This is a recipe I found in one of my happy little murders. However, though I liked the idea, there was no actual pumpkin in it, and I thought the technique could use a little help. So, after a couple experiments, this is what I have come up with for our family. This makes just enough for eight people to eat with some breakfast meat, a cup of milk and/or coffee. I would make double this if I were serving more people.

2 cups pastry flour
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), cut into small pieces.
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, separated
3/4 cup pumpkin purée
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin spice

Grease a 10 inch round pan or 9 X 9 X 2 inch pan and set aside. Preheat oven to 350˚ F.

In a large bowl, mix the flour and sugar. Cut or rub the butter pieces through the mixture to coat the flour, so it has a texture of coarse sand with a few larger pieces of butter throughout the mix. Set aside 1/2 cup of this mixture for the topping. Add baking powder and salt to large bowl of flour mixture and whisk to blend.

Whip egg whites until they form soft peaks and set aside.

Beat egg yolks until they are lemon colored. Blend the pumpkin purée in with the egg yolks.

Add the egg yolk mixture to the crumb mixture in the large bowl. Stir to moisten. Fold in the whipped egg whites. The batter will be a little stiff, and might be lumpy, this is just fine.

Spread the batter in the prepared pan.

Add pumpkin spice to reserved crumb topping. Sprinkle evenly over top of batter in the pan. Pat down the crumb mixture with the back of a spoon or spatula.

Bake for 30 - 35 minutes. Check for doneness with a wooden pick, which should come out cleanly.

Let crumb cake cool. Cut into eight generous pieces and serve.

Pumpkin Spice

4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Mix thoroughly and store in a jar.

Potato Sauerkraut Salad with Peas and Carrots

So, I found a Russian recipe for this salad on Pinterest, and then it went away. However, I was able to find it again on the internet archive, translate it, and adjust it for our tastes. This is a pretty simple recipe, but great to make in the fall and early winter. If you cannot find fresh dill, you can use about one to two teaspoons of dried dill weed, and it will taste fine, but I would add it to the warm vegetables and let it blend while the salad cools.

1 3/4 cups sauerkraut, drained
1 pound boiled potatoes, peeled (warm)
3/4 pound peeled and boiled carrots (warm)
1 3/4 cups fresh or frozen green peas
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped (about 2 cups)
1/4 cup sunflower oil
salt and pepper, to taste
1 bunch fresh dill

Put sauerkraut into a large bowl. Dice hot carrot and add to bowl. Dice hot potatoes and add to bowl. Add chopped onion.

Dress vegetables with sunflower oil, salt and pepper, and set aside to cool.

Finely mince the fresh dill and toss with the salad and serve.

Labels: Homemaking, Recipes, Tales from the Kitchen

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 3:10 PM