Like A Piece Of Art, This Tart Is Ready For Oven

My eye caught this recipe because I love tarts, I love pumpkin, and I love recipes that have a “wow” factor. This recipe from Victoria magazine 2018 has all three. To plan ahead, this recipe calls for cooling in the refrigerator the finished tart for 4 hours before serving.

Swirled Pumpkin and Cream Cheese Tart

Lovingly Adapted from Victoria 2018 Magazine

Makes 1 (10-inch) Tart

For Crust:

1-3/4 cups crushed gingersnap cookies

1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

3 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

6 tablespoons butter, melted

For Pumpkin Filling:

1 (15-ounce) can pure pumpkin , preferably Libby’s

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 egg yolk

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

For Cream Cheese Swirl:

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 egg yolk

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Garnish:

Sweetened whipped cream

Fresh mint leaves

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2) For crust: in a large bowl, stir together crushed cookies, walnuts, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Add melted butter, stirring to combine. Press mixture into bottom and up sides of a 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Recipe Note: I crushed cookies in a food processor to get a fine crumb texture. I would also add the walnuts in the food processor to get a finer walnut texture for the crust. Place a baking tray with parchment paper under the crust while baking. Bake for 12 minutes. Set aside to cool.

3) For pumpkin filling: In a separate large bowl, whisk together pumpkin, sugar, eggs, egg yolk, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla extract. Add cream, whisking until mixture is smooth. Pour into cooled crust.

4) To prepare cream cheese swirl: In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar with a mixer at medium speed until creamy. Add egg yolk, beating until mixture is smooth. Beat in cream. Drop cream cheese mixture over pumpkin mixture by tablespoonfuls. Gently swirl mixture with a knife.

5) Bake until center is set, 35 to 40 minutes. Recipe Note: The tart filling mixture is full in your tart pan. Place a baking tray with parchment paper below your baking tart while baking. Let cool completely. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving. Garnish serving with sweetened whipped cream and fresh mint, if desired. Enjoy!

Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend…Bonnie

Morning Glory Muffin With Fruit

Evidently the Morning Glory Muffin recipe has been around for a while, but is new to me this fall. I saw this recipe recently from my saved October 2018 Victoria magazine.

Ina Garten has a similar Morning Glory Muffin recipe which she made famous at Barefoot Contessa. There are a few different ingredients such as using all-purpose flour instead of whole wheat flour and adding sweetened shredded coconut. Garten’s recipe was inspired by the muffins made at the Morning Glory Cafe on Nantucket. You can also find this recipe in her cookbook, Cook Like A Pro.

Regardless of which recipe you use, this comforting muffin is full of goodies with grated carrots, Granny Smith apples, crushed pineapple, raisins, pecans, and more. One could describe the Morning Glory Muffin as similar to eating a piece of carrot cake without the icing.

Morning Glory Muffins

Lovingly Adapted from Victoria 2018 Magazine

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups grated carrots

1 cup cored and grated Granny Smith apple

1 (8-ounce) crushed pineapple, drained

2/3 cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup raisins

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 9 jumbo muffin cups with paper or foil liners. Recipe Note: I used the standard muffin tin with tulip papers, which made approximately 16 muffins total. Amazon has a nice assortment of tulip liners for baking.

In a large bowl, stir together flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a medium bowl, stir together carrot, apple, pineapple, oil, and eggs. Add to the flour mixture, stirring until combined. Stir in pecans and raisins. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.

Bake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Recipe Note: I baked muffins for about 20 minutes because they were standard muffin size and not jumbo muffins. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan, and let cool slightly on wire racks. Remove paper or foil liners for serving if desired. Recipe Note: I like the tulip liners, so kept mine on. Enjoy!

Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend….Bonnie

A Comfy Wingback Chair, A Dozing Kitty, An Inviting Candle

As we begin the month of December in this crazy pandemic year, and amidst the holiday season, my gift to you is “find your own little” or put another way, “find your own simple.” It is the greatest gift I can whole-heartedly give you, one of the best gifts you can easily give yourself which might dramatically change your life, and if you let it— it can last a lifetime! Find your own simple, it is around you each and every day. You just need to recognize it, and be mindful of it.

In the October 2020 Victoria magazine issue, there is a beautiful article on the legendary illustrator N.C. Wyeth’s home in Pennsylvania’s breathtaking wooded Brandywine River Valley. Actually, it is an article on both N.C. and his also famous artist son, Andrew, Wyeth—their homes, studios, and neighboring Kuerner farm. Today these properties have been thankfully restored and are now protected as part of the Brandywine River Museum of Art complex through the concerted efforts of the Brandywine Conservancy. Reading the article and enjoying the photos, it is quite clear that N.C. and his family enjoyed simplicity above all, and a life of comfort over pretense. His quote really resonated with me, and is powerful.

A Wise N.C. Wyeth

A couple of months ago I posted Follow the French, writing about the same message. I think the French have the ability to live this way naturally, because it is ingrained in their culture, and their DNA. It is such an important gift and message, and interesting how it can be said in so many ways with the same meaning.

One of the silver linings in this unusual pandemic year, is the fact that we all have experienced a unique social and cultural filtering which has trickled down and changed our everyday lives. We started baking more, got into organizing and enhancing our homes, spending more time with our families, traveling less, and appreciating the “little” things in our everyday lives that bring us joy.

Finding the “little” in your life is your journey, and honestly, maybe some of you have already found it. What is my “little” is not the same as your “little,” but I think you will begin to recognize your “littles.” Making a difference in someone’s life, starting from a small loving gesture becomes great. Tapping into an “ah ha” moment and building from there can be greatness. Appreciating nature and wildlife in our own garden can morph into a beautiful and caring community.

Remember Sarah Ban Breathnach’s wildly popular book, Simple Abundance from 1995, and now there is an updated version. It might still be on your bookshelf. Her book and message is full of “little” suggestions to get reacquainted with, and she suggests “Joyful Simplicities” for each month to carry you throughout the year.

This is my gift to you, start with the “little” things that bring you joy, and watch what happens.

A Perfect Fall Appetizer

I speak and write so much about seasonal living. When we embrace the seasons, it helps us to live in the moment, capture the present. Seasonal living means embracing and celebrating all the unique activities, flavors, foods, fragrances, and visuals that each season brings. It creates a subtle awareness to enjoy all of this each day, as it will be another nine months before this season returns.

Curried Pumpkin Hummus is one of my favorite seasonal fall appetizers. It is a delightful combination of spices that have a little heat, yet a lot of flavor. Culinary Tip: Spice Islands Curry is regarded as the best overall curry powder flavor, concurred amongst my culinary friends. Keep canned pumpkin stocked in your fall pantry, and you can whip up this appetizer in no time. Easy to make ahead of time and always a crowd pleaser. I originally saw it in Victoria Magazine, October 2013 issue.

Curried Pumpkin Hummus

Lovingly Adapted from Victoria Magazine

Makes 10 servings.

Ingredients:

1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin

3 Tbsp. tahini

2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 clove garlic peeled

2 tsp. olive oil

1 tsp. curry

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Garnish: pepitas (pumpkin seeds), paprika, olive oil and fresh thyme

Directions:

In the work bowl of a food processor, combine pumpkin, tahini, lemon juice, garlice, and olive oil. Pulse until smooth. Add curry, cumin, kosher salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper; pulse to combine.

Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Garnish with pepitas, paprika, olive oil, and thyme if desired. Serve immediately with toasted naan (an East Indian flat bread) or pita chips, or refrigerate, in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

What is your favorite aspect of the fall season? What are your favorite fall recipes? If you make this recipe, be sure and tag #bonniejomanion.

I heard distant rumblings about Sharon Santoni from her first book, My Stylish French Girlfriends, then she was featured in the May/June 2018 Victoria Magazine, sharing with us her just-released second book, My French Country Home, and her gracious taste in French country living in Normandy, France, and I was hooked. 

Sharon Santoni grew up in England, fell in love, married a Frenchman, raised their four children in a rural dream home and cultivated garden, and embraced her French life. Soon to be an empty nester, Santoni got the idea to start a blog, My French Country Home, sharing her daily life in rural France and all that it offers.

Fast forward, her blog is now read by thousands all over the world, two beautiful books under her belt, and an accidental entrepreneur with her quarterly subscription mail order Stylish French Box. From spark to fire, sometimes life is like that! She muses frequently  about reinventing oneself, lessons we can all learn from her.

If that is not enough, Santoni loves to troll nearby brocante flea markets for unique treasures for her home, garden, and entertaining. She is my kind of girlfriend!

Victoria Magazine, May/June 2018