Pumpkin Salsa

     So one of my most favorite cooking recipes was when my father had made a pumpkin salsa and it was so dry he couldn't figure out what to do. My family is not a big cooking family, besides my mother and I, but my dad cooks every once in a while. Well this recipe was for a mango pumpkin salsa, and he had found it on some website and decided to try it out. It ended up being a little flavorless; so he came to me. My father had asked me what I would do; so being the experienced little chef I am, I tasted it and told him he needed to add an acid (some type of vinegar). I searched through our cabinet and found what I was looking for. It was Apple Cider Vinegar! After adding about three tablespoons of it, I put it in the fridge and the next day my father and I tried it, and it was pretty good.

     A few days later my dad had come home from work and found me sitting at our kitchen table doing homework. He sat down next to me and congratulated me on how amazing of a cook I was; I still remember his face and the words he said to me. You don't have to have a degree or certificate to make you amazing, just be yourself!

     This recipe is not the one that my father and I altered, but this one is amazing non the less.

 

Pumpkin Salsa

Makes 3 cups

Ingredients:

• 2 cups small diced pumpkin (use a pie pumpkin)
• 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded, diced
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 large jalapeno, minced (remove seeds for a milder heat)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Zest and juice of 1 lime
• 1/2 teaspoon Chile powder
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Toss pumpkin with 2 tablespoons olive oil and spread on a baking sheet.
3. Roast for 20 minutes, stirring often, until squash is tender and lightly browned.
4. Meanwhile, heat remaining oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
5. Add bell pepper, onion, and jalapeno. Cook, stirring often, until onion is golden.
6. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
7. Add pumpkin, lime zest and juice, Chile powder, and cilantro, stirring to combine.
8. Season with salt and pepper.
9. Serve immediately or let cool and refrigerate in an airtight container for up 1 week.

Pumpkin Cheescake

 

This Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe is one of Gina Neely's amazing recipes!

I do, instead of a gingersnap crust, do a chocolate graham cracker, or even a regular honey graham cracker crust! I hope you enjoy this, as much as I do!

 

 

Pumpkin Cheesecake

 

Ingredients

Crust:

• 30 squares gingersnap cookies
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

• 4 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
• 5 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• Whipped Cream, for serving

Directions

Crust:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Add the gingersnaps to the bowl of a food processor, and pulse until crumbly. Transfer to a large bowl and add the melted butter. Stir until evenly mixed. Press the mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with 3-inch sides. Bake the crust until golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool completely while preparing the filling.

Filling:
Put a teakettle filled with water on the stovetop, over medium heat, and bring to a boil.

In a large mixing bowl, add the cream cheese and sugar and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the pumpkin and beat until incorporated. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, then add the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and vanilla, and beat until blended. Add the flour and beat until incorporated.

Wrap the sides and bottom of the springform pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Pour the filling into the pan and put it in a small roasting pan. Pour the hot water from the teakettle into the roasting pan, filling halfway up the sides of the springform pan, about 1 1/2 inches. Bake until the center of the cheesecake moves slightly when the pan is gently shaken, about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Remove the cake from the water bath and let it cool on a wire rack.

Cooking!

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Cooking. What does it actually mean?  Dictionary.com says that cooking is the 1. the act of a person or thing that cooks,  2. the art or practice of preparing food; cookery. Yes there is the actual definition; but I mean what does it mean to you. Cooking to me means blasting my Pandora radio and losing myself in the ingredients and food.
   I remember the first few times I actually cooked; they were with my Grandmother in my families little condo. My grandmother was showing my how to make chocolate chip cookies; showing how the Tsp and Tbsp were two very different measuring tools and to never get them confused (unfortunately I have multiple times!). Next she showed me how to measure brown sugar; I always thought that compressing the brown sugar was a waste of time, and lets just say there have been a dozen or so cookies that tasted a little less sweet. Cooking with my grandmother taught me that you need to spend the time to make perfection, but changing the recipe can make perfection as well.
     I have been cooking now for over 10 years, and its one of my hidden passions! I love making the comfort food, or those fast simple recipes that you have somehow memorized. One of my favorite dishes that I have had was an Italian/French dish. I was traveling through all of France last year, and when we were in Paris our first day it was nonstop touring; so by the time it was lunch we had gone to little Italian restaurant. The dish I chose was a pasta dish, it had sauteed carrots, zucchini, peppers, a garlic sauce, and fresh Parmesan and paprika on top. But every since last summer, I have tried to make that dish so many times, and I think I have perfected my version of it. If you would like my recipe for it, I can post it.
    Cooking is just a way I can express myself, I always wanted a way that would make me and the others around me happy; cooking was the key! Don't be afraid to express yourself, whether its through cooking or not. 

-Marissa