A bittersweet yearning For days gone by…
A longing,
in my heart…..for russet reds and golden rays
Bronzed and glittering Leaf blankets and piles,
Pumpkins and squash… For thousands of miles
Crisp cold air – outside
The warmth of fall – inside Tartan blankies
And mugs of hot soup
Till, winter comes
And the yearning is gone….Filled and stemmed by a scoop …or two
of something special
Or sandwiched between tim tams
I taste it….the golden flavours of autumn
and the heartwarming spices of fall
…..a golden taste of the 3rd season!
This week, I’m honoured to be cooking in tandem with Megan of Feasting on Art as part of a collaboration theme she has going on her blog.
Megan cooks dishes inspired by works of art….and is a bit of an artist herself! I love it. It never fails to amaze me how unique food bloggers are and this is just one example – to pair food and art: pure genius. Methinks.
Anyhow, in December, at Sligro’s Christmas party, I came across a book and the first person my mind went to was Megan. Unfortunately, I’d forgotten the name of her blog (forgive me….).
Gritting my teeth in anger, with myself, I sulked for a day…….and then….I got a comment from her. About the party. And that fate was sealed. Boy, the desires of my heart…..met.
Weeks later, I received a large envelope in the post, full of Ozzie goodies. First up, there was a copy of ‘Delicious’ , which you know is my favourite food magazine – EVER.
And as you can see, I already have loads of recipes I’ll be sharing once they’re made…like Ben’s pumpkin and lemonade scones!
There was a pack of Tim Tams, which have been gobbled up by my girls and I. The men in this home (thankfully) never set their wide open eyes on them, to covet! I did have to hide one though, ’cause I want to try the Tim Tam slam!
My Anzac cookies and jar of Manuka honey are not yet open…..I’m treasuring all my goodies, slowly!
Moving on to what we made, which was inspired by Willem Kalf – a still life with a Chinese Tureen (1662. Oil on canvas, 64 x 53cm, Staatliche Museen, Berlin).
In the painting, the key ingredients are pumpkin and lemon.
I choose sweet…..and Megan, savoury!
Since I was blessed with a tin of pumpkin puree from Velva – I decided to make some pumpkin ice cream!
I’ll have to repeat again, that I don’t believe in coincidences!
Ladies and Gentlemen, I present Pumpkin ice-cream with candied lemons.
Pumpkin ice-cream
adapted from Ice Cream by Pippa Cuthbert & Lindsay Cameron Wilson
Ingredients (for 1 litre)375ml full cream milk 3 large egg yolks 200g caster sugar 1 teaspoon (or more) fresh ginger, grated 1 X 450g tin, pumpkin puree 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 250ml double cream 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Chopped crystallised ginger White chocolate chips
Heat the milk in a heavy-bottomed saucepan to near boiling point
In a separate heatproof bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar, using an electric whisk until thick and pale.
Gradually stir the milk into the egg mixture and place the bowl over a pan of simmering water, along with the grated ginger.
Stir until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (about 10 minutes, or more).
Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
When cold, whisk in the pumpkin puree, nutmeg, cinnamon, double cream and vanilla extract.
Cover the surface directly with cling film or greaseproof paper to prevent a skin forming.
Refrigerate and chill for at least an hour. Before you churn, pass the mixture through a sieve to get rid of the ginger bits and other thick pieces.
Churn in an ice cream maker, according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
When it is churned, stir in the chopped ginger and white chocolate chips.
Serve immediately or transfer to a freezer container, with the surface directly covered with greaseproof paper or foil. Freeze till ready to use.
Taste…..autumn, in a scoop!
Lemonettes /Candied Lemon
My first attempts at making this were a failure: I tore strips of peel off the fruit and went the whole hog……the end result was bitter, thin, ugly looking peels. That recipe was from a cookbook.
For my second attempt, I headed over to Jen’s and used her recipe. It worked a TREAT…and I can declare I’m officially in love…..with citrus peels!
Lemonettes, adapted from use real butter
Ingredients2 1/2Â lemons
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water 1/2 cup sugar, for rollingHow to
To harvest the peels, cut each lemon lengthways into 4 quarters.
Gently cut out the pulp (you could reserve it to make ‘surprise lemonade’ – recipe below) with a knife and clean the inside as much as you can. {Note that I didn’t remove a lot of pith – I learnt from my first batch that the end result is not at all pleasant!}
Cut peel into 1/4 inch strips and place in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Heat on high until water comes to a boil. Pour off the water. Repeat twice more. Or as many times as you think. {I tasted along each step and ended up blanching it 6 times. And then I got a bit bored…..}
Combine sugar and water in the saucepan and bring to boil over high heat until temperature reaches 230F. Add peel and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer until peels are translucent. It took me about 20 minutes.
Remove peels from syrup and roll in sugar if desired, and set on rack to dry. Mine were ready in a couple of hours!
Store in an airtight jar….and enjoy. Like I am. Over ice cream….or just on its own!
Surprise Lemonade
I made some lemonade with the left over syrup. Remember the pulp and bits you reserved….well plonk them in the syrup, throw in some vanilla pods….taken from the sugar jar and heat up for a minute or two.
Sweeten…if need be and then strain out bits from drink. Bottle and reserve for 6 year old daughter who’se been begging for lemonade since the summer 🙂 and who’s returned home the day I made this, from a night away. Watch her face brighten……as you tell her what you’ve done! *Mwah* What a blessing!
Serve the ice cream with chopped lemon peel.
The verdict: I like the icecream, especially with the bites of chocolate and ginger! I would have liked it even more if I hadn’t overdosed on the cinnamon and nutmeg…….but it brought me back to the world of making ice cream so anything will be forgiven. The lemonettes were definitely bittersweet….apt for a nostalgic post. Till they hit some ice cream….and then, bitterness was transformed into plain, good old fragrant citrus….with no hint of acerbity……or what other word could you use to define the complete sweetness that envelopes you?Thank you Megan for taking me on this journey. Please visit her blog: enjoy the recipes while Feasting on Art!
I’d also like to encourage you support relief efforts in Haiti by participating in the H2Ope for Haiti – an online raffle, organised by Jeanne of Cooksister with BloggerAid – Changing the Face of Famine (BA-CFF)Â to raise funds for Concern Worldwide’s relief effort in Haiti.
This raffle is a week long event, until midnight on Sunday 28 February.
On Jeanne’s blog, you’ll find the list of fantastic prizes from generous donors. Unless stated otherwise, all prizes are available for worldwide shipping and tickets cost £6.50 (roughly $10) each. Once you have chosen the prize or prizes you want to buy tickets for, take a note of their prize codes (very important!) and click through to Justgiving’s donations page where you will find complete instructions on how to buy your tickets and specify your chosen prizes.Â
Please read and follow the instructions carefully and if in doubt, send Jeanne an e-mail (emailcooksister AT googlemail DOT com).
Thank you very much! Stay blessed. With ♥.
[wpurp-searchable-recipe]Feasting on Art, with Pumpkin icecream and Lemonettes – – – [/wpurp-searchable-recipe]
[…] and ‘tree trunks’, toss them in sugar and set them on a rack to dry overnight. I candy my […]
i’m impressed with all your aussie sweets!
sandwiching pumpkin ice cream between tim tams is genius!
my dad is american and my mum is australian so that recipe just speaks to me. seems like the perfect combination of both my parents’ cultures.
and it took a nigerian-born, british-raised, dutch-based international starlette to show me! thanks 🙂
and who said gloablisation was a bad thing . . . ?
those lemonettes are darling too.
[…] But because everything has its time and place, I’ll share with you something I made for Megan at Feasting on Art. She’s having a birthday bash on April the 3rd when her fantastic blog turns one! Megan lets art inspire her recipes and we recently collaborated: cooking two dishes inspired by one painting. That was a fantastic adventure. […]
Never tried pumpkin ice cream. Thanks for the recipe. I will definitely try it this weekend.
a really beautiful, calming, relaxing introduction…i loved the short prose and the photos. a lovely recipe, Oz. x shayma
This is just so lovely. You are so talented, i am feeling just a teeny bit jealous. Need to comfort myself with a box of cookies now.
Have a wonderful weekend.
*kisses* HH
Oh Oz!! I am in love! Pumpkin ice cream sounds fabulous enough, but then you had to go and throw in those choc chips and (my personal favourite) ginger! You are truly an inspiration. Megan is one of my favourite bloggers – and incidentally, there is an original photo of hers up for grabs in the H2Ope for Haiti raffle!
I thought about yo the other day – found a list on the internet of “CATS WITH BLOGS”. Really! Takes catblogging to a whole new level, wouldn’t you say?!
The strips of lemon look gorgeous, good thing you perservered! Megan’s savoury take on the painting is great, too, though I do love your ice cream 🙂
Nice pics. Oh my, that tim tam icecream sandwich….YUM!
Pumpkin ice cream is the best! And I love the addition of candied lemon curls!
I am going to pinch myself. Many times. Because i can’t believe how amazing that looks! God I am drooling all over my computer. I LOVE pumpkin and that pumpkin ice cream looks downright dreamy.
Pumpkin ice cream is one of the best ways to enjoy pumpkin. As always you did a great job.
Mimi
Ozoz – you did it again – looks absolutely fantastic. Love the ice cream idea, I now see when I visit in Europe I should come bearing gifts of canned pumpkin – easy to do! Thanks for the wonderful ideas.
I agree there is something about Jamaican food that makes me crave it. Check out GWJamaica.com if you don’t already for authentic Jamaican cuisine. Thanks for your kind comments on my blog.
Ozoz, I loved this post! From start to finish. Art inspiring food is a wonderful concept and you carried through with your presentation perfectly! Let alone how much I love pumpkin ice cream!
Please,please…I would love to have your “Rural Lebanese cookbook.Your countries cuisine spices up my life!!! Thanxs, Lynda moore
What a nourishing post! A feast for all the senses.
Pumpkin ice cream? I am so there! Must make it before the cold season kick in.
Fantastic candied lemon peels! I am going to give it a try soon!
Your photos are fantastic and that pumpkin ice cream is calling my name! 😀
It is a real bear!
Now that you’ve shown me this ice cream, I can make pumpkin bars and not feel guilty for being out of season. 🙂
Gorgeous Oz! But I want to know – where do you find the time to publish so many posts, so often in the week, with so many photos AND a family?! You must be superwoman! I can barely get by with one post a week!
Very pretty idea! I might have to get in on this, how fun! ~LeslieMichele
Beautiful photos. Your ice cream look so good, and luscious!
Again, such gorgeous photos. LOVE those candied lemon peels. And I love the crystallized ginger in the ice cream – I can imagine that’s a pleasant surprise when you bite in!
Oz, you know you’re an artist too. You have an amazing sense of color and composition. AND FLAVORS. Let’s talk about these. Delicious! I love the addition of ginger to the ice cream. Ok, let’s face it, I love the addition of ginger to ANYTHING.
Thanks for all this!
Great combo that pumpkin ice -cream and candied lemon. I enjoyed reading the story that led to it too. Now I am off to check out Megan’s site!
Great to find other delicious mag lovers and thanks for checking out Megan’s blog!
This is all such amazing stuff. How I dearly miss Oz. I have to say delicious mag is my fave too, the aussie and british editions!!
Love those candied lemon!!!
A divinely sweet treat! Nice post!
The candied lemons are so yummm !!! I am a big fan of delicious mag too 🙂
Yummy! I’ve made a pumpkin ice cream but I think adding white chocolate and ginger is even better! 😀
Oz, it is always such a joy to visit your blog! But today especially, because you’ve got TIM TAMS…how nice to see something so Aussie here! My worst experience with a Tim Tam, and I haven’t really eaten them since, was to try a Tim Tam Slam with vintage port. I had a hangover like you wouldn’t believe – the sort where you have to lie on the floor because, hey, you can’t fall off the floor… 🙂
Thanks.
Mademoiselle delicieuse, I’m so looking forward to the slam!
Celia…I’ll be slamming with tea or hot chocolate….or maybe even coffee. Definitely nothing to make me prostrate!!!!!! And I know how it is when things like that happen. Kind put you off for life!
You know, I really was slammed by a Tim Tam. Well, maybe three or four of them…hehe..
Haha, the Tim Tam slam really is something to be experienced!
[…] Ozoz’s blog Kitchen Butterfly for a recipe for Pumpkin Ice Cream & […]
Wow! Lovely post. The pumpkin ice cream looks incredible.
Seriously.. It take food to a whole new level.. WOW, you seriously amaze me.
You are killing me Oz!!! im having a serious craving now n I need to do something quick..oh for pumpkin ice cream!
I’m glad you like the icecream. To be honest, without the ginger and chocolate, it would have been too much to bear!!!! I like it, even though it isn’t in my top 10!!!!
Wow, the addition of white chocolate chips and ginger to the pumpkin ice cream sounds amazing! I love it!
wow love the goodies you got and wow that icecream is amazing!
You are brilliant. Your photos are stellar. Your food is MAGIC.
You lovely, lovely soul! I’m so happy you’re sharing your poetry with us. 🙂 You make me smile so big!
I’m adoring all of this food art, each item is elegant and sumptuous. The lemonettes are beautiful!
That ice cream looks amazing, I have four tins of pumpkin puree squirrelled in my cellar and might have to try this. (We can’t get it in UK outside of October… at least not out in the sticks).
Do you have Tesco in Holland? I didn’t know that!
No Tesco’s in Holland, I’m afraid. Just British shops stocking Tesco goods…..and thankfully too cause regular Dutch shops don’t do double cream!