girls' lunch

today tashi didn't have school ("autumn break") and i had my friends molly, meredith and baby evangeline come over. i had the honor of supporting meredith as evangeline came into the world and i am enjoying seeing evie grow bit by bit.



i made pumpkin tureen, which is supposed to be pumpkin soup cooked right in the gourd. it turned out more like pumpkin pudding though.



we ate up the contents of the first pumpkin, and had some more from the second, this time adding chicken stock to our bowls. the stock helped a lot. i'd like to find a better recipe, or figure out how to tweak it so that the soup comes out soupy. we also had homemade cornbread and a nice fresh salad that included some of the last bright & juicy tomatoes from molly's garden.



for dessert, molly brought a mouth watering caradmom coffee cake. i also made a sort of cobbler, apple & cherry with a polenta-pecan topping. we added a little freshy whipped cream and it was all rather heavenly.



it was a beautiful autumn day, cool, crisp, sunny -- spent with warm hearts.


(molly and tashi are trying to block the bright backlighting!)

Apple-Cherry Dessert with Pecan-Polenta Crust
(serves 8)

Filling:
6 medium apples, peeled cored & sliced
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tblsp butter
Crust:
1 cup polenta
1 cup white, unbleached, flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 tblsp orange zest
2 tblsp veggie oil
2 eggs beaten
3/4 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, combine apples, cherries, sugar, cinnamon & nutmeg. Transfer to a 2 quart baking dish and dot with butter.

2. In a bowl, combine polenta, flour, baking powder & soda, salt, sugar & pecans. In another bowl, combine orange zest, egg, veg oil and buttermilk. Combine wet & dry ingredients and mix.

3. Dollop mixture on top of the apples. Bake 45 minutes or until topping is brown and apples are soft.