Potato-leek soup, via Ina, from Paulina. Potatoes and leeks via Jim.
Broccoli with cream of mushroom soup, from Kinsey and Tom.
Fish, plus Japanese cucumbers (via Jim) with sesame sauce (from Shusho).
Daikon greens, from Shusho, via Jim.
Jasmine rice (?) from Shusho.
Sweet potato oven fries from Joan, via Jim. Hidden among the sweet potatoes are the mysterious mandrake/parsnip; photos below.
Salad from Joan, via Nell, Jim, and Barden Farm.
Pumpkin seeds from Joan via Barden Farm.
Hard cider from Uncle Si. Incidentally, this is the only photo of this week’s diners. Sorry.
Pumpkin pie from Joan, via Barden Farm pumpkin. Yes, you saw this on Facebook already. Recipe below.
Pumpkin Pie
Adapted from Martha Stewart’s pate brisee recipe, Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything, Better Homes & Gardens cookbook from the ’80s, and a recipe my mother printed out with no attribution.
Crust
1/2 recipe Martha’s pate brisee, plus 1 tsp sugar
(Sub 1/2 c spelt flour for 1/2 c all-purpose)
Blind bake -- After you’ve rolled out the dough and put it into the 9" pie plate, take a sheet of aluminum foil big enough to cover the whole thing, folded in half. Fold it, then butter one side of it. Place it over/into the pie crust, butter side down, and weight it with rice or beans or whatever. Bake it at 425° for 12 minutes.
Reduce the oven temp to 350°, remove the rice and foil, and bake it for another 10–12 minutes, until the crust is nicely golden.
Filling
Obviously, if you’re using canned pumpkin, skip this step. Cut pumpkin in half, scoop out seeds. Cut into smaller pieces, nuke it in a covered glass container with some water for about a half hour. Scoop out flesh, then nuke that for another 5 min. Purée pumpkin with hand blender. Do this however you want—steam it on top of the stove if you’d rather, or bake it until it’s mushy enough to purée it.
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3 eggs
1/2 c sugar
1/4 c brown sugar
Mix
Add spices:
2–3 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg (fresh ground)
1–2 tsp fresh ground ginger
1/2 tsp cloves
I used a free hand with spices; these measurements are approximate. I also meant to add about 1/2 tsp. of salt, as Bittman recommends, and forgot. I would do it next time.
Mix.
Add 2 c pumpkin purée and mix.
Add 12 oz can evaporated milk plus half cup heavy cream. You can use whatever combination of dairy liquids you like, apparently, or all one kind. Other options were half and half, and whole milk. I used what I had on hand.
Mix.
Heat the custard over medium low, stirring occasionally, until hot to the touch. Do not boil.
After the crust is blind baked, pour the custard into the crust* and bake it at 375° for 30–40 min, until it jiggles like Jell-O but is still very moist. Cool on a rack; serve warm or at room temperature.
I had custard left over, so I baked it in a separate dish along with the pie.
