Pumpkin Bagels

*For tips on baking fresh pumpkin check the archives. Click on the tap marked pumpkin.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup pumpkin (mine was a pretty soft puree)

1 cup luke warm water

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp yeast

5-6 cups flour

Directions.

In a large bowl add pumpkin.

Dissolve sugar in lukewarm water and add to bowl.


Add salt sugar and yeast.

Stir well.

Add 3-4 cups of flour and stir to combine ingredients. Add flour 1/2 cup at a time until dough is too stiff to stir.

Knead in bowl or on counter for 8-10 minutes (I like to put on a show on the portable dvd player and get in my upper arm workout while I'm listening to something :) Keep adding a little flour at a time if dough is sticky.

Cover and let rise until doubled in size. 1 1/2 -2 hours.

Divide into 16-24 balls depending on size preference.

Let rise 1/2 hour (Don't let them rise too much)

Using your floured finger, make a hole in the center of each bagel.

Pick it up and give it a little spin around your finger.

Meanwhile in a saucepan or wok (I actually like my wok best) heat 2-3 inches of water. Dissolve 2 tbsp brown sugar and 1 tbsp white sugar in the water. Heat until boiling.

Working in batches boil 6-8 bagels at time. Two minutes on the first side, then flip. Then two minutes on the next side.

I use a bamboo chopstick to flip the bagels and to take them out of the water.

After the bagels have boiled transfer them to a parchment lined baking sheet. Parchment paper is not essential, but it makes it so much easier to get them off the pan. Cooking spray just doesn't work that well. The bagels have a tendency to become glued to the pan. Parchment paper solves this problem.

Bake at 200°C or 400°F for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.

Enjoy toasted with cream cheese!

Cilantro Spicy Rice

This rice is only mildly spicy. I do not really like spicy stuff and I absolutely love this rice. Both my kids will eat it plain so that tells you it's pretty mild.

Ingredients:
½ hot green pepper, diced
½ red onion, diced
½ cup cilantro
3 cloves garlic
2-3 tablespoons water

salt or chicken bouillon

Directions:
Cook 1 ½ cups dry rice in a rice cooker or on the stove. You can add a little chicken bouillon to the water if you want.

In a small saucepan, sauté the diced hot pepper in a little water until tender. Do not drain.

Add to the rest of the ingredients, and pulse in a blender until everything is chopped and well blended.

Add to cooked rice and stir until well combined. Add salt to taste.

*Note: Thai rice works best with this recipe. This makes a great side dish or filling for soft flour tacos.

Homemade Tortillas

As long as you make the dough really soft and let the tortillas rest they roll out really thin.
These tortillas are perfect for gorditas, fajitas and eating out of hand.

Ingredients:
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
3/4 cup lukewarm milk

Directions:
Stir together the flour, salt and baking powder in a large mixing bowl.

Add vegetable oil to the lukewarm milk and whisk briefly to incorporate. Gradually add the milk to the flour, and work the mixture into a dough with a fork. It will be sticky.

If too gooey add a little more flour, but be careful not to add too much.

Turn the dough out onto a surface dusted with flour and knead vigorously for about 2 minutes (Or you can just knead in the bowl). The kneading will take care of the stickiness.

Return the dough to the bowl, cover it with a damp cloth or plastic wrap, and let it rest for 15 minutes. (This dough will not rise, but it needs a rest.)

Divide your dough into 8 balls of equal size, cover them, and let them rest again for about 20 minutes.

Keep the pieces of dough you aren't working with covered so they won't dry out.

Dust your work surface with flour. Working one at a time, remove each piece of dough and pat into a circle. With a rolling pin, roll out the tortilla, working from the center out, turning 1/4 turn every few rolls. Roll out until you have a 10 inch tortilla.

Transfer the tortilla to a dry skillet or griddle over low heat. It will begin to blister. Let it cook for 20 seconds, turn it, and let the other side cook for 15 seconds. It is done when it has small brown spots. Repeat for the remaining tortillas.