I sat down at my laptop this morning ready to write about this great new story idea I had.  Or my new vow to let every complete manuscript sit untouched for a year before I review it for possible publication attempt.  Or the fact that I just received a request from a third agent asking me for additional material.* But then I was interrupted by my cat.
      Or rather, I was distracted by the intent body language of my cat, who was suddenly paying very, very close attention to the space under the chaise.  I'll cut to the chase: it was a mouse.  And it startled the living daylights out of me.  And dealing with the situation took a couple hours.  And the whole story is pretty funny, but I plan on going on in greater detail in the next Shadows On the Sound podcast, because this whole incident inspired our upcoming topic: Phobias.
      No, I do not have a phobia of mice.  But I know people who do.

This is not my cat, nor is it my uninvited mouse.  But this was definitely the mindset of my cat this morning, and if she wasn't front declawed** that rodent would be ribbons.

      Anyway, the Weekly Geeky Query from our last episode (speaking of things that scare people) is: What would be your perfect setting for a horror story?  Don't worry if it's been done, I just want to know what tickles your terror bone.  So to speak.  So ahead and comment on this post with your answer, and we may share it on the next podcast!




*EXPLOSION OF CONFETTI!!!!

**I did not declaw my cat.  She was already declawed when we rescued her from the shelter.

      My Halloween obsession with pumpkin this year is definitely getting my culinary creative juices flowing!  The other night I was in the shower, thinking about what to do next with pumpkin.  I wanted something more distinctly breakfast-y this time.  "Pumpkin bread?" I asked myself.  "Like, the usual kind?  Nah...too repetative.  Pumpkin muffins?  I like pumpkin muffins, but there are so many recipes for them in the world.  Pumpkin curry?  Other cultures have curry for breakfast, and I do love curry...."
      Then I started thinking of other foods and flavors that I love, especially the ones that make rare appearances in my life.  Which inevitably got me thinking of spumone.

Just looking at this picture makes me want to lick this plate clean.

      If you've never had spumone (or "spumoni," as it's spelled in the plural) - or worse, if you've never had GOOD spumone - then I feel really, really sorry for you.  Spumone is what Neapolatin ice cream wishes it could be.  It is a three-layer gelato dessert, with at least one layer being flavored with fruit (usually cherry), another being flavored with nuts (usually pistachio), and the third layer being, of course, chocolate.  It's Italian in origin, like so many other delicious desserts, and it's really hard to find.*  But the creamy gelato and the perfectly balanced flavors make it an ice cream experience worth hunting down!
      I have never made spumone, mainly because it would require making three separate batches of ice cream, and my home does not need that many extraneous calories on hand.  However, the flavor profile can be applied to other foods for a gentle reminder of the scruptious original.  Which is how we arrive at today's Halloween breakfast: Spumone-Inspired Pumpkin Flapjacks!

This is why breakfast is my favorite part of the day.

      In order to make proper pumpkin pancakes, whipped egg whites are required.  The pumpkin purée is simply too dense for regular dry leavening to do their work.  With this particular recipe, you also have chopped nuts and cherries adding weight--an airy cloud of protein must assist for fluffy flapjack texture!  Therefore, these are not your throw-together-half-asleep-on-a-Saturday-morning pancakes.  These are plan-ahead-and-wow-everybody-for-Sunday-brunch pancakes.  I feel pretty safe saying nobody will have had these before.

Z.D.'s Spumone-Inspired Pumpkin Flapjacks
Makes about 12

Ingredients:
1/3 Cup dried tart cherries, cut into pieces if too large
1 tsp almond extract
2 large eggs
5 oz buttermilk (or 2 tsp white vinegar + milk to = 5 oz)
1/3 Cup (generous) pumpkin purée
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 Cup cake flour**
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/3 Cup finely chopped roasted pistachios (salted is just fine)
2 T unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for greasing skillet


Directions:
 - Place cherries in a small, heat proof bowl, and sprinkle almond extract over.  Add just enough hot water to cover, and set aside to soak while you prepare the batter.

If you love cherries (I do), feel free to increase the amount use in this recipe, up to doubling.  Just make sure that your cherry pieces aren't too big, and increase the amount of almond extract accordingly.

 - Separate the eggs, putting the whites in a clean, small bowl with tall sides.  Put the yolks in a large bowl, and add the buttermilk, pumpkin, sugar, and vanilla.  Whisk to combine, set aside.

Not a lot of pumpkin, but the flavor does come through.

 - In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients, including the pistachios.

Make sure you chop these pretty fine--too chunky and you'll feel like you're eating granola.  On the other hand, chop them too fine and they'll disappear.  Bits about the size of dried black peppercorns worked for me.

 - Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.  Drain the cherries and discard the soaking liquid.  Put your skillet over medium high heat to warm.  Now you're ready to bring everything together.

Good kitchen tip: use a big bowl.  When in doubt, bigger than you need.

 - Whisk the 2 T butter into your pumpkin mixture.  Add the cherries and the dry ingredients, and mix well.

This will have the consistancy of a heavy muffin batter.

 - Stir a quarter of the egg whites into the batter to lighten, then fold in the remaining egg whites.  With pancakes, it's Ok to have a few faint white streaks--you really don't want to over-mix!

Feel the fluffiness as you fold!

 - When your skillet or griddle reaches 375º F, brush with melted butter, and spoon on the batter in generous 1/4 cupfuls.  Manage your heat so that it remains between 365-375º.  Cook the flapjacks so that they are golden brown on the bottom (about 4-5 min), then flip and cook until golden brown on the other side (about 3 min longer).

Because the egg whites make this a little thicker, they take a minute or so longer to cook than regular flapjacks.

 - Serve immediately with a good chocolate sauce or chocolate-hazelnut spread, such as Nutella.

The necessary final step to creating that spumone trilogy of deliciousness!

      I served these with some good, oven-roasted bacon, fresh fruit, and hot coffee.  If you wanted to try for a little more Italian, serve with pancetta and espresso.  And if you wanted something a little more autumnal, I'd suggest pork-apple sausage and cinnamon spiced tea.  But whatever you do, don't leave off the chocolate!



*Finding GOOD spumone is even harder.  Do yourself a favor, and skip anything cheap, major-brand, or mass-produced.  The best spumone is found at small, genuine Italian restaurants, made in-house from scratch.  Which is why it's so freaking hard to find.

**Those of you who read a lot of my recipes are going, "WHOA!  Z.D.!  What's with the cake flour!?  Aren't you a passionate devotee of spelt and all-purpose flours!?!"  To which I reply: Yes, but everything has it's place. The fine grain and protein content of cake flavor guarantees the perfect texture for these flapjacks.  If you're going to make these, don't go halfway--go get the freaking cake flour.

      A few days ago I finally finished editing the sequel/second half of the project I am currently pitching.  It took tremendous self-discipline to do this, because the Muse kept poking me in the back of the head with no fewer than four new story ideas!  But I forced myself to merely type out a hasty sketch of those plots, and then dutifully return to my editing.  And somewhere around 11pm on Saturday night, dry eyeballs aching in my sockets, my work was completed.
      "Yes!" I crowed, tossing my laptop onto the chaise.* "Tomorrow, I wake with the freedom to write whatever I want!  Anything, anything I want!"
     Can you guess where this is going?  If you said "writer's block," you're close, but that's not 100% accurate.  It's more like "writer's free fall."  After such a long period of intensive structure, the utter freedom to write anything and everything feels so loose it's almost disorienting.  I imagine it must be similar to getting used to space walking: zero gravity and one could move infinitely in any direction!

Ironically, literally writing in zero gravity is a problem NASA solved a long time ago.

      So while I do have things to write, the writing feels oddly...insubstantive.  Like I want to push off of something, but there's nothing to push, so I'm lacking momentum.  I have absolutely no measurement - internal or external - for whether or not I'm doing "good."  Which should be fine.  It should be better than fine!  For most of my life, writing has been about the joy of stories!  It was only when I got Publish Fever that I started thinking about "good" and "bad."  I want to just write for the love of it...I guess I'm just out of practice.
      So I guess that means I need MORE practice!  Oh, darn!  :-D



*No, I didn't literally toss it.  Yes, I do actually own a chaise.  It would be a very glamorous place to write, except the cat has decided no matter where I sit, I am nothing more than her cushion.

      Halloween draws ever nearer, and my quest to perfect All Things Pumpkin continues.  Yesterday I took it upon myself to create Pumpkin Spoonbread with Candied Bacon.

The color was gorgeous, and the smell as it baked was even better!

      This was a double experiment, because I'd never made spoonbread, and I'd never cooked with candied bacon (my usual approach to candied bacon is to take bacon, candy it in whole strips, and cram them into my mouth as soon as temperature will permit).  I am pleased to report that the experiment was a marvelous success!  It had all the robust flavors one craves in the fall, with great balance of texture.  Everyone who partook thoroughly enjoyed the dish, and I - as my own worst critic - could find nothing I would change next time around.
      We ate this for dinner along with steamed broccolini and fresh pears.  However, I think this would really be superb as a brunch entrée, served with fresh fruit, hot coffee and biscotti.  In point of fact, I think that is precisely what my Thanksgiving brunch will look like this year.  It'll impress the pants off my guests.  Which is fine, because we never fit into our pants at the end of the holidays, anyway.
      Oh yeah, and this is gluten free!  If, y'know, you care about that sort of thing.

Z.D.'s Pumpkin Spoonbread with Herbs and Candied Bacon

Ingredients:
6 thick slices of bacon, diced
1/2 Cup minced sweet onion
1 & 2/3 Cups whole milk (2% is Ok, but no lower)
5 & 1/2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2/3 Cup yellow cornmeal
2/3 Cup pumpkin purée
2 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon freshly chopped thyme
1 teaspoon freshly chopped rosemary
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Generous pinch white pepper
1/4 Cup packed golden brown sugar

Directions:
 - Pre-heat your oven to 350º F, and set four 3/4 Cup ramekins on a baking sheet.  In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon with the onion, stirring occasionally, until the onion is golden brown and most of the bacon fat is rendered.  This will take anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes, so meanwhile prepare the spoonbread batter.

The key is to only render about 80% of the bacon fat before adding the sugar at the end.

 - In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the butter into the milk, and add the salt.

Don't ignore your milk mixture or it will boil over and you will be a very unhappy chef.

 - When the mixture reaches a strong simmer, whisk in the cornmeal and remove from the heat.  Whisk for another minute or so until the mixture is thick and even, then stir in the pumpkin purée until thoroughly combined.  Set aside.

This will have the texture of good mashed potatoes.

 - In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks.  Set aside.

Remember: stiff peaks means when you lift out the beaters, the little tufts of egg whites stay upright, they do not sag!

 - In a large bowl, beat together the egg yolks, herbs, nutmeg, and pepper.  Add the cornmeal mixture and stir vigorously with a spoon until thoroughly combined.  Set aside.

I used fresh thyme and rosemary because a) they were what I had on hand, and b) I think both go great with bacon.  However, feel free to substitute other fresh herbs that compliment pumpkin, such as sage, or chives, or parsley!

 - Carefully pour off all but about a teaspoon of the bacon fat from your skillet (I just tipped the whole mess into a strainer rather than risk losing precious bacon, then put it back in the pan).  Add the brown sugar and stir often, so it starts to melt and coat the bacon.  Then divide the candied bacon mixture evenly among the ramekins, spreading to cover the bottoms.

If you're looking at this and thinking, "That's not enough bacon," don't worry: with the onion and the sugar, I promise this will provide the flavor punch you crave.  Trust me.

 - Stir 1/4 of the egg whites into the pumpkin batter, just to lighten, then fold in the remaining whites.

Yes, you really do have to fold the egg whites, not stir.  Stirring deflates them and that defeats the purpose!

 - Spoon the batter equally among the ramekins, covering the candied bacon.  Transfer the ramekins on the baking sheet to the oven, and bake for 27 - 32 minutes, or until the spoonbread starts to pull away from the sides and the edges of tinged with brown.

I used my 1.5 Cup ramekins to be on the safe side, and they were twice the size I needed.  So feel free to use 3/4 or 1 Cup ramekins if you have those instead.

      Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes before eating.  The spoonbread has a great texture, and finding the candied bacon at the bottom makes every bite a pleasure!

Smokey, salty, creamy, meaty, savory, and a little sweet.  The herbs add depth and the portion size is perfect for the richness!

     If you were looking to simplify things a bit you could probably make the candied bacon a day or so ahead.  Seal it in a tupperware container - or scoop it into the ramekins and cover each with plastic wrap - and stash it in the fridge.  Just make sure it's at room temperature before adding the batter and putting things in the oven.

      I am working on a potentially world-changing recipe today: Herbed Pumpkin Spoonbread with Candied Bacon.  But I won't be able to post the recipe until tomorrow.  So find a pumpkin doughnut and a good cup of coffee to tide you over, and remember the words of Alton Brown: "Your patience will be rewarded!"
      And wipe your mouth, you've got a little drool going on.

Pumpkin Beer Bread from left to right: With Raisins and Walnuts, With Bittersweet Chocolate Chunks, and Savory Plain

      This weekend recipe continues my Halloween preparations by using pumpkin, but also incorporates another passing fad. See, for my household, this autumn and winter will be the Long Seasons of Beer Bread.  Back in August, I helped cater a friend's pool party.  There were over 60 people invited, and my friend insisted that a big chunk of them preferred the popular domestic lager I tend to refer to as "cheap-ass beer."  So under her instruction, we bought four cases of it--that's 96 cans of beer.  Now, guess how many of those beers were consumed at the party?  No, really, guess.  I'll put the answer at the bottom of the post.*
      That leaves her with a garage fridge overflowing with cans of crappy, low-alcohol beverage, the name of which rhymes with "spud blight" (which is also, coincidentally, how it tastes).  My friend doesn't drink, except for champagne toasts at weddings.  I drink on occasion, but when I do drink beer I prefer craft brews with a flavor and texture resembling chocolate milkshakes.  So what to do with almost 100 cans of cheap-ass beer?
      This is why beer bread was invented.
      Beer bread is great with soup or stew, and fabulous for grilled cheese sandwiches.  But you know me, I like breakfast.  So when I noticed the pumpkin ales that become available for the holidays, my mental gears began to turn.  That's why this weekend I delved into the Great Pumpkin Beer Bread Experiment!

Baking pumpkin bread is a much better way of welcoming Spiritual Seasonal Gourds than catching a cold by waiting in a pumpkin patch.  Trust me.

      I took my favorite beer bread recipe, doubled the dry ingredients, and added 15oz of pure pumpkin purée to the beer and butter.  Then I divided the batter into three loaves and doctored each a little differently.  One I left plain, just to see what it would taste like.  One I added a touch of honey, traditional pumpkin bread spices, golden raisins, and walnuts, for a heartier autumn loaf.  And one I added a little spice, honey, and a cup of freshly chopped bittersweet chocolate, to test my spouse's theory that "everything is better with chocolate."  Then I baked, and this morning we ate.
      I'm happy to report that I would consider all three loaves a success.

      Assuming that you - like most sane people - aren't interested in messing around trying to divide bread dough into three equal parts and making each into an unique recipe, I'm going to provide the recipe for each as a three loaf batch.  Meaning if you follow these recipes, you will wind up with three loaves of one kind of bread.  Which is fine, because bread freezes really well.  Or you could give them away and be really popular.  Just don't give any to me, I've got plenty of beer bread!

Z.D.'s Pumpkin Beer Bread
makes three 8 x 4 loaves of plain bread

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup (1 stick) unsalted butter melted butter
2 Cups whole wheat flour
4 Cups AP flour
1 Tablespoon kosher salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2/3 Cup sugar
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
12 oz. Cheap-Ass Beer
14.5 oz pure pumpkin purée

Directions: 
 - Pre-heat your oven to 375º F.  Brush some of the butter to coat the inside of three 8 x 4 inch metal loaf pans.  Reserve the rest.

I tend to melt my butter in the pans in the pre-warming oven while I make the dough.  Then I just pour it out and grease with what's left in the bottom.

 - In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, salt, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and nutmeg.  Set aside.

 - In a smaller bowl, whisk together the beer, pumpkin, and all but about 1 T of remaining butter.  Stir into the flour mixture until fully incorporated.

This will take some mixing, and the finished dough will be fairly stiff, so make sure your bowl is big enough.

 - Divide the dough among the three loaf pans, pressing the dough into the corners. Bake for 40 minutes.  Remove from the oven just long enough to brush the tops with the remaining butter, then place back in the oven and finish baking, about 5 minutes.

 - Cool in pans about 5-10 minutes, then turn out loaves onto a rack to finish cooling.  Store at room temperature, wrapped in plastic.  Or, when cool, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil, and freeze for up to 2 months.

A full flavor, like a good squash.

      This is moister than regular wheat bread, but less dense and yeastier than regular pumpkin bread.  Serve with chili, or a nice beef and barley soup.  Alternatively, slice thin and toast to accompany a good autumn cheese plate, with crisp grapes and apples.
      OR...you can try one of the variations below!  Follow the regular recipe, but add the additional ingredients as specified in the directions.


Z.D.'s Spiced Pumpkin Beer Bread with Raisins and Walnuts
makes three 8 x 4 loaves of hearty autumn raisin bread

Additional Ingredients:
1 Tablespoons cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger (alternatively, add 1/2 Cup chopped crystalized ginger)
1 Cup golden raisins
1 Cup roughly chopped walnuts
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 Cup canola oil
3 to 6 Tablespoons of honey, to taste
Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

Directions:
 - Pre-heat oven and prepare pans per the original recipe.  When whisking together the dry ingredients, add the cinnamon, ginger, raisins, and walnuts.

 - When whisking together the wet ingredients, add the eggs, oil, and honey (the honey is only to add a touch more sweetness, so adjust to your preference).  Beat well before adding to the dry.

 - Bake per the original recipe.  After removing from oven the final time, immediately dust the top of the loaves with powdered sugar, if using.

My spouse isn't a huge raisin fan, but in the right recipe I think they're delightful.  Nothing says "cool weather breakfast" to me like a good slice of toasted raisin bread with cinnamon butter!

      Serve warm with honeybutter for breakfast, brunch, or tea. Also makes for an interesting twist on a grilled cheese or peanutbutter sandwich.


Z.D.'s Spiced Pumpkin Beer Bread with Chocolate
makes three 8 x 4 loaves of chocolately enhanced bread

Additional Ingredients:
2 tsp cinnamon
2 Cups roughly chopped bittersweet baking chocolate
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 Cup canola oil
3 to 6 Tablespoons of honey, to taste

Directions:
 - Pre-heat oven and prepare pans per the original recipe.  When whisking together the dry ingredients, add the cinnamon and chocolate.

 - When whisking together the wet ingredients, add the eggs, oil, and honey (the honey is only to add a touch more sweetness, so adjust to your preference).  Beat well before adding to the dry.

      Bake and cool per the original recipe.  Serve...whenever.  It's chocolate.  It's a nice way to work chocolate into your breakfast without feeling like you're over-indulging by eatng dessert first.  Alternatively, if you wanted to 'zert it up, toast and add Nutella.  Or make into a sandwich with sweetened cream cheese and slices of banana!

I made this specifically to test the theory that "everything is better with chocolate."  While this by no means definitively prooves said theory, it certainly doesn't debunk it!

*If you guessed "4," you are correct.

      October may be my favorite month.  Leaves change, weather cools, and all the wonderful fall harvest flavors come into abundance!  Not to mention Halloween is the best freakin' holiday ever.  Last year I prepped for the holiday with a series of recipes featuring creepy body parts (skin, heart, liver, and kidneys).  This year I'm leaning towards pumpkin.
      There are a lot of pumpkin recipes out there already, don't get me wrong, but most of them are mediocre.  When I find a truly great pumpkin recipe - be it pie, or muffins, or curry, or soup - I am transported to gourd heaven.  So this year I'm going to focus on honing my own pumpkin genius, and I invite you to take part.  That being said, my first October recipe does not involve pumpkin--rather, it is meant as a vehicle for one of the best pumpkin products out there: pumpkin butter!

Not my photo--wish it was.  Got it here: http://www.lifetasteslikefood.com/2011/10/14/vegan-and-gluten-free-pumpkin-butter/

      Buy it at the store, buy it from the farmer's market, or make your own; pumpkin butter tastes like fall.  And I recommend spreading your pumpking butter on my Rosemary Oat scones! They're flavorful, tender, and a just a little robust.  They can easily be served sweet (pumpkin butter or blackberry jam are my favorites), or savory (top with cheddar cheese).  Want to take it up a notch?  Split, slather with pumpkin mustard (equal parts pumpkin butter and creamy Dijon), and add a thick slice of smoked ham.  These make a great snack to bring to autumn get-togethers, or picnics, or your own lunch for that matter.  Enjoy!

Baking these on a cold morning warms up your kitchen, fills it with a comforting smell, and gives you a tasty start to your day.  Win/win/win.

Z.D's Rosemary Oat Scones

Ingredients:
1 & 2/3 Cup AP flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt, generous
2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
5 T unsalted butter, cold, diced
1/2 Cup old fashioned oats
2 tsp finely chopped rosemary
3/4 Cup half-&-half or whole milk*
1 large egg

Herbs are beautiful and vitamin packed--eat more!

Directions:
 - Pre-heat your oven to 400º F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and nutmeg.

 - Using your fingers, cut in the cold butter until the bits range in size from coarse sand to lentils. Mix in the oats and rosemary.

Fresh rosemary will stay green even after your mince it, but use your sharpest knife to prevent bruising and losing the flavorful oils.

 - In a small bowl, beat together the half-&-half and egg until fully mixed.  Pour into the dry mixture, and toss with a fork until the dough just comes together.
 - Divide the dough into rounds, pat down to no more than 1.25 inches thick, and slice into twelve wedge-shaped scones.

You can make two rounds, cut into sixths, or three rounds cut into quarters.  Since there's only two people breakfasting at my home on most days, I prefer the latter.

 - Bake for 23 - 26 minutes, or until golden brown and fragrant.  Alternatively, wrap the dough rounds in parchment paper, and then tightly in plastic wrap.  Seal in a zip-top bag and freeze for up to 4 months.  To bake, remove wraping, place frozen dough on the prepared baking sheet and pop directly into oven for 30 - 33 minutes.

Still warm from the oven--delish!

      I served these with Seckel pears (aren't they *CUTE*!) and fried eggs.  A pale plate, I suppose, but flavorful and delicious.  Over-all, a wonderful way to start the morning when it's cold and windy outside.



*Do not go any lower in fat than whole milk, or your scones will be too dry.  And for the-love-of-all-things breakfast, DON'T use that artificially thickened crap they call "fat free half-n-half!"