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Posts Tagged ‘autumn’
28.10.2010
Where I’ve Been
04.12.2009
A persimmon smoothie!
Last week I found some fuyu persimmons for a decent price at a grocery store near my apartment, so bought a bunch of them. They were still firm when I brought them home, but after a day or two they were going soft. I prefer fuyu persimmons when they are crisp, so I started making persimmon smoothies with the softer ones, for a change.
26.11.2009
Apple butter, with a secret ingredient
How are you enjoying autumn? Are you getting your fill of all the wonderful fall produce? I hope you’re not sick of it, because we’ll have to wait until spring to really change our diets again… winter pumpkins/squash, potatoes, carrots, beets and onions are here to stay.
We’ve had a wonderful fall here in Montreal. Last year and the year before that we’d already had a few serious snowfalls by this time–luckily, we’ve only had one or two little flurries so far this season! I don’t expect it to continue, but I’m certainly enjoying our mild autumn. In respect to the quickly approaching cold season, I’ve given in and started eating lots of hearty food. After all, I want to stay nice and warm during the winter months.
I made a batch of apple butter this week, and it is soothing and delicious. It’s not overly sweet, and warms with its subtle spices and…
that’s right, whiskey! What better to keep us warm on a cool late-autumn day? Or night, for that matter. I didn’t make the whiskey taste too strong, it is more of a ‘hidden taste’, but it gives a subtle woodiness that I particularly enjoy. This is a zippy, tasty apple butter that is not cloyingly sweet.
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24.11.2009
Pomegranate love
I’m really enjoying the wonderful pomegranates available now. They are not local if you’re in Canada, but they are in season somewhere, and are in all the grocery stores and markets.
Local or not, I’ve been enjoying pomegranates. The last one I bought was sweet and flavourful. I ate most of the arils on top of numerous bowls of oatmeal and oatbran.
This is a pleasing combination for me: the sweet, juicy pomegranate arils enliven the comforting warmth of the oatmeal. I also used some vanilla almond milk, to make it nice and creamy. It’s a wonderful start to the day!
Have you been eating pomegranates this season? What do you do with them?
love,
meg
03.11.2009
Killer pumpkin waffles. Try them.
This past weekend I thought that making pumpkin waffles would be a good way to use up some leftover pumpkin puree that has been sitting in the fridge, so I began searching for a recipe. Before long I stumbled upon a blog called ‘Pumpkin Waffles Blog’, and after reading the comments on his Ultimate Pumpkin Waffles recipe, I knew I had to try them.
They did not disappoint! They are the best-textured waffle I’ve had, period. They have a lot more pumpkin than most recipes I looked at, and the flavour is perfectly balanced. Yum.
fluffy pumpkin-pie clouds...
31.10.2009
Happy Hallowe’en!
the jack-o-lantern looks like it is crying!
Well, it is an appropriately gloomy/spooky day here in Montreal. It has been grey, windy and raining all day, and I can see flurries of leaves streak by the window every so often. Perfect Hallowe’en weather.
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30.10.2009
Sujeonggwa: Korean persimmon punch
Let’s continue on today’s Korean kick, shall we? This is something else that I first tried in Korea, and have never seen here in Canada until I tried making it yesterday. It is essentially a strong ginger and cinnamon tea, sweetened with sugar and then dried persimmons are put in, to be steeped for a day in the fridge before drinking. The dried persimmons swell up and become as soft (or softer) than fresh persimmons. The punch is topped off with a few pine nuts before serving.
necessary materials: cinnamon sticks, sliced ginger, dried persimmons
22.10.2009
Matcha, mooncake & persimmon: afternoon tea
Though I’m usually an early riser these days, I don’t usually eat breakfast until almost noontime. My morning fuel generally consists of dizzying amounts of tea–sencha, yerba mate, black and herbal teas–I drink them all. Since I tend to eat breakfast late, lunch is usually small or is sometimes more of a snack, naturally taken with tea. Besides books, my main indulgence is nice Japanese green teas, especially matcha, and it is a wonderful drink to have in the early afternoon with a sweet. Matcha is a pleasantly bright-green powdered tea that is whisked with water to produce a foamy and richly-flavourful drink that is very different from steeped teas. Good matcha tastes like nothing else; it is creamy and smooth tasting, and though it has a vegetal ‘green’ taste, it is much more complex than that. If you haven’t tried it, you should! If you like fine green teas, you’ll love it.
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20.10.2009
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An autumnal birthday cake
We’ve been eating so much pumpkin and squash lately. They are so comforting and versatile, not to mention delicious, filling, and nutritious. They can be used to equal advantage in savory and sweet recipes, and are cheap and easy-to-find at this time of year.
Bring on the pumpkins!
pumpkin cake with chestnut creme filling, ooh la la! it just needs a candle
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13.10.2009
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Autumn wandering
Yesterday was Thanksgiving here in Canada. It was cold in Montreal, especially because I refuse to turn the heat on in the apartment so early in October–it actually seems warmer outside than in sometimes. C and I hemmed and hawed about whether or not we should bike to the Botanical Gardens (bikes are great, but are not a particularly warm way to get around, once the temperatures drop) and finally decided that it was a good idea. We were bundled up well, and I was really glad we went. I managed to gather some fresh ginkgo nuts that had dropped from the tree, and look forward to roasting them later. The Chinese garden has a really wonderful lantern display that runs from September 11th until November 1st this year, so there were beautiful multi-coloured lanterns everywhere in that part of the gardens. The lanterns are really nice this year–they are actually pretty as opposed to last year’s kind of pretty but kind of tacky display.
lotus pods and seeds in the Chinese garden
