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Posts Tagged ‘Half Moon Bay pumpkins’

White Bean Salad in a Distressed Pumpkin

Friday, October 15th, 2010

from Casey’s Café in Half Moon Bay

This white bean salad is a great one for any time of the year, but most fun to serve in this silly presentation. Nice centerpiece for your table … lots of smiles (once they realize it is only a salad).

Place in a mixing bowl:

6 cups of drained, large white beans (fresh cooked or canned)

1/2 cup of chopped sun-dried tomatoes

1/2 cup chopped green onions

Dressing ~ mix together and pour 1/2 over beans, toss to blend.

1 cup of olive oil

1/3 cup rice wine vinegar

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons Nature’s seasoning or another seasoned salt

2 tablespoons basil pesto

1/3 cup finely minced red onion

1/3 cup minced parsley

Make the salad a day ahead to let flavors come together. Add more dressing, if needed, before serving.

To make Distressed Pumpkin:

Buy a pumpkin that you can fit a plastic container in. The salad will go into the container and tastes better being separate.

Cut the top off the pumpkin, shaping if you wish. Make the cut large enough to set your container into the pumpkin. Clean out the pumpkin, removing seeds (save for toasting) and other parts

Carve a face into the pumpkin, or use press-in decorations available at many stores. I like to have the eyes rolled upward and the mouth looking surprised or unhappy. Keep the lid at the side of the pumpkin, while on display.

Tags: casey's cafe, half moon bay, half moon bay pumpkin recipes, Half Moon Bay pumpkins, sun-dried tomatoes, white beans
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Witch’s Cauldron (Spicy Fall Harvest Soup) from Casey’s Cafe

Tuesday, October 12th, 2010

A wholesome soup with exotic spices for a warming winter treat.

Makes 10-12 servings

1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into bite-sized chunks
2 sugar pie pumpkins, or other baking pumpkin, cut in half and seeded
Olive oil or spray oil for baking
2 turnips, peeled and diced
2 yellow onions, peeled and diced
2 rutabaga, peeled and diced
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
4 cups water
2 -3 cans coconut milk
2 cans of vegetable broth
2 tablespoons grated ginger
1/2- 1 cup sweet chili sauce
1 tablespoon red Thai curry
2 tablespoons garam masala
1 tablespoon coriander
Sea salt and pepper

Garnish: a swirl of sour cream, minced green onion and cilantro

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Place butternut squash and pumpkin on a cookie sheet lined with paper or foil and lightly oiled. Cover and bake for 45-60 minutes. Check to see if they are done by pressing down on skin side. If ready it will be easy to press down. Remove from oven and let cool. Peel skin and trim away dark bottom edges of squashes.

Put turnips, onion, rutabaga and sweet potatoes on a foil-lined, lightly oiled baking sheet and pour 1/2 cup of water over them and lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover and bake for 35-40 minutes. The veggies need to be tender to puree nicely, check them and add time, if needed.

In a blender or food processor: put approximately 2 1/2 cups of butternut squash or pumpkin and onions in with water, Thai curry and coconut milk. Repeat until all the squash and onions are pureed. Put in soup pot, add spices and stir to blend. Do the same with the root vegetables and ginger using any broth that is on the baking sheet. Add water to the soup, if needed.

Start soup over medium heat and add sweet chili sauce to soup as it cooks. Carefully skim the surface to remove any scum that rises to the surface. Taste to adjust seasonings, adding more water if too thick. Cook for at least 45 minutes. If too spicy you can add a little cream or more coconut milk to soften the flavors.

Serve with a garnish of sour cream and fresh herbs.

Tags: Half Moon Bay pumpkins, half moon bay recipes, halloween recipes, pumpkin recipes
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Pumpkin Weigh Off Pictures

Monday, October 11th, 2010

Big Pumpkins! The winner was over 1,500 lbs.

Thanks to Vicki Skinner for the pictures. What a beautiful day too!

Tags: Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival, Half Moon Bay pumpkins, pumpkin festival, pumpkins
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Soup in a Pumpkin Bowl

Monday, October 11th, 2010

Is this photo just ho-hum? Why not try your favorite soup in a pumpkin bowl instead?

You will need to cook the soup in a pot as you normally would on the stove and then place it in the pumpkin for baking.

Depending on the size of the pumpkin, it will need about 2 hours to bake thoroughly. When you serve the soup, be sure to scrap some of the pumpkin along with the rest of the ingredients. Pumpkin is packed with a lot of good nutrition so it adds a lot of dietary benefit with few added calories.

Tags: Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival, Half Moon Bay pumpkins, pumpkin festival, pumpkin recipe
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Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Video Time

Saturday, October 9th, 2010

The pumpkin farms are fun for the entire family. Check out one of our favoirtes.

Tags: Half Moon Bay pumpkins, pumpkin farms in Half Moon Bay, pumpkins
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Halloween Salmon Recipe

Monday, October 4th, 2010

This recipe from Casey’s Cafe in Half Moon Bay turns a favorite coastal fish into a real Halloween treat. Baked filet of salmon on a platter, glazed with a caper berry sauce and garnished with lemon. Great for a buffet presentation, or a party. Serve with Bruschetta or garlic toasts. Serves 15-20

Sea Monster Arm

1 whole side of salmon, skin and bones removed

Bay Seasoning

sea salt

2 cups salad greens

3 lemons, sliced into “half moons”

Place salmon on a paper or foil-lined baking sheet and sprinkle it with the bay seasoning and salt. Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes. Check to see if it is cooked through and add time if needed. Let salmon cool. Trim away the belly meat and the tip of the tail, making a nice long filet. Save the trim for pasta or salmon mousse or another treat. Set filet on a long serving tray and surround with salad greens. Cover salmon with the caper glaze then place the slices of lemon across the top and bottom of the salmon.

Caper Berry Sauce

Can be made ahead and kept refrigerated for 2-3 days.

In a small bowl, whisk together—

2 cloves of mashed boiled garlic

zest and juice of 2 lemons

1/3 cup finely minced red onion

1/3 cup drained capers

2 green onions, finely minced

1 teaspoon anchovy paste

2 to 3 tablespoons sweet chili sauce according to taste

1/3 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

dash of Tabasco

1 teaspoon sea salt

Taste and adjust seasonings. You want the sauce to be slightly thick, so it will glaze the salmon nicely.

Tags: Half Moon Bay pumpkins, halloween recipes, pumpkin recipes, pumpkins
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Healthy Pumpkin Muffins, a Half Moon Bay Treat, Safe for Diabetics

Sunday, October 3rd, 2010

Living in Half Moon Bay, we enjoy a healthy lifestyle. This is a really healthy pumpkin muffin recipe for anyone with wonderful ingredients including buckwheat flour. The recipe can be made without sugar, making it a recipe that diabetics can enjoy.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup buckwheat flour

3/4 cup sugar plus 2 packets heat-stable sugar substitute or 1/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 slightly beaten eggs

1 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 cup fat-free milk

2 tablespoons cooking oil

1/2 teaspoon finely shredded orange peel

1/4 cup orange juice

Spray twelve 2 1/2-inch muffin cups with nonstick coating; set pan aside. IN a medium bowl combine the all-purpose flour, buckwheat flour, sugar plus sugar substitute or the sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Make a well in the center of flour mixture; set aside.

In another bowl combine the eggs, pumpkin, milk, oil, orange peel and orange juice. Add the egg mixture all at once to the flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy).

Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups, dividing the batter evenly. Bake in a 400 F. oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until the muffins are light brown. Cool in muffin cups on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove from muffin cups; serve warm. Makes 12 muffins.

From Better Homes and Gardens Diabetic Cookbook
Meredith Books, Des Moines, Iowa 1999

Tags: Half Moon Bay pumpkins, pumpkin recipes, pumpkins
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Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival’s “Take Five Lounge”

Wednesday, September 29th, 2010

Need a break during the Pumpkin Festival on October 16th and 17th? Visit the “Take Five Lounge” located at the Coastside Adult Day Health Center at 645 Correas Street in Half Moon Bay from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both days.

There will be a huge TV screen showing the football games, Italian sausages, hot dogs, beer, wine, soda and water for purchase and a place to sit down and put your feet up for a spell.

Profits benefit the Coastside Adult Day Health Center which provides compassionate day care for the elderly and respite for their caregivers. Participants receive a delicious hot lunch, physical, occupational, and speech therapy if needed, door-to-door transportation, stimulating activities, and a “home away from home.” For more information about the programs, please call 650-726-5067 or access the website, www.coastsideadultdayhealth.org.

Tags: Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival, Half Moon Bay pumpkins, pumpkin fesitival, pumpkins
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Pumpkin Pasta

Tuesday, September 28th, 2010

From The Top One Hundred Pasta Sauces by Diane Seed; Ten Speed Press

1 pound tagliolini or fine fresh pasta

3 pounds of pumpkin

4 tablespoons of butter

1 leek

1 stick celery

chicken stock

salt and black pepper

gtrated nutmeg

2/3 cup heavy cream

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Melt half the butter and add the finely chopped leek and celery. Peel the pumpkin and remove the seeds and any stringy fibres. Cut the pumpkin into thin slices. Add to the leek and celery and stir for a few minutes.

Now add a little stock and cover. Cook for about 20 minutes, adding more stock from time to time if necessary to keep moist. Check the seasoning and add salt, freshly ground black pepper and nutmeg to taste.

Process the sauce in a blender or food processor. Return to the pan and keep warm. Cook the pasta carefully and avoid overcooking. Fresh pasta will only need a few minutes, so add the cream to the sauce as soon as you have thrown the pasta into the boiling water.

Drain the pasta and place in a heated dish. Stir in the freshly grated cheese and then the pumpkin sauce. Mix well, add the rest of the butter and serve at once.

Tags: half moon bay, Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival, Half Moon Bay pumpkins, pumpkin festival, pumpkin recipes
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Memories — Yearly Trips to Half Moon Bay and San Gregorio Pumpkin Farms

Sunday, September 26th, 2010

We enjoy visiting the Half Moon Bay Coastside every year. When our boys were younger we would make several stops at pumpkin farms between Half Moon Bay and Pescadero with our favorite stop at Muzzi’s Ranch Pumpkin Patch & Corn Maze in San Gregorio. We have great photos from the past of the boys jumping off the hay piles and running through the maze.

Now that they are teenagers, we normally stop at one farm to pick a few and then head down to our favorite spot for lunch in Pescadero. We always see old friends at Duartes Tavern, especially if we remember to e-mail a few to let them know we’ll be in town.

Cheryl — Mountain View

Tags: Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival, Half Moon Bay pumpkins, pumpkin farms in Half Moon Bay, pumpkin festival
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