Pumpkin Cupcakes with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

So much for summer -- Fall has arrived in all it's glory. It's really my favorite season with all the great colors and the chill in the air. Ok, the chill in the air never really left this year except for a couple weeks in September, but who's counting?

This "summer" I've been busy doing lefse classes and making lefse for the farmers market in Bemidji, but a couple weeks ago, I thought I should make something with some fall flavors, so I thought pumpkin. And I found these great cupcake papers online (I know, most people don't get excited by cupcake wrappers, but that's just me) so I made some pumpkin cupcakes and I thought I'd use my tried and true cream cheese frosting, but this time with some orange zest thrown in. Well, they were a big hit at the market and have been every week since.

The recipe is really pretty easy and you can use fresh (baked and mashed) or canned pumpkin.

Pumpkin Cupcakes

(Makes about 18 large or 24 regular cupcakes)

Mix dry ingredients together:

3 cups AP flour

1 Tbls. Pumpkin Pie Spice (I mix up my own version using cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg and ginger, but you can buy it pre-mixed)

2 1/2 Tsp. Baking Soda

1 Tsp. Baking Powder

1 Tsp. Salt

1 1/2 Cups Sugar

In another bowl, mix wet ingredients together:

1/2 Cup buttermilk

About 2 cups mashed pumpkin (or one 15 oz can)

4 Large Eggs
3/4 Cup Vegetable Oil

Combine wet and dry until completely mixed.

Scoop into cupcake papers and bake at 350 for 25 mins. or until toothpick comes out clean.

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

1- 8 oz package Cream Cheese, softened

2 sticks butter, softened

1-16 oz bag powdered sugar

Zest of one orange, plus a tablespoon juice

Mix well until creamy

Frost cupcakes when they are completely cool. (I use a pastry bag with a large round tip.)

Garden Vegetable Chowder

The string beans have started to produce so one of my favorite ways to use them is in a chowder. The great thing about this soup is you can use just about any kind of vegetable you might have. Normally, I wouldn't be thinking about making soups at this time of the year, but since it's been so cold this summer, it seems like the perfect thing to eat.

There are dozens of variations of this basic recipe, so feel free to experiment.

Garden Vegetable Chowder

Cut 2-3 slices of bacon into bite size pieces and fry in a large pot until crispy. Remove bacon and drain excess fat, leaving 2-3 tablespoons. (You could also use Italian sausage instead of bacon.)

While the bacon is frying, chop the following into about 1/2" pieces:
1 Medium Onion
3 Carrots
2 Celery Stalks
2-3 potatoes (Red skinned are great for this, but any kind will work.)
1/2 Rutabega
1 cup green and/or yellow string beans
Also, cut the kernels from 1-2 ears of corn.

Add carrots, rutabega, celery and onion to pot. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and simmer about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the remaining vegetables and simmer another 5 minutes.

Add 4-5 cups chicken stock and 1 cup of water to the pot. (If using store bought stock, use low-sodium stock.)

Simmer over medium-low heat until all vegetables are tender (about 10-15 minutes).

Return bacon to the pot
Add 1/2 cup heavy cream (Optional, but it's really good!)
Add 2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs (optional) (parsley, chives and thyme are all good choices)

Adjust seasoning, if necessary.

Serve with cornbread or biscuits.

Strawberries!

Everything's a little late this year because it's been so cold, but the strawberries finally ripened and they're sweet. There's a pick-your-own strawberry farm south of Bagley [Ter-Lee Gardens] that grows beautiful berries in addition to other organic fruits and vegetables.

I went out on their opening day and picked a couple pails. We ate as many as we could right out of the bucket, but I made most of them into jam and jelly. I'll post the recipes soon.

Rhubarb has arrived!

After many fits and starts, spring has apparently arrived. I'm still sort of leary of letting my guard down completely -- you never know if we'll get one of those June snow storms -- but for now, it's warm. And along with spring, comes one of my favorite foods: rhubarb. I'm not sure why I like it so much. Maybe it's because it's one of the first things ready in the garden every year. Or because it's tart -- and I like tart. Most people either love it or hate it -- kind of like lutefisk, I guess.

I'm really kind of a fanatic about it. I've been making rhubarb crisps and crumbles, rhubarb cupcakes and muffins, rhubarb sauce and jam and I've got about a dozen packages of rhubarb in the freezer for the rest of the year. (That's not nearly enough, but I'll keep working on it.) I also made rhubarb soda pop this year. It tasts pretty good, but I'm having trouble keeping the bubbles in.

Some people like strawberries in their rhubarb, but I'm more of a purist -- just the rhubarb, please.

Picking rhubarb is fun too. You have to find the stalks that are ready to pick, then pull it with just the right amount of pressure to get the root end along with the stalk. If you pull too fast, it will snap in half--the sign of an amature rhubarb puller for sure.

The big green leaves are pretty impressive too. They're strong and dark crinkly green -- and everyone says they're poisonous. I think I'll take their word for it.

Aunt Delores and Mom trimming leaves
of the first batch of the season.

Cut up rhubarb ready for a crisp.

Adding crumbly topping to the crisp.

My Favorite Rhubarb Crisp

This recipe is very forgiving. You can adjust the amount of rhubarb, the size of the pan and the amount of sugar you use. It will turn out great.

6 cups cut up rhubarb (about 1" pieces)

1 T. flour

2 T. sugar (more, if you like it sweeter)

Pinch of salt

Mix the above ingredients and spread into a buttered 9x13 pan. (The size of the pan is flexible -- use whatever you have.)

Crumble Topping

1 stick of butter, softened

1/2 C. Flour

1/2 C. White sugar

1/2 C. Brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 C. Oatmeal (opt.)

1/2 teaspoon ginger (opt.)

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (opt.)

1/2 C. chopped nuts (opt.) Walnuts are great for this.

Mix everything together untill it's crumbly and holds together if you squeeze it -- like wet sand. Spread evenly over the rhubarb.

Bake for about an hour at 350 -- until the crust is brown and the rhubarb is bubbly.

Let it cool a bit before you serve it or you'll burn your face off. Serve with vanilla ice cream or real whipped cream.

Another thing I like to do with this is let it cool completely, then mix it into softened ice cream and put it back in the freezer. Now you have rhubarb crisp ice cream. Yum!

Spring Vegetables

I originally wrote this article for a magazine which published it and never paid me, so I thought I might as well publish it myself.  -Quinn

Nothing tastes as sweet as the first vegetables of the season. Fresh asparagus, ramps and edible ferns are a sure sign that the subzero days are behind us. A little salt and pepper will bring out the flavor of any vegetable, but try these variations if you’re looking for a little more excitement.

Sautéed Spring Vegetables
This technique is great for dinner parties because it works with almost any vegetable and you can blanch them up to a day ahead and store them in the fridge, then give them a quick sauté to reheat them just before serving.

Blanch
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add a handful of sea salt. (You want the water to be salty.) Drop in vegetables and cook briefly — just until the color blooms. Don’t overcook.
TIP: Cooking times will vary depending on the vegetable. If you’re doing several different kinds of vegetables, use the same pot of boiling water for all, but only cook one kind at a time to ensure even cooking.
Scoop vegetables out of water with a slotted spoon or strainer and plunge into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. At this point, you can drain the cooled vegetables and store them in the fridge for up to a day. Wrapping them in a paper towel inside a plastic bag keeps them fresh, but not soggy.

Sauté
Heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat, until it shimmers (don’t let it smoke). Add a tablespoon of butter and the blanched, chilled vegetables. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and toss until heated through (1-2 minutes). Serve immediately.

Variations:
Spicy—Sprinkle a pinch of red pepper flakes into the oil before adding the vegetables.
Garlic—Add a crushed garlic clove to the oil while sautéing, but remove it before serving.
Curry—Sprinkle a teaspoon (or to taste) of curry powder into the oil and butter and let it cook for a few seconds before adding the vegetables. (Curry is especially great with boiled new potatoes.)
Asian—Replace the butter with a teaspoon of sesame oil and add a teaspoon each of minced garlic, grated ginger and soy sauce.

Apple Strudel

I've always been fascinated watching bakers making strudel dough on TV. It seems impossible to stretch the dough so thin without it breaking. So in the last few days, I've been trying to see if I can do it too. Even more than technique, I've discovered it's important to find the right recipe.

My first attempt used an old world recipe that didn't have any shortening in it. Maybe something got lost in the translation, but I ended up with a tough alligator skin strudel -- not close to the light flaky texture I was hoping for.

The second attempt wasn't much better. This recipe had a little butter in it, but still, it seemed much too dry from the start. It also turned out tough.

But then I came across a recipe on baking911.com. That's the one I've listed below. The result was an amazingly stretchy and forgiving dough that you can use to amaze your friends. After it's baked, the texture is light, flaky, buttery--just right.

Apple Strudel

(Makes 2 large or 4 small strudels)

There are endless ways to shape and decorate strudel. 
The Xs shown here are made with a sharp scissor.

For the Dough (can be made up to 2 days ahead):

• 3/4 cup warm water
  
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  
• 2 eggs
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
  
• 1 tablespoon sugar
  
• 1/3 cup oil
  
• 3 1/2 cups bread flour
  

In the food processor bowl, add water, lemon juice, eggs, salt, sugar, and oil and pulse to combine. Add flour and process until a smooth mass forms. Add more flour as required. Dough should be smooth, elastic and slack. Remove from work bowl, cover with a damp towel and let rest one hour before using. Otherwise, place in a plastic bag, refrigerate until required (1-2 days) and allow to warm to room temperature before stretching.

Divide dough in two portions. Gently roll dough with a rolling pin to flatten. Let dough rest 5 minutes. Begin stretching strudel. Use your fists to do this (make sure you are not wearing anything that might tear the dough or make holes) and stretch dough from center out - much like pizza dough. Stretch, move your hands around the edges, lift and stretch each new section. Every once in awhile, rest (good for you and the dough). Cover dough with a damp towel or clean, damp tablecloth for the rest. Use your fingertips to stretch dough when you can no longer use your fists (dough may be too large at some point to get at from sides into center). Always allow dough a chance to rest so that it will not resist your efforts. Once you get a rectangle of some 18 by 12 inches you can fill dough. This size doesn't have to be exact. The dough is flexible so you can use whatever size is convenient. I stretch it over the edges of my chopping block which makes it easy to trim off the edges.

  

For the Filing:

• 5-6 medium granny smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced thinly
  
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  
• 1/2 cup white sugar
  
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  
• 2 tablespoons flour
  
• 1/2 cup plumped, well drained raisins

Mix above ingredients in a mixing bowl and let sit while you stretch the dough.

Breadcrumbs:

• 3/4 cup breadcrumbs (about 2 slices of bread) sauteed in 2 tablespoons butter until golden brown. (In a pinch, you can use crushed cookie crumbs or graham crackers.)
  

  

Assemble: 
Brush surface of dough generously with melted butter. Sprinkle on bread crumbs or cookie crumbs. On edge closest to you, spread about six cups of filling. Using the table cloth to lever the dough up and start rolling strudel into a log. Do this until the loaf is about 3 inches thick. Trim and gently lift up log onto prepared baking sheet. Brush top with melted butter or egg wash, then sprinkle with sugar. Make small air slits--decorate as you wish. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.

     

Bake at 375 F. on a parchment lined baking sheet until golden and juices begin to ooze (about 30-35 mins.). Dust with confectioner's sugar. Cut into single portions. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

Never Fail Marshmallow Frosting

I made some vanilla cupcakes the other day and tried a new frosting recipe. It doesn't say it's '7 minute' frosting, but it looks very much the same as other recipes I've seen. It's also very similar to how to make marshmallows, but they have gelatin, but this frosting doesn't. This is very easy and like the recipe says, it's 'never fail' -- always a good thing in my book. For these cupcakes, I used a piping bag.

Fluffy White Marshmallow Frosting

(makes enough for 18-24 cupcakes)

1 cup sugar

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

1/3 cup water

Pinch of salt

2 egg whites

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix first four ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour over egg whites, add vanilla and beat on high speed until stiff peaks form. (It may seem to take a long time, but keep beating and you'll notice the change.)