Since Kyle is still here for another few months I am thankfully only packing up half a house at the moment. Now our assets can pretty much be summed up this way: anything electronic is probably Kyle's and anything in the kitchen is probably mine. Its not just pots and pans either - I have a habit of buying all sorts of interesting ingredients to experiment with, many of which Kyle will never use. So today I was strolling through the cabinets trying to figure out what to make to use up some of these ingredients when I came across a couple of cans of pumpkin, and I knew I had to make something with them.
Now the story of these jars of pumpkin perfectly sums up my experience of living abroad. My very first Thanksgiving in Edinburgh, I vowed to make a perfect and traditional Thanksgiving dinner. I wanted a golden turkey, crisp roast veggies, butternut squash soup, and of course pumpkin pie. You can't have Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie. Weirdly the Brits aren't so into the pumpkin situation, they have them available at Halloween to carve, but other than that its really hard to find canned pumpkin. After asking around for a while I was finally able to get the name of a store in town that had loads of American goods, including pumpkin.
Delighted to have tracked it down, I ran to the store the next day only to find that there was apparently a Scotland wide pumpkin shortage that year! Instead of the usual several dozen cases the store orders in most years - this year they were only able to get in 1 measly case. Despondent - I reluctantly added my name to the waiting list (yes there was actually a wait list for pumpkin) but I had little hope of actually getting a can of this coveted stuff. The days came and went and before long it was the day before Thanksgiving and there was no sign of any pumpkin. I sadly gave up hope of having my perfect Thanksgiving abroad.
And then I got the call! The pumpkin had arrived and there were two cans with my name on it! I had 24 hours to claim them or they would move to the next name on the list (this was a precise pumpkin wait list) and within the hour they were in my hand. Thanksgiving was saved and it turned out to be one of the best I've ever had. Which just goes to show you that living abroad can sometimes be hard - but it all works out in the end!! So don't take your pumpkin for granted and next time you have a can lying around, I suggest you make these pumpkin spice muffins! They are bursting with warm spice flavor, moist as can be and ever so comforting!
Pumpkin Spice Muffins (adapted from Martha Stewart)
15oz pumpkin puree (425g canned pumpkin, 2 cups)
3/4 cup vegetable oil (180ml)
3 eggs
1 cup plain yogurt (I used creme fraiche because I had some in the fridge)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon (or more to taste)
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
1. Preheat your oven to 350F (180C) and grease your muffin tins, unless you are using silicon muffin tins, in which case you don't need to
2. In a large bowl combined the pumpkin, oil, creme fraiche, eggs, granulated sugar and brown sugar and mix until smooth.
3. In a separate medium bowl, stir together your dry ingredients; the flours, the baking soda, baking powder, and spices.
4. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients making sure to mix until combined but not to over mix.
5. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins (it should make 12 jumbo or about 18 regular muffins)
6. Sprinkle the tops with a little brown sugar
7. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
8. Let cool and enjoy!
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