A wild and stormy day ahead!

Conditions at 6:00: heavy rain and 12' and 30 km winds
Expected later: heavy rain (up to 45 mm), 12' and up to 100 km winds

Our winds should get heavier by this afternoon so it could be interesting. Hopefully everything will still be standing when I get home tonight. Of course, strong winds this time of year are especially dangerous because of the leaves still being on the trees. But my trees have stood there for a good many years and hopefully this one will be no exception.

We had a great cooking class last night, although it was a busy one. I had made the crock pot stuffing in the morning to take with me last night and I think everyone enjoyed it. We then made pastry in the food processor and Lesa brought hers along to give it a try. We just might get those out of the boxes yet! While Lesa and Peggy made pastry the other girls made the filling for our pumpkin pies. Then everyone had a hand at rolling out the dough and putting it into the little pie pans I had brought. I with I had remembered to bring my camera because they had lots of fun decorating the edges of their pastries. Once the pies were in the oven to bake, we concentrated on the cranberry sauce and the carrot soup. We may have been a little optimistic in terms of the amount of work that could be completed because we barely got out in time. The carrots were barely cooked so the soup was not quite as smooth as it should have been but the flavour was good. They got the idea anyway. Everyone ended up taking their pies home because we didn't have time to eat them. Hopefully they enjoyed them. We covered a lot of stuff and I'm really impressed with some of the questions that are being asked. It's a really great group this year. We were missing a couple of people but it was good. Our friend Helena joins us after her Yoga class and I think she's also really enjoying it.

Brenda came over before class and helped me load everything into the car and then she drove me home and helped unload again in the rain, so that was very helpful and I really appreciated it. She even helped me put stuff away. I told her I usually just put the stuff in the fridge that needs to go there and then the rest stays on the counter until Wednesday night, so it's nice to have it all put away when I got up this morning.

So now I'm off to fill the tub with water in case the power goes out later.

Here are the recipes from last night:

Pumpkin Pie

2 cups brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon mace
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1 28 ounce can pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup whipping cream

Plain Pastry

Thoroughly mix together brown sugar, salt, spices.

Stir in slightly beaten eggs. Stir in pumpkin until well mixed. Stir in evaporated milk and cream.

Bake at 450 for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and bake 25 minutes more or until filling is set and crust is browned.

I've always found this recipe makes way more filling than needed for one pie shell. I usually fill two.

Perfect Processor Pastry

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

½ cup cold butter, cubed

½ cup cold lard, cubed

1 egg

2 tsp white vinegar

Ice Water

In food processor fitted with metal blade, combine flour and salt; process to mix. Using on/off motion, cut in butter and lard until mixture resembles fine crumbs with a few larger pieces.

In measuring cup, beat egg until foamy; add vinegar and enough ice water to make 2/3 cup. With motor running, add egg mixture all at once; process just until  dough starts to clump together and form a ball.

Remove and divide into 3 portions; press into balls. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes or for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.  Let cold pastry stand for 15 minutes at room temperature before rolling out. Makes enough for three 9-inch single crust pie shells.

Curried Carrot Soup

Makes: 24 hors d'oeuvre portions (6 regular servings)

INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 medium garlic clove, smashed
1 (1/2-inch) piece ginger, peeled and smashed
1/2 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 pound carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
1 medium bay leaf
2 1/2 to 3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1/2 cup canned coconut milk
Toasted unsweetened coconut flakes, for garnish (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS
1.  Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When it shimmers, add the curry powder and
garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

2.  Add the ginger, onion, carrots, bay leaf, and broth, increase the heat to medium high, and bring
the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until the carrots are soft when
pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes. Discard the bay leaf.

3.  Working in batches, process the soup in a blender until smooth. (Be very careful when blending the
hot soup, as steam could blow off the blender lid.)

4.  Pour the soup into a clean pot and return it to the stove over medium heat. Stir in the coconut
milk and adjust the seasoning as needed. To make appetizer portions, serve small amounts of soup in
shot glasses or demitasses. Garnish with a few flakes of toasted coconut, if using.


Note: This soup can be served hot or cold. If you’re serving it cold, you may need
to thin it with a little water.

Crock Pot Stuffing

12 cups cubed bread

2 cups chopped celery

1 large onion, chopped

¼ cup fresh parsley, minced, or 1 tbsp dried parsley flakes

1 ½ tsp summer savory

1 tsp poultry seasoning

1 tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

½ cup butter or margarine

1 cup chicken stock

Combine bread crumbs, celery, onion and parsley. Sprinkle seasonings over top.

Melt butter or margarine and drizzle over crumbs.

Add chicken stock and mix well.

Place in crock pot and cover.

Cook on low setting for 6 to 8 hours.

If you prefer a very moist dressing, add up to ½ cup more chicken stock. If a dryer stuffing is desired, add up to one more cup of bread cubes.

Cranberry-Orange Sauce

This simple Turkey Day side beats the heck out of its canned cousin. Make an extra batch to go with the leftovers.

Ingredients:

• Zest and juice of 1 orange
• 1/2 cup sugar, plus more if desired
• Pinch salt
• One 12-ounce bag fresh cranberries, rinsed

Directions:

1.      In a medium saucepan, heat 1/2 cup water with the orange zest, orange juice, sugar and salt over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the cranberries and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the cranberries burst and the sauce has thickened slightly, about 7 minutes. Sweeten with more sugar, if desired. Let the sauce cool to room temperature before serving