Pumpkin Pecan Loaf Cake

It's hard to let go of harvest time. Now that Halloween is over, the farmers are closing down their markets and the weather is taking a dip in our part of the world. I have to admit that I'm still in denial that the snow is actually coming and that the heavy overcoats and boots have to come out for another winter season.

My last visit to the market was a "see you next spring" visit. The dogs wanted to say their final farewell to their favourite booth.

The vendor never fails to give them each a small treat for coming to visit.

Next stop is the Scone Lady who actually goes by the name of The Tart Lady (on the left) Standing out there in the cold all day long can't possibly be fun. We talked about her scones looking like they're on steroids and I notice she's sized them down a little. Smart move and she can still sell them for the same amount.



Not only does she carry an array of tarts, the pies - oh my - to die for, let's also not forget the breads...



I thought I might see if the pumpkin farm had any pumpkins left. It looked pretty isolated but what the heck, let's have a look. I was greeted by one of the workers who told me they were just closing for the season and having a beer in the back. Huh? What time is it? It was about 10 a.m. Well, I guess it's cocktail hour somewhere in the world. The store was closed but he told me to just go help myself. What a jackpot!!!! He even sent his underling out with baskets to the field to help me take as many as I wanted. Okay, so I went a little nuts.

The grower told me that the key to fabulous pumpkin pie is to combine the puree from the pie pumpkins with the puree from the larger flat pumpkins (I don't remember what they're called)

The next step was to drag them all home - I'm not quite sure what I was thinking. Then on to making the puree.

Today is Tuesday which means it's Hearth and Soul Day; a weekly event that showcases REAL FOOD. Check it out at Girlichef , one of our hostesses.
1. Cut the pumpkins in half and clean out the seeds and the stringy bits. Turn them open side down into a roasting pan or cookie sheet and add about 3/4 cup of water to the pan. Put them into a 375 degree oven for about an hour or when a knife goes into the flesh very easily.

2. These are completely roasted. Scoop out the flesh and put it into the food processor and puree.

Voila - you have puree and it's economical and absolutely delicious. Use the puree the same way you would canned pumpkin. The only thing is that if you can imagine the size of this container filled with puree - I think I have about 6 of them. That can only mean you'll be seeing pumpkin recipes ad nauseum.

I subscribe to the Robin Hood Flour newsletter and as I was browsing through it, would you know that I found a recipe to begin the pumpkin marathon.

Here comes the first pumpkin recipe

Pumpkin Pecan Loaf Cake

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Makes: 1 loaf (12 servings) - I doubled the recipe for 2.
Description: Bring the season to life with this moist and fragrant pumpkin loaf cake. Canned pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger and pecans are combined in a simple loaf cake recipe and then topped with chopped pecans and brown sugar. Make a double batch and freeze one for when guests pop by.

CAKE:
1/2 cup (125mL) Canola Oil
1 ½ cups (375mL) sugar
2 eggs
1 cup (250mL) pure canned pumpkin (not pie filling)
1/3 cup (75mL) milk
1 ½ cups (375mL) All Purpose Flour
1 tsp (5mL) baking soda
1/2 tsp (2mL) salt
1 tsp (5mL) ground cinnamon
1 tsp (5mL) ground ginger
1/2 cup (125mL) chopped pecans

TOPPING:
1/2 cup (125mL) chopped pecans
1/4 cup (50mL) packed brown sugar
2 tbsp (30mL) Canola Oil

CAKE:
1. Preheat oven to 350F (175C). Grease a 9” x 5” (22 cm x 12cm) loaf pan.

2. Combine oil and sugar in medium sized bowl. Blend in eggs, pumpkin and milk. Set aside. In separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Add to pumpkin mixture. Stir in ½ cup (125mL) pecans. Pour into prepared pan.

TOPPING:
3. Combine all ingredients until crumbly. Sprinkle over cake batter.

4. Bake in preheated oven, 60 to 65 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes, remove from pan.

Verdict: Absolutely moist and delicious and I'm making another bunch to give as holiday gifts.

Zen Kitchen

Zen Kitchen opened in Ottawa about a year ago and people have been raving about the restaurant ever since.

I'm not usually one to seek out vegan food, but when you know the people making it really care about food -- you can't help but want to jump on the gluten free, vegetarian, raw (if desired), whole food bandwagon.

I joined two friends at the restaurant on a nice day to try out Zen Kitchen's brunch menu.

One of my friends ordered the gourmet salad with organic greens, spiced pepitas, dengaku tofu skewers, with soup. The salad was fresh and flavourable.


Another friend ordered the breakfast burrito, with scrambled tofu, market vegetables, Mornay sauce, tomatillo salsa and spicy rice. I tried some and thought it tasted good.

I think my friend was still hungry after eating it though.


I had the house granola, local seasonal fruit, vanilla bean cream, served with lemon scone and berry jam. I thought my dish was really pretty. The overall flavour and texture were good. It also included a scone and banana bread, with house-made vegan butter. The banana bread was good, but dense. It benefited from the butter.

In terms of the scone, it wasn't my favourite. I think it just needed more sugar and something to moisten it up a bit. That's just me though.


The service was helpful, friendly and not intrustive. Caroline, the chef, came out to the table to say hello and see how we liked the food.

Overall, it was really a good experience. So much so that I'm going back for dinner soon.

Check out Carole and Dave's (the owners) show that aired on The W Network here.

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I was also happy to also see Zen Kitchen at Field of Feasts.


They made vegetarian burgers. The bread was excellent and flavour combination was good.


The Table, a vegetarian restaurant in Ottawa, also had a interesting collection of options. The salad was not a bad idea, in theory, but the weather wasn't cooperating that day and there was lettuce flying everywhere.


Field of Feasts was quite a while ago. I had mixed feelings about the event, but would be open to going again if the venue and weather looked good. I was very impressed with the sustainable approach. But, I did find that there was minimal interaction with the chefs and farmers. I think there would be several ways to promote greater interaction between the farmers and event-goers (e.g., presentations, classes, greater online awareness about the farms, etc.), but the venue had to be different (or at least set up differently).



I'm sure if I had gone with Giz, I would have at least been witness to more interaction with the farmers. Every week she comes home with new stories and interactions from the market.

Flour Shoppe Cupcakes

Friends that love food are the best! Of course, human decency is nice too. But there's just something about being able to share food experiences with people who get excited about food.

That's how this napkin activity came about:



It all started after I kept seeing amazing posts about the Flour Shoppe (like Rachelle Eats Food's post and Le Mien's post featuring Don and Jenn from foodiePrints).

I was thrilled when I managed to convince my food-loving friend to go eat cupcakes with me, get four cupcakes that we would share and rate each one on appearance, flavour and texture.

We chose German chocolate:



Macaroon:



Carrot:



and Marshmellow Smores:



In the end, despite some original hesitation in selecting it, the carrot cupcake won!

I'm already trying to find an excuse to go back and get more cupcakes.

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I also wanted to draw your attention to some new pages that I added. If you look just below the header images, you will see two additional pages, one for knitting and one for travelling. Please check out the pages! Suggestions on how to spruce them up are welcome!