Pumpkin custard pudding

Yes, Hokkaido is my latest obsession. Last week I had Hokkaido, either at home or at work, every single day. It was prepared differently every time and I am still not tired of it.

I got the idea to make this custard after eating pumpkin pannacotta. I loved it, but I thought custard pumpkin could be easier, faster to make and probably more healthy alternative.

My idea was very simple, to add steamed and mashed Hokkaido pumpkin to vanilla custard. As easy as that and the result was super delicious.

Pumpkin custard pudding
serves 2
3 dl + 1 dl milk (or coconut milk)
half vanilla bean
1/2 tsp ground cassia cinnamon
3 tbsp cornstarch
3 tbsp sugar
200 gr Hokkaido pumpkin

Cut Hokkaido in cubes and steam for about 20 minutes. Set 4 pumpkin cubes aside for decoration, and mash the rest of the pumpkin with a fork. If you prefer smooth custard pass the mashed pumpkins through a strainer. OR if you have a blender just blend the pumpkin until smooth.

In a small bowl mix 1 dl milk, cinnamon, cornstarch and sugar. Pour the rest of the milk in a sauce pan, add scraped vanilla seeds and the pod, let everything boil. When it boils, take out the vanilla pod and add mashed pumpkin. Mix with a whisk, take of the cooker and turn of the cooker.
Add the cornstarch mixture and mix with a whisk, return the the cooker until the custard thickens, a minute or so, it should not boil. Pour into 2 bowls and let cool.

When cold decorate with steamed pumpkin cubes and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Hokkaido pumpkin

The fall is here and so are the pumpkins. I love pumpkins, and this fall Hokkaido pumpkin is my favourite pumpkin. Hokkaido is amazing, no matter how you prepare it it turns out delicious.

It is Japanese and it is named after Hokkaido-island in Japan. I have never been to Japan but friends of ours who have say that Hokkaido island is really beautiful and its big agricultural area makes it quite different to the rest of Japan. Sounds very exotic to me!

My cinnamon buns with Hokkaido are super buns! But the most common way I eat Hokkaido is either oven-roasted or steamed, and seasoned with some honey and cinnamon. Both ways of preparing are equally delicious, but sometimes I feel for steamed and sometimes for oven-roasted.

Oven roasting takes some time but it brings out the sweetness and the flavour of the pumpkin. I cut the pumpkin in cubes and roast on 180 degrees for about 45 minutes. Nothing else needs to be added. And when is done I sprinkle some cinnamon and drizzle some honey over.

Steamed Hokkaido is more light in taste and the texture is almost like a custard. Cut it in cubes and steam for about 20 minutes. When done season with cinnamon and honey.

Cinnamon buns with pumpkin

Today is the "Cinnamon bun Day" in Sweden. Yes, there is a day in Sweden when you celebrate the cinnamon bun, i.e. bake/buy and eat/give away as much as you can.
Swedish cinnamon buns are made of sweet yeast dough that is filled with cinnamon, butter, sugar and sprinkled with nib sugar.

But as the pumpkin season is here I decided to twist the recipe just a tiny bit. I added steamed Hokkaido pumpkin to the filling. It worked really excellent, the buns were more than delicious!

This time I used dry organic yeast Bio Vegan and it worked excellent. I also used bread flour so maybe that was the reason why it worked better this time.

Cinnamon buns with pumpkin 
about 20 buns
80 gr butter
1,5 dl milk
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 egg, beaten
about 6 dl bread flour
6 tbsp sugar
9 gr dry organic yeast
1/4 tsp salt

250 gr steamed Hokkaido pumpkin
50 gr butter, room temperature
4 tbsp sugar

1,5 tsp ground Cassia cinnamon

1 egg
pinch of salt
100 gr almond flakes

Melt the butter, add the milk and cardamom. The mixture should me lukewarm. You do not want it to be hot as it will kill the yeast. Pour the warm liquid in a big bowl, add flour, beaten egg, sugar, yeast and blend well. Add salt and knead the dough until you have smooth, soft and not sticky dough. By hand it takes about 10 minutes. Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour.

Cut the pumpkin in cubes. You do not have to peal Hokkaido pumpkin, the skin is edible. Steam for about 25 minutes. When done let it cool a bit and then mash with a fork. Add butter, sugar and cinnamon, blend well.

Roll out dough to a 30x40 cm rectangle. Spread the pumpkin filling evenly and starting at long side (40 cm) roll up the dough. Cut buns, about 2 cm wide and put them on a baking sheet. Cover with a tea towel and let rise for about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 225 C. Beat the egg together with salt and brush the buns. Sprinkle some almond flakes on the top and bake for about 12-15 minutes. These buns are best eaten the same day they are baked.

Made in Sweden

These chocolate truffles are very Swedish. They are handmade in Sweden and filling is made with cloudberry. Cloudberry is a berry that likes the very North of the Northern Hemisphere and for that reason it can be found in the woods in Nordic countries. Have you ever tried Finnish Cloudberry liquor? Super sweet and super delicious!

Red peppers with capers

This is another, very delicious and easy to make, tapas that we had in Spain: roasted red peppers with capers. I am not quite sure how the one we tasted was prepared so this is my try on it. I used lime juice but I believe in original one vinegar was used.

Red peppers with capers

serves 24 red peppers
2 tbsp olive oil

1 garlic clove, finely minced

1 tbsp capers in oil
juice of 1/2 lime

salt

Preheat the oven, 180C. Wash and clean the red peppers. Put them in a baking dish and roast in the oven until soft, about 45 minutes. When done put in a small bowl, cover with plastic foil and let sit for about 15 minutes. This makes it easier to peal the thin skin of the peppers. After 15 minutes peal and cut the peppers in thick stripes.

Heat the olive oil, add minced garlic and capers. Fry for bout 2 minutes. Pour over the peppers. Add lime juice and season with salt.

Pan de higo

Pan de higo, or fig bread is another Spanish delicacy that is made with dried figs, almonds and anise. It is a tasty winter snack that is very easily made at home.

I have not tried to make it at home yet, but I think blending dried figs with some ground almonds, anise seeds, or even better anise liquor gives the same result. And rolling the fig mixture into small balls, adorning with an almond and serving with the goat cheese would give cute and fancy winter appetizer.

Green tomatoes

Something else I bought in Spain were green tomatoes. I have always been curious about fried green tomatoes but I have never seen them at the market. In Spain you can see them pretty much everywhere. I do not know how Spanish people prepare them but I was firmly determined to fry them.

I found the recipe at Epicurious and after reading Wikipedia article I changed the recipe a bit. Green tomatoes turned out very delicious and will definitely stay on the menu. As long as I find them at the market.
And something that has to be mentioned is the smoked paprika. It really made the success here so it has to be included.

Fried green tomatoes 
adapted from Epicurious
serves 2 
2 green tomatoes
1,5 dl breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
salt and pepper
1 dl olive oil for frying

Cut the tomatoes in a bit less than 1 cm thick slices. In a bowl mix the breadcrumbs, smoked paprika, salt end pepper. Heat a pan with olive oil, dip each tomato slice in the breadcrumbs and fry on each side until golden. Put them on the kitchen paper for the excess oil to be absorbed.

Manchego and quince

This is another tapas (small Spanish "snack", usually eaten before dinner) we got to try in Spain. It is Spanish Manchego cheese that is eaten with a sweet paste made of quince. We brought with us two huge pieces of each and I cannot get enough of it.

The cheese is made of sheep´s milk, it is mild in flavour and it is a wonderful companion to the quince paste. In general I just love everything about quince, and this combination has become my new quince favourite.

I also want to try the combination of quince cooked in syrup and Manchego, could be something. The fall and first quince are soon here and I believe I will give it a try.

Shrimps with mango

When you add shrimps and coriander to the Mexican style mango you get the most amazing summer starter. Or you can also add some cooked rice and you will have a wonderful summer main dish.

Marinade and vinaigrette are made with the same ingredients, so you just need to mix everything together and divide between two bowls, one for the shrimp marinade and other one for the vinaigrette.

Shrimps with mango
serves 2

200 gr raw shrimps, peeled
1 mango

1 lemon or 2 limes
4 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper or 1 fresh chili
bunch fresh coriander
salt and pepper

Chop coriander. Grate the lemon peel and squeeze the juice. Put in a bowl and add olive oil, cayenne pepper, chopped coriander, salt and pepper. Divide between two bowls. In the first bowl add shrimps and set aside.

Cut the mango so that you have two halves. Cut each half in small cubes, be careful not to cut through skin. Turn inside out, peel of the cubes and add to the second bowl with the vinaigrette.

Heat a pan. Cook the shrimps until cooked through, about 2 minutes each side. Add to the mango and serve.

Woodland strawberry

Woodland strawberry grows in the woods and it is the queen of all berries. It is very tiny so the taste is very concentrated, flavorful, sweet and different to the taste of the regular strawberry.

My boyfriend who is Mexican has never tried the woodland strawberry and that had to be changed. As we live in Europe right now and woodland strawberry grows here, I bought two plants at the market and they have been adorning our windows for some weeks now.

The lady at the market told me that these are two-year plants so next year we can look forward some woodland strawberries as well. Not that the two plants I bought will give lots of strawberries but for sure we will be able to have a taste.