Sunday 8 November 2015

Pumpkin Pie + Gingerbread Maple Cookies + Autumn Tomato Tart: 31 October-6 November 2015.

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful




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"O people, do your tasks with energy.
Because when you become weary (of prayers and worshipping), Allah becomes weary of recording blessings. 
The most pleasant effort to Allah is that which is little but constant".
{Bukhari}

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guys! how are you? is it raining outside? is it dark and grey? because that's what it's been like here the entire week. days that pass in darkness and you're not even sure why you opened the curtains in the morning.

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so, what to do? stay in and bake of course. even the weather is encouraging a full-on bake session. this week, I baked cookies inspired by my favourite candle and my first ever pumpkin pie.
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I've also been eating way too much toast (peanut butter + strawberry jam) in the middle of the day along with hot tea (less milk + no sugar, please) because we're all ill. the coughs and colds are in full swing in this house. :( things were cheered up though in the week with my new favourite comfort food (Hungarian!) and a tomato tart in autumn because my tomato plants still think its summer! alhamdulillah. ;)

here's more from my week:

 Saturday: a beautiful sunrise to start the weekend.
subhanallah, you can't beat an autumn sunrise.
cooking macaroni cheese for dinner.
I topped mine with spicy pickled jalapeno slices.
 Sunday: finally deciding to cook my beautiful pumpkins.
first, they were sliced in half.
the seeds were scooped out.
and, in they went to roast.
roasted and ready to use.
then, a spot of bread baking.
I used this recipe but used both white and wholemeal flour.
whilst the bread was proving, I baked some cookies inspired by this gingerbread maple candle.
and, of course, that meant plenty of maple syrup and ground ginger.
and, these adorable measuring cups.
pre-bake.
post-bake. I was super lazy and dumped all the cookie dough into a cake tin just like this.
goodness out ready for dinner.
plenty of slicing.
super juicy.
new favourite.
Monday: homemade bread at breakfast.
today, I finally decided to bake a pumpkin pie. my first one ever!
pumpkins ready to go!
the flesh was scooped into a bowl.
and, blended with a little milk to make homemade pumpkin puree.
pastry was made, rested and rolled.
shaped and crimped into a pie dish.
the pumpkin puree was put into a pan with sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg and salt.
the pumpkin was cooked for a few minutes whilst cream and eggs were whisked in a separate bowl.
the two were combined.
and, into the pie dish it went.
time to bake!
the leftover filling wasn't wasted.
it was baked in the oven to become a gluten-free baked pumpkin mousse - perfect for my cousin!
the pie was baked and left to cool completely.
Tuesday: the next morning, it was sliced.
and, enjoyed. so what do I think of pumpkin pie? well, it didn't really blow me away. the recipe I used is here.
later, more pastry was rolled.
a filling was made with tomatoes and onions. once cooled, along with grated Cheddar ..
... they were wrapped and crimped into the pastry.

baked!

eaten with chilli garlic greens <-- Savoy cabbage + broccoli + Brussels sprouts.
then, chicken was marinaded.
also, this curry was on the go with added potatoes.
ooh, and I made these oven fries! so good.
Wednesday: you can't beat thin fries though.
with plenty of salt.
eaten with spicy roast chicken tikka and greens.
 Thursday: dark November mornings mean gingerbread pancakes.
fragrant pastes frying at lunch.
to make this Thai noodle soup.
plenty of toast and tea happening these days because we're all ill.
crispy toast + smooth peanut butter + strawberry jam.
chicken frying for dinner.
prepping.
beautiful sauce.
after a slow simmer, dinner is done.
a little Hungarian comfort food.
and, definitely one of my new favourite meals.
 Friday: such a dark, gloomy day here today. so, we decided to brighten things up with a little summer in autumn.
plenty of garlic was sliced in half.
these tiny garlic bulbs are from Pakistan. they're a pain to peel so we roasted them.
they were drizzled with olive oil, wrapped in foil and thrown into a hot oven. you can see the full method here.
so, how to bring summer into autumn? by baking an autumn tomato tart, of course. most of these tomatoes were grown in our garden.
sliced and under the grill.
pricking!
blind-baked / grilled.
the garlic is done!
squeezed out of its skin and mashed.
and, spread over the base.
on go the tomatoes along with fresh chives, thyme and oregano.
baked!
summer lunch on a horrendously rainy November afternoon. I was inspired by this recipe.

this time one year ago:
apple pie cookies + autumn sunrises + flourless chocolate cake

lately, on the blog:

Spice Enthusiast
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