a pumpkin failure
This post was supposed to be called “A Pumpkin Extravaganza” but instead wound up with this name. I had Halloween night off work so thought it would be fun to do a whole pumpkin theme dinner. The plan was to make a roasted pumpkin, mushroom, and farro dish with chard and some curry, an experimental combination of one of my favorite Heidi Swanson meals and this tasty looking salad at Smitten Kitchen. Unfortunately, that got the kibosh immediately. I came home with these two nice sugar pumpkins (see above) and couldn’t cut into them, not for lack of trying. I have never cooked with real (i.e. not canned) pumpkins before. So I think they weren’t quite ripe. I should try to smash one on the driveway. I bet it won’t break but instead bounce slightly like a rock would.
Part two of “A Pumpkin Extravaganza” was dessert. These pumpkin bars are treats from my childhood that I used to love. My parents would make them and keep them in the freezer so a pan would last for months. It would freeze your teeth a little when you bit into one, but that was the best way to eat them. I was so disappointed when I tried one of these once they cooled. They are so bland and blah! This could be because I changed the recipe slightly, but in doing so, I learned two valuable lessons:
- Don’t leave out the butter. It’s dessert. It’s supposed to have 6 Tbsp. of butter. One package of cream cheese is not enough to make up for missing butter.
- Never, ever, ever — under any circumstances — use raw nuts. Always, always, always toast before adding them. They taste sooo much better that way. (I added these pecans on top because I thought they looked pretty. Don’t they? The recipe doesn’t call for nuts. It probably would have been best just to leave them off.)
I’m not even going to post this recipe here. If you are going to make something, there are far tastier things that you can put your time and resources toward. Watch out co-workers, these are most likely coming for you!