Pumpkin Fondue - soooo cute!

Pumpkin Fondue

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Serving Size:

4

Ingredients:

• 1 medium red or orange pumpkin, about 10-12 inches in diameter, or 4 small, round Gold
• Nugget squash or similar
• 3-4 tablespoons olive oil
• a few torn thyme sprigs or sage leaves
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the fondue

• 2 teaspoons potato flour or cornstarch
• 1 1/4 cups dry white wine, such as Riesling or Grüner Veltliner, or hard cider
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and halved
• 1 bay leaf
• 14 oz. Gruyere (or see other cheeses mentioned), derinded and thinly sliced or shredded
• 2 tablespoon Kirsch (optional)
• 8-10 oz. Taleggio or Fontina cheese, derinded and thinly sliced or grated
• 1/4 cup heavy cream or crème fraîche

Method:

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Cut a lid off the pumpkin or the squashes and, if necessary, take a thin slice off the base so that the shell(s) will stand upright without wobbling.

Scoop out the seeds and enough flesh to leave a shell about 1 inch thick (small squash are fine as they are, just remove the seeds). Rub with the oil inside and out, season with salt and pepper, add a few herb sprigs to the cavity, and bake in the preheated oven for about 50 minutes for a large pumpkin or 40 minutes for small squash. Bake the lids as well, if liked, for around 20–25 minutes, depending on size.

Meanwhile, make the cheese fondue. Mix the potato flour with 2–3 tablespoons of the wine and set aside. Put the remaining wine in a medium-sized, heavy-based saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Simmer for 2–3 minutes, then add the garlic and bay leaf and reduce the heat. Add the Gruyere cheese and, stirring all the time, allow it to melt. When melted, remove and discard the garlic and bay leaf then stir in the potato flour mixture and the Kirsch (if using) until smooth. Add the Taleggio and stir frequently over low heat until the cheese melts. Add the cream, season to taste, and stir over the heat until you have a smooth, velvety texture.

To serve, pour the fondue into the baked shell(s), cover with the lid(s), if using, and carry to the table.

Cooking with Pumpkins and Squash Brian Glover. Ryland Peters & Small, $15.95, 2010. Photo credit: Peter Cassidy

Oh the concentration!

When you just need a few minutes to get the dishes done, this is a great fun tray-time activity.
You need: Playdoh, Spaghetti, Pasta shapes or Cheerios.
Put the playdoh in a big lump, stick in pieces of spaghetti and then get your toddler to thread the pasta shapes or Cheerios onto the spaghetti. It's great for their fine motor skills.... and for getting those dishes done! If you want to dye your pasta then check out this website.

You know it has been raining when....

This week (and it's only Tuesday!) my little one and I have embarked upon two craft projects. Can you tell my catchment tank is full? That all our planned play dates were outdoors? RAIN = crafts!
Needless to say the one activity that I had been planning for a while ended up being very much less successful than the spontaneous, look-what-we-can-do-with-these, unplanned, project! I need to learn to go with my gut more, embrace spontaneity and forget the plan!Paper plate masks
We took a couple of paper plates, I cut out the holes for the eyes and then we went at it! She was a little unsure about what we were going to use it for, I realized that she probably hasn't played with masks much. We made hers into a cat and mine was a clown. I punched holes at the sides and attached elastic, but it was still hard to get it to stay on her little head!
Popsicle stick puppetsI bought some wiggly eyes from Walmart and we stuck them to some paper, then we were drawing funny faces. I cut some lip and nose shapes from foam paper, and then we added some hair using yarn. We cut out the heads and glued them to Popsicle sticks and had a blast just letting them "chat" to each other. The wiggle eyes were a winner. We spent ages making different faces... one which was apparently Daddy... who isn't blue-faced or wiggly-eyed!

Natural Egg Dyes

It's fun and easy to use natural foods to make your own Easter egg dyes. The two main ways to use your own dyes are to add dyes to the eggs when boiling them or to dye the eggs after they have been hard boiled. It's a lot faster to boil the dyes and eggs together, but you will use several pans if you want to make multiple colors. Dyeing the eggs after they have been cooked takes as many dishes and more time, but may be more practical (after all, most stoves only have four burners!). Try both fresh and frozen produce as well as herbs and spices. Boiling the colors with vinegar will result in deeper colors. Some materials need to be boiled to impart their color (name followed by 'boiled' in the table). Some of the fruits, vegetables, and spices can be used cold. To use a cold material, cover the boiled eggs with water, add dyeing materials, a teaspoon or less of vinegar, and let the eggs remain in the refrigerator until the desired color is achieved.

Here is the preferred method for using natural dyes:
1. Place the eggs in a single layer in a pan. Add water until the eggs are covered.
2. Add approximately one teaspoon of vinegar.
3. Add the natural dye. Use more dye material for more eggs or for a more intense color.
4. Bring water to a boil.
5. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
6. If you are pleased with the color, remove the eggs from the liquid.
7. If you want more intensely colored eggs, temporarily remove the eggs from the liquid.

Strain the dye through a coffee filter (unless you want speckled eggs). Cover the eggs with the filtered dye and let them remain in the refrigerator overnight.

Lavender
Small Quantity of Purple Grape Juice
Violet Blossoms plus 2 tsp Lemon Juice

Violet Blue
Violet Blossoms
Small Quantity of Red Onions Skins (boiled)

Blue
Canned Blueberries Red Cabbage Leaves (boiled)Purple Grape Juice

Green
Spinach Leaves (boiled)Liquid Chlorophyll

Greenish Yellow
Yellow Delicious Apple Peels (boiled)

Yellow
Orange or Lemon Peels (boiled)Carrot Tops (boiled)Celery Seed (boiled)Ground Cumin (boiled)Ground Turmeric (boiled)

Brown
Strong Coffee Instant CoffeeBlack Walnut Shells (boiled)

Orange
Yellow Onion Skins (boiled)

Pink
Beets Cranberries or Juice Raspberries Red Grape Juice Juice from Pickled Beets

Red
Lots of Red Onions Skins (boiled)

You can use fresh and frozen berries as 'paints', too. Simply crush the berries against dry boiled eggs. Try coloring on the eggs with crayons or wax pencils before boiling and dyeing them. Happy Easter!