Little Pumpkin Pasties

Perfect for fall, Halloween, or a Harry Potter party, you should totally try to keep in mind the recipe for Little Pumpkin Pasties!

You will find no end of inspiration on the internet for this dish. Pumpkin Pasties are a stand-out food item in the Harry Potter series, IMHO because that sound darling and tasty. My particular version is envisioned as a sweet little snack with mild creamy punch, just bite-sized enough.

Here's the recipe, which makes about 24 pasties (up to 28 if you're thin with the dough):

• Step 1: Turn on the soundtrack to "Goblet of Fire," because HEY: Weird Sisters.
• Step 2: Spin around like a crazy elf
• Step 3: Bake

Filling:

• 2 oz cream cheese
• 1 TBS brandy (optional)
• 2 TBS sugar
• 1/2 cup (or a little less) pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon

Whip cream cheese. Add brandy (if you are using it), whip some more. Add everything else and mix until fully combined. Filling fulfilled!

Pastry (or you could go pre-made route)

• 1.75 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 tsp salt
• pinch cinnamon
• pinch nutmeg
• 1/4 c vegetable oil
• 3 tbl unsweetened almond milk
• 3 tbl cold water

Mix the dry ingredients together, then add the oil. Stir (or mush with your hands) until crumbly. Add milk and water, and mix until a nice dough forms

Roll out until thin (1/8" is typically recommended ... I just make it thin, but not unworkable). Using a large-ish biscuit cutter, cut out 24 - 28 circles.

Pre-heat over to 350 degrees F.

Dab 1/2 tsp - 1 tsp in the center of each circle of pastry dough. Wet the edge and fold over to make a half-circle; crimp the edge with the prongs of a fork to seal. Using a sharp knife, cut 1 to 3 small slits for venting.

Place all pasties on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush them lightly with a mixture of whole egg and a pinch of salt (this will make them shiny), and bake for 30 minutes.

The outcome is a slightly sweet, slightly savory collection of pasties that will be eaten in two bites. If you like pumpkin pie and a mild cheesecake flavor, I think you'll enjoy them. :)

More Pasty Recipes from Around the Web!

• Britta.com (the original Potter-recipe place, at least for me) -- also found at The Leaky Cauldron -- and they sound GOOD
• The Geeky Chef -- practically the same as above. But with a really pretty picture.
• Diamonds for Dessert -- another with ingredients similar to the above (adapted from Geeky Chef, in fact, but this time with an illustrated guide to filling them!
• Dumbledore's Vegan Army - VEGAN, and slightly more savory
• Food.com - well rated, but not with many ratings. This one looks safe, if not a little like pumpkin-pie pockets
• Instuctables - I love it when Instructables does things.
• Anticraft - Anticraft does it in the round! Nice touch.
• Mugglenet - this version is probably the down-right easiest, as it uses canned Pumpkin Pie mix and pre-made pastry crust
• Good Food (?) - I don't even know what this site is, but BLESS THEM: this is a non-Harry Potter, non-American take on Pumpkin pasties. It has CHEESE and it is SAVORY and I am going to try it soon.

Mmm... I hope by this year's trip to Hogsmeade that the Three Broomsticks will add Pumpkin Pasties to the menu.

Sweet Pumpkin Risotto

And, we're off! Dipping our toes slowly back into the blog water, making pumpkin-infused dinner-stuffs and forgetting to take pictures...

12 servings

* 1/8 cup olive oil
* 1/4 tsp chili oil
* 1/2 yellow onion, diced
* 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 1/2 tsp ginger
* pinch cayenne
* 1/8 tsp chili powder
* 6 cups white rice, cooked
* 1/2 cup white wine
* 5 cups broth
* 1/2 cup currants and/or craisins
* 7.5 oz pumpkin puree
* 7 oz coconut milk
* salt (to taste)
* 1/2 tsp nutmeg
* 1 tsp cinnamon
* juice from 1/2 lime

Saute onion over medium heat in a large, large pot or pan until it begins to soften; add bell pepper and garlic and continue saute until onion is translucent. In the last minute or 2 ad ginger, cayenne, and chili powder - stirring in well and stirring often.

Add the rice and stir to coat with the oil/onion/peppers.

Deglaze using the wine. Add broth 2 cups at a time, allowing to cook off between adds. Stir frequently to keep rice from burning.

Lower heat and stir in cranberries, pumpkin, coconut milk. Mix well before stirring in salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and lime juice.

Turn off heat, cover, and let sit for at least 10 minutes (allowing flavors to come together and risotto to become creamier) before serving. Can be served hot or cold.

----------------------------

Nom Nom Nom. Not very scary, but delicious and mildly exotic, and definitely orange-colored.

I told you there were pumpkins being grown

Sorry to keep beating this dead horse, but this is the farthest I've ever made it with pumpkin growing, so I'm both giddy and terrified:

Holy mackerel! Tiny plants are emerging!! And soon, very soon, they will become unwieldy vines!

GREAT SCOTT, WHAT HAVE I UNLEASHED?

More On Pumpkins

Remember when I said me, growing pumpkins, would be a calamity? Oh yeah--we are off to a SMASHING start on that front.

Temperatures here in Georgia are being wishy-washy. It's been cold, so I've had seedlings upstairs where the heat rises because we have turned off heating and cooling in the house until the outside sorts itself out (we will dress accordingly, gosh darn it, but I'm not flipping the thermostat back and forth!).

Sudden and unplanned for hot air + seedling kit lid + well-watered seedlings + Carrie Mae forgetting to prop the lid=1 down, 7 seedlings left. One got moldy. AND DANG IT if it might not have spread to the only Lumina seeds I planted. But I digress.

Well, enough of that! The seed kit is not downstairs with the lid propped and I'll just keep a close eye on it, thank-you-very-much.

But the good news is it did prompt some quick research that led to a few more interesting FAQ's and Facts on Pumpkins and Pumpkin-growing, should any of you also be interested:
* General Information: http://urbanext.illinois.edu/veggies/pumpkin.cfm
* Harvesting: http://www.weekendgardener.net/blog/2007/08/how-to-harvest-pumpkins-properly.htm
* DRYING GOURDS: To dry gourds, first wash gently in a solution of 10 parts water and 1 part bleach, carefully removing all dirt, then store in a warm, dry location. Pumpkins and gourds should be stored at 55-70^oF and at 70% relative humidity.

Happy Friday, Y'all!

The Great Pumpkin-Growing Débâcle

Before I even begin on the fact that my opposite-of-green-thumbs have planted pumpkin seeds and will be trying for the millionth time to actually grow something, doomed to failure... I stumbled across the picture below and thought it was a beautiful inspiration for ornamental stonework, so I wanted to share:


It's very pumpkiny, and when I have a fancy castle-house I might just use them interspersed with the gargoyles. What do you think?

But in the meantime, back to pumpkins.

This is my test run of pumpkins, because me a growing things always leads to calamity. If I can keep from killing these seedlings and get them into little-plant form, I will undergo the same exercise in a month or two so I can also have some home-grown pumpkins for Halloween.

It's not much, but it's a project. Since I haven't had the free time needed to craft, blog, complete things I enjoy, this seemed like a way to ease myself back into the real world as my time-consuming life requirements begin to grind to a halt.

And best case scenario? I might be able to bake a real, live homemade pumpkin pie at the end of this experiment. I'm not holding my breath, but wouldn't it be neat?

(pumkin growing)

READY FOR HALLOWEEN DAY 6: Pumpkin Hot Choclate

Mmm. Pumpkin Hot Chocolate. Doesn't that sound good for a celebratory fall beverage?

I made some for the husband and I last night. I think it was a success. Subtle, sweet a white hot chocolate based pumpkin beverage.

Have you ever wondered what a crazy person's recipes look like? Here's my doodles for a Pumpkin Hot Chocolate recipe:

I always start with notes from an existing recipe -- some on the page, some in my head. Then I start testing and filtering. Here are the starting inspirations:

• http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/white-hot-chocolate-recipe/index.html
• http://closetcooking.blogspot.com/2009/11/pumpkin-pie-white-hot-chocolate.html
• http://whatscookingamerica.net/Beverage/HotChocolate.htm

And here is the final result:

Pumpkin Hot Chocolate

• 1 cup half and half
• 6 oz white chocolate chips (I use Ghirardelli)
• 2 cups of milk (I used 2 %)
• 1 cup of canned pumpkin
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (I use Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla)
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg (I grate mine fresh)

The recipe part is easy: melt the chips in the half and half, whisking constantly until the chips are fully melted. Stir the other ingredients in vigorously and whisk from time to time until the mixture is fully warmed.

It turns a nice, light orange shade.

Top with cinnamon whipped cream:

• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp powdered sugar (optional)

Whip with a mixer until fluffy. Sprinkle the final beverage with a little cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg.

Happy, delicious haunting!

Decoupage Pumpkins - like stenciled!

Bugaboo, Mini, Mr & Me has been decoupaging pumpkins. It's not the idea that's revolutionary, it's the exact materials and the result -- they look almost stenciled and they are so elegant!

Sounds like an easy (and relatively inexpensive) way to get some really gorgeous patterns on wedding pumpkins or general seasonal decor.

Happy hauntings, all.

Historical Pumpkin Pie Recipe

I just love Google Books. Why just this evening I found a book called The Dixie Cook Book, circa 1885. It makes me so happy for the internet and its very easy to follow recipes. I can't imagine making pumpkin pie with this being the entire entry:

Actually, it might be fun. I'd like to try it. :)

Now for a pumpkin article from Vegetarian times. I'm so ready to start cooking those delightful little gourds!

An Adventure

Off to see what's new in the world.
Be back soon.

There are just some pieces that are hard
to let go of. At least I know that MY DECREPIT
will be well looked after.
Fly away home...

Spring into action

Started this piece well over a year ago.
I'm happy to say that Large Lolli Lou is
finally complete and ready for his close up.

Trying to get ahead...

...but running a bit behind. With best of
intentions one of these characters will be
up for grabs at the end of the month for
the EHAG Emporium blog sale.
Off to work I go!

Rad Cocktail -- Perfectly Awesome!

Do you see this? It's called a Jack O' Lantern, and it's made of orange juice and Cognac. You can find it and 9 other great Halloween cocktail recipes here.

I wish I had seen this before my wedding. I might not have mixed this exact drink, but I would SO have walked around sipping something orange-colored with this garnish. Maybe a mimosa? It's an orange slice with just a little bit of greenery in the top. You might also consider a green straw poking through the middle, there.

And what if you used glass paint to make a jack face on the container? Oh my goodness. Splendid. :)

CHEERS!

Pillow Pumpkin Patch

Barbolot over at Craftster made this excellent stack of pumpkin pillows with her family this past year, in lieu of carving the real thing.

What a fantastic idea -- stitch together and stuff some pumpkin-shaped orange pillows, then let friends or family come over and cut out felt faces!! A little bit of fabric glue and you're all set. Plus, they could make great themed accent pieces.

Do you see that guy with the mustache in the bottom right corner? I'm so making him when I get some more free time. He's rad.

Bloody Adorable Pumpkins

Little white pumpkins with cute, long stems -- dripped with blood using red puff paint!

What a cute addition these would make to a vampire-themed party or wedding. :) Instructions from the very talented SwellDesigner (I'm going to ignore that the word "Twilight" was used in the post... blah).

Cheers, guys!

<3 - Carrie Mae

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Sweet!

I have everything I need to make these already, including that cookie cutter!

Mmm... mini pumpkin pies that look like pumpkins. BIG WIN!

No more pencils...

Haven't got out much lately and it's a shame too
because the weather has been spectacular. I will not be
swayed by the rays of dappled sunlight tempting
me from my window. No! Not me. I am hunkered
down in my studio, painting until the wee hours of the
morning because I've only got one more week until...
singing in my best Alice Cooper voice...
School's out for summer!
The excitement is building here in the Valeriote home
as we prepare for many significant milestones.
So until then, it's back to the studio for me.
NOTE TO SELF: make sure paint is dry on fingers
before typing on keyboard.

Gilded Pumpkins

Country Living offers this simple idea for making elegant pumpkins which I can only assume look stunning in candlelight! Gilded Pumpkins, in silver and gold.

This technique of using multiple colors of foil and painting the pumpkins black first makes for a very nice vintage or antiqued look. Better yet, you can gild all kinds of gourds or items to set your Halloween table.

Always on the look-out for wedding decor, I am finding this very exciting. What else can I gild for my centerpieces?

More pictures of gilded pumpkins, for ideas.
More ideas from Country Living.

Oh my goodness...this was just one of those weeks.
I've been wanting to sit down and write
this post since Monday and here it is already Friday.
The good news is I've been very productive in my studio
finishing up several new Halloween pieces. The bad
news is my daughter has my camera so I won't be
able to post any new photos nor list any new pieces
in my shop until Monday.
Got a few fun things planned for the month of MAYhem
for all you FANTASTICAL FOLLOWERS so stay tuned!

Works in Progress

My oh my! Over committed once again.
Mr. Wizard, I could sure use that time traveling
machine right about now.