Maine Pumpkin Bread

I've been playing with this recipe since October and today I've finally nailed it! I think I've bought every can of pumpkin in Southwest London with my attempts to recreate the divine pumpkin muffins I had in Bar Harbor, Maine, this past September.

This recipe makes a huge loaf and 6 muffins or 3 7x3 loafs. It freezes really well and actually tastes better the day after it's made.

Maine Pumpkin Bread
4 eggs
1/2 cup walnut oil (or vegetable oil)
3/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 can of mashed pumpkin
1/4 tsp freshly grated ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp groung nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
3.5 cups of self rising light brown flour

Heat the oven to 180 C (350 F) and butter the loaf pans.

In a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs and oil. Add the sugar pumpkin and molasses to the mixture. (tip: heat the molasses for 20 seconds in the microwave so it is pourable then measure it in the same cup as the oil to reduce sticking) Stir in the ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Add the flour. The batter will be very thick.

Spoon the batter into the pans and cook for 30-40 minutes or until a knife inserted in the bread comes out without any batter stuck to it.

Turkey Jambalaya

2 weekends ago I held my annual British Thanksgiving dinner, with the world's largest turkey as the main course! Every year after everyone has gone home stuffed from the thanksgiving dinner, I get to work cutting up the leftovers and making a meaty turkey stock that I can use with risottos and soups. To be honest after all that is done, I'm usually so sick of turkey that the last thing that I want is something that tastes like turkey leftovers. This year I discovered a new recipe and it is now my favorite way to use the left over turkey stock and turkey meat.

Spicy Turkey Jambalaya
1 1/2 cups of brown rice
3 cups of turkey stock
1/2 cup of cooked turkey
6 creole sausages (if you can't find creole use plain and add 1/4 teaspoon thyme, 1/4 teaspoon chili powder 1/8 teaspoon paprika)
1/2 an onion roughly chopped
2 portabello mushrooms roughtly chopped
1/3 cup of frozen sliced peppers (or 1 roughly chopped green pepper)
1 can crushed tomatoes
1/2 courgette roughly chopped

Boil the turkey stock and add the rice and turkey to it. Turn the heat down to low and cook until all the water has evaporated and the rice is soft (about 30 minutes) Remove the sausage meat from the casings and brown it in a large pot. Add the onion, mushrooms and peppers to the sausage meat and cook for 5 minutes. Add the canned tomatoes and the rice to the large pot. Bring to a low boil. Add the courgette and cook a further 5 minutes.

Serves 4
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Active time: 10 minutes

Chunky Split Pea Soup

I've always loved soups. Having a bowl of soup always reminds me of playing in the snow as a kid and having soup to warm up afterwards. There isn't much snow here (a bit early anyway) but it is cold and miserable outside so soup is a great warming option.

Another interesting thing about soup is that apparently eating soup is a great way to lose weight. I think the reason is two fold. One reason (and the most commonly heard one) is that the water in the soup fills you up more quickly than if you had eaten all the ingredients on their own. The second reason is that most soups are full of vegetables which contain fiber and therefore are very filling per calorie. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-wellbeing/health-news/why-eating-soup-could-be-the-key-to-losing-weight-447090.html

This chunky split pea soup is loaded with vegetables and can easily be made vegetarian by omitting the ham. I like to make this chunky by only half blending the soup but you could easily blend it futher to make a more smooth soup.

Chunky Split Pea Soup
250/9 oz Grams dried split peas (either green or yellow)
2 carrots
2 ribs of celery
1 leek
2 bay leaves
1 tsp cumin powder
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup frozen peas
Cooked ham diced (optional)

Rinse the split peas in cold water. Place the split peas in a large pot, cover with enough water for the water to be approximately 2 inches over the top of the peas. Boil for 20 minutes, skim the water as needed. Meanwhile roughly dice the carrots, celery and leek. After the split peas have cooked for 20 minutes pour vegetable into the water and add further water to just cover all the vegetables. Add in the bay leaves, cumin and salt and pepper and cook for another 10-15 minutes. Using a blender blend half of the soup. Add the diced ham and frozen peas and cook another 5 minutes.

Cooking time:40 minutes
Active time: 15 minutes

Chicken Oregano

This recipe is a family favourite. The great thing about it is that you really can't mess it up. One time I made this and burned the chicken and it still came out well. Last night I made it with left over breaded chicken fingers and I have to say the reworked leftovers were better than the original dish.

Chicken Oregano
6 chicken breasts cut into 2 inch cubes
2 eggs
2 cups of breadcrumbs
1/2 cup of olive oil
1/2 cup of white wine
Juice of half a lemon
3 cloves of garlic chopped
1 teaspoon of dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon of dried parsley

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C/ 250 degrees F

Lightly beat the eggs, dip the chicken breast in the eggs and then cover with breadcrumbs. Fry the chicken on each side until it is brown but not cooked through. Place the chicken in a casserole dish. Using the same frying pan heat the remaining ingredients until they boil. Pour over the chicken in the casserole dish. Cook in oven for 30-40 minutes checking that the chicken has cooked through before serving. I serve this with whole wheat pasta and cooked vegetable.

This recipe is great on day 1 but almost better as leftovers

Active time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes

Butternut Squash Soup

September is the best month to be in New England. The days are warm and feel like summer but the nights have a nice autumnal crispness. I go to New England every year in September to see my family, have a bit of open space and celebrate my birthday. This year I saw all but one New England State on my trip! I started in Boston, drove up through New Hampshire to Maine, drove back to CT to see my parents, then took a day trip to Rhode Island. Personally I feel that the further north you go the more "New England" you get. The few days I spent in Maine were heavenly; the people are laid back, the scenery is pristine and you really feel the culture of New England.

At this time of year in New England, squashes are one of the most prevalent vegetables at the markets. Historically squash was one of the few vegetables that would store well throughout the long, cold winters so they became a stable of the settlers diets (there is a reason Americans love pumpkin!) One of my favorite squashes that is readily available in the UK is butternut squash. It has a nice sweet flavor that's good both for savory and sweet dishes. Last night I decided to make a butternut squash soup to remind me of my holiday. This soup takes a while to make but most of the time is not active so you can make this while doing something else.

Butternut Squash Soup
1 Butternut squash
1 cube of knorr vegetable bouillon cube
a handful of shallots (about 6) or 1 onion
Water (approximately 3/4 of a liter-6 cups- but it depends on how big the squash is)
1/2 cup of white wine
6 sage leaves

Cut the butternut squash in half and scoop out the seeds (see recipe below for spiced seeds) place the butternut squash, cut side up, in a 200 Degrees C /400 Degrees F oven for 45 minutes or until soft. Take out of the oven and let rest for 5 minutes.

Scoop the flesh of the butternut squash out of the rind. Combine the squash flesh and the shallots in a pot. Lightly fry this mixture for 5 minutes. Add the vegetable cube and enough water to cover the vegetables by about 1 inch. Simmer for 15 minutes adding more water if soup looks too thick. Add the wine and cook for 5 more minutes. Blend the soup adding the sage leaves as you blend (the wand/stick blenders work really well for this because they can just be put directly into the hot soup) Simmer for 2 more minutes and serve

Cook time: 77 minutes
Active time: 15 minutes
Servings: 4-6

Spicy Squash Seeds
The seeds of a large squash (pumpkin, butternut, spaghetti, etc)
1 tbs of spices (I like using either Caribbean spices or mild curry powder)

After the seeds have been removed from the squash put them in a colander and run water over them. Place the seeds on a foil lined baking pan and sprinkle them with spices. Mix the spices and the seeds around on the baking pan. Bake at 200 Degrees C /400 Degrees F for 20 minutes. These are great on salads or as a snack.

Cook time: 20 minutes
Active time: 5 minutes

Oven Dried Tomatoes (for Andy)

I've had a bumper crop of Tom Thumb tomatoes this year. I've made soups and salad and still have loads of tomatoes to spare. This year I decided to dry some tomatoes, but since the UK has had no sun all summer, oven drying was the way to go. The result is soft, sweet tomatoes that store well in oil and are a great taste of summer.

Oven Dried Tomatoes
Tomatoes (as many as you want/have)
a pinch of salt
Olive oil
2-3 whole cloves of Garlic

Cut the tomatoes in half and scoop out the seeds. Sprinkle the cut sides with a pinch of salt. Turn the tomatoes cut side down onto kitchen roll and allow them to drain for about 20 minutes.
Heat oven to 180 degrees C. Place the drained tomatoes with the cut side up on a wire rack. Cook in oven for approximately 2 hours.

When they are shrivelled and mostly dry pack them into a jar with the cloves of garlic, fill the jar with olive oil. The tomatoes will keep throughout the winter (if you don't eat them all in the first week!)

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 2 hours

Soba Noodles with Summer Vegetables

A few months ago I tried one of Heidi Swanson's Soba noodle recipes (http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/garlic-soba-noodles-recipe.html) and I am now a true fan of them. I never would have thought that Soba Noodles which are typically Japanese could be done in a more Italian style and still taste wonderful!


Soba noodles are great because they are high in protein, so fill you up more than most other pastas would. They are also super quick cooking, taking only about 4-5 minutes to make.


Soba Noodles with Summer Vegetables
1 portion of soba noodles (the individually wrapped bunches will feed 1 as a main)
1 handful of green beans, chopped into 1 inch peices
2 small tomatoes chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 chopped sage leaves
Goat's cheese to top (I used this wonderful Devon garlic cheese from Yellowedge)


Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to boiling water then add the soba noodles to the boiling water. Put a timer on for 1 minute less than the cooking time written on the soba noodle package (Soba noodles will get very sticky if over cooked) When the timer goes off add the green beans to the the boiling water and cook for one minute more. Drain the noodles in a colander and rinse with cold water.


In a frying pan heat the remaining oil and tomatoes and sage. Add the drained noodles and stir until everything is hot (about 1 minute.)


Serve with goats cheese.



Prep Time: 2 minutes
Cook Time: 5-6 minutes