough up the sides a little more, to make a good sized well for the ‘custard’ mixture. Aleksander then pricked the base with a fork.

Bake at 180C for 10 minutes, then remove from oven, brush with a little beaten egg and bake for another 5 mins.

While the base is baking, mix cream, eggs and cheese, as well as any seasoning. I used a little salt and some freshly ground black pepper.

Lay broccoli in base and pour the mixture evenly over it – spreading the cheese if required.

Bake for 35-40 minutes (a little less if you have a fan oven), or till firm and set and slightly browned.

Nice with a salad!

Tip: I used mild cheddar, but Mature Cheddar, Red Leicester or Gruyere will give you a stronger flavour. Stilton and broccoli is good, too – and spinach instead of broccoli is another variation.