Nov 142013
 

In my earlier post, Putting Jolly Ranchers in a Beer, I mentioned that we brewed a grape Jolly Rancher Belgian tripel for this year’s Iron Brewer in Grand Ledge, MI.  Judging for this competition took place this past Tuesday and our beer won.  All of the beers presented were well done.  Some were delicious beers that lacked a Jolly Rancher character.  Others tasted like delicious desserts or wine coolers.  The idea behind the Red Salamander’s Iron Brewer competition is to make something that showcases the “secret ingredient” while still being a beer.  This year the judges felt that our entry was best at walking that line.

Myself and Karl from The Red Salamander

Myself and Karl from The Red Salamander

Tom Payne Sr. - Jolly Rancher Unwrapper Extraordinaire

Tom Payne Sr. – Jolly Rancher Unwrapper Extraordinaire

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s the recipe for 5 Gallons: Continue reading »

 Posted by at 8:15 am
Sep 302012
 

Last weekend, Matt brewed his traditional fall batch of Black Pumpkin Ale.  Because I lovingly made the trek to the farmer’s market to find and retrieve the necessary pumpkins, my sweet husband was happy to pick all the chunks of pumpkin out of the spent grains in his mash tun when he arrived home and rinse and collect them for me.  Though the pumpkins get cooked before brewing and then steep in the grains to extract flavor, there is plenty of pumpkin-ey goodness left for use in the kitchen.  In past years I have put the pumpkin chunks into baggies and tossed them into the freezer for wintertime use, but this year, with fall in the air and a grocery budget to stretch, I felt like using it up right away and I thought I’d share how I went about using up 10 cups of previously-brewed pumpkin chunks in just 6 days.

I used the first portion of the pumpkin in a soup that I’ve made many times over the years: a Curried Coconut Pumpkin Soup.  What I love about soups is that they are so un-fussy, so please overlook my complete lack of measured ingredients – it’s just not that important for this one!  Like most any soup, I started by sauteing a chopped onion in some olive oil, then added some homemade chicken stock, maybe 4 cups worth, and 5 or 6 chopped potatoes (these happened to be russets) and 4 or so cups of the pumpkin, then brought that all to a boil and cooked until the potatoes were good and tender, about 30 minutes.  At this point, I removed the soup from the heat and added a can of coconut milk and two tablespoons of curry, a few shakes of red pepper (crushed, not flakes), a bunch of minced garlic and some salt – spices are all to taste.  We like the spice in our house so you may like things more delicate than we do.  I stirred that up, then ran it through my blender to make it smooth and creamy.  I served it with some lovely biscuits and called it dinner.  While this soup has met with objectors in most of its previous incarnations, this time everyone was agreeable to it.  Miss A (the anti-vegetable) even had seconds and her big sister Miss C, who hates orange vegetables, found it to her liking as well, possibly because she called it “potato soup” and I did not correct her.

Later in the week I wanted to indulge the children for breakfast and tried this recipe for a Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Cream Cheese Swirl  .   I used two cups of pumpkin rather than 1 1/4 and because I had no applesauce in the house, though I’m sure that would have been wonderful, I used half a stick of butter in the recipe instead.   The cake was amazingly moist and so delicious.  I’ve filed this recipe away in my file for regular use!!

Finally, yesterday was “Pancake Saturday,” our family tradition, I woke up thinking about Pumpkin Pancakes!   I pureed up the rest of the pumpkin (about 4 cups) and the liquid in the bowl with enough maple syrup to allow it to get smooth in the blender.  I did spend some time waffling over whether to make the pumpkin puree into a hot “pumpkin butter” topping for regular pancakes or to just put the puree right into the batter and call it a day.   When I considered the logistics of having yet another pot on the stove while cooking up the pancakes on my two-frying-pan-system, simplicity won out and I added the pumpkin goo right into the batter and then added a good pile of cinnamon as well, plus some dry malt extract just for extra flavor dimension.  Matt took one look at my almost overflowing mixing bowl of batter and made some incredulous comments about my going overboard in making “all that” at once.  But the fact is that he has missed a good many pancake Saturdays and I have become a wicked pancake slinger this summer.  But I digress.  The pancakes were well-received.  They cooked up well and had a custard-like texture that was very smooth and satisfying.  The pumpkin flavor was rich and delicious.  There may have been 10 or so left, which the children happily ate for breakfast before church this morning.

I’ve heard rumors that there may be a second batch of Black Pumpkin Ale in the works yet this season and I’m hoping so, because I’d love to make use of another batch of previously-brewed pumpkin!  I wonder what else I can do with it??