Things to do with: a pumpkin (part 1)

Hallowe'en's gone, all the pumpkins are on sale, and you just can't resist buying one, even though you have no idea what you'll do with it once you've bought it. Herewith, I provide part one of a pumpkin experimentation series, courtesy of india girl. Hopefully, I'll find more pumpkins at the supermarket to continue the series, otherwise you'll have to wait a year!

Stir-fried beef with string beans and roasted pumpkin:

Pumpkin preparation technique is important: should you skin first, then cube? Or cube first and then skin? Or perhaps cut into wedges, cook and then skin? After much discussion, I opted for the first option. Cut off the top and bottom of the pumpkin to give yourself a flat surface, cut vertically in half, then skin. Spoon out the seeds and spread out on a baking tray with some oil. Cube pumpkin and place over the seeds, drizzle with some oil. Add sea salt, pepper, ground cumin, chilli and whole, crushed garlic cloves. Cook for 15-20 in oven, pre-heated to 200C.

Serve with stir-fried beef and string beans, yoghurt, and plain rice.

Happy Hallowe'en!

Here's my personal contribution to the mass adulteration of the pumpkin species...

In fact, this was my first ever attempt at a pumpkin carving, so I'm quite proud of the result. All that training with the Japanese steel does come in useful after all...
The one on the right, by an artist who shall remain nameless, was apparently inspired by Donnie Darko. Scary, eh?

Pre-Christmas

Since nasty skank byotch will be away for three weeks, I've had to forego all pre-Christmas celebrations. In fact, I'm quite thankful for this, because I have no idea where time goes these days and, frankly, I don't have time. I couldn't, however, get away without hosting one dinner, vicarious, graphic details of which below:

1. Spiced butternut squash soup
2. Russian salad with prawns
3. Sherry roast pork with crackling, roasted pumpkin and sautéed leeks
4. Half New York Cheesecake
5. Mince pies (courtesy of H) and cappuccino biscotti

Merry Christmas!

Recipe competition: Very crunchy granola

This was one of G*'s entries for the competition. Being rather fond of Lizi's granola from The Good Carb Food Company, I was shocked when my local health food shop hiked the price up by 14p in a week, so I refused to buy it any more. I've now resolved to making my own. This recipe, I'm told, comes from Mollie Katzen's Sunlight Café: Breakfast Served All Day. So far, I've made it without the soy protein powder, since I only seem to be able to find the vanilla-flavoured stuff used by body builders. Apart from the oats and barley and oat bran (I haven't yet figured out what oat bran is, so I haven't used that yet), it has pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and almonds (although I've used ground cashews as I have a big bag of them in the cupboard). It's certainly very crunchy and even better than Lizi's. And you can try making it with different types of honey or maple syrup. Manuka honey seems to work quite well.

Serve with home-made yogurt for a perfect start to the day.

How to induce diabetes...

In no particular order, but a good place to start would be brunch at Peter's on 1st Avenue between 83rd and 84th Streets. The place bills itself as a gourmet diner catering to the tastes of today's New Yorkers, which means a good gluten-free selection, egg white omelettes and all that sissy stuff (but seriously, if you're gonna have bacon in it, is there any point in ordering an egg white omelette??). For those of us who hunger for buttermilk pancakes (yes, schmandrea, I get the whole buttermilk thing now) with crispy Canadian bacon and scrambled eggs generously drizzled in warm maple syrup, however... well, you won't be disappointed! The new-agey mix of rushing waterfalls and Richard Marx might annoy you a little, but the calories more than make up for it.

You might want to continue your diabetes-inducing tour of Manhattan with a stop at Eileen's Special Cheesecake (17 Cleveland Place), which has been serving the creamiest cheesecakes in the city for over 30 years. Their selection of mini cheesecakes makes for a perfect, shameless, bite-size snack.

And after your exhausting walk around SoHo, you'll no doubt be needing a little rest for a relaxing pot of tea. Teaspot on 127 MacDougal Street, just south of Washington Square, has some 90 different kinds of tea, which you can enjoy while using their free wireless internet service. Try the mango green tea. And what better to complement it than a raspberry and mango muffin?

Or perhaps coffee and a pastry is more your thing, in which case you can pop one street east to 135 Sullivan Street and drop in on Once Upon A Tart, a bakery with a café attached. A strong cappuccino and a crumbly pumpkin tart come highly recommended. The building still has the original pressed copper ceilings, and offers a nice selection of muffins, tarts, brownies, gourmet sandwiches, salads and soups.

OK, that's enough for one day. More diabetes-inducing treats to come!