Pumpkin treats

Did I manage to make something new last week?

We left for Sweden early Tuesday morning and were back Saturday at 5 PM with little energy left for cooking, so there was nothing to do but resort to frozen pizza. Then the first half of Sunday was spent on the couch, reading "Anne Franks diary", magazines and blogs and drinking coffee.

I had bought the cutest little butternut squash because I wanted to make Pumpkin Spice Latte, and figured I needed real pumpkin to put in it. So I went ahead and made pumpkin puree out of it by roasting it in the over for about 50 minutes and mashing it with a fork, no complicated tricks there. But the clock was ticking, and I had to make dinner before church, so I decided to eat some of it as a side dish with a pepper steak I bought on the boat from Sweden. It is widely known that Norwegians go to Sweden to buy cheap alcohol, cigarettes, meat and candy. Since I am not the typical "harry"-shopper I spent money on baking powder, organic whole-wheat spaghetti, tea and baking chocolate in addition to the mandatory bacon, chicken and candy. The pantry is now full, and I am ready for winter.

I also made broccoli (almost) like Andreas Viestad would: Boiling the flowerettes in water with salt, butter and baking powder (the latter to preserve the rich green color) for 5 minutes until tender, then draining them and tossing them with lemon juice and cilantro (he used capers and parsley, and I had neither, so I substituted them with cilantro. Probably a whole other experience, but thats okay). The lemon gave a subtle tang to a vegetable that so easily gets overcooked and boring. This time I liked it better, and accompanied by the squash and a rare steak it made for a good meal.

There was never any time for that Latte. As always, we barely made it out the door in time for church. How does that happen when we dont have anything to do all day, and church starts at 5 PM? Its a mystery. After church there was food, then a movie, then time for bed, but today was the day. First I made my own pumpkin spice mix with cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cardamom and cloves. I was certain that nutmeg meant cardamom, but thats what I get for being too lazy that check the dictionary. I found some recipes online and went for this one. It was overall pretty good, but I should probably have put the puree in a blender, cause there were strings of pumpkin, which you obviously wouldnt want in your beverage. Ive only had a pumpkin spice latte once before, and that was two years ago, so I have no idea what it is supposed to taste like, but I think I would cut down a little on the cinnamon next time. 

My very first Pumpkin Spice Latte, made from scratch!

"Where did you get that cup?" you might ask. My parents went to London for a vacation and I asked them to bring me back some Starbucks coffee. A little while later, I get a package in the mail, not only including coffee, but lots of take-away cups and lids as well! My kind dad had walked all over the place, asking for cups till someone was nice enough to give some to him.