pumpkin

Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie in a Mug

Published on November 29, 2016November 29, 2016 by The Crimson CraveLeave a comment

By Danielle Leavitt ’17

Pumpkin is the flavor of fall! From pumpkin flavored coffees to pumpkin desserts, it is always a welcoming and comforting treat. This amazing gluten free recipe combining pumpkin in your favorite coffee mug is easily made and can satisfy your fall pumpkin crave!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup pumpkin puree

1 egg

2 tbs maple syrup

1 tbs milk or almond milk

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

Mix all ingredients up in a mug. Microwave for 3 minutes or until cooked (it will still look moist in the center)

That’s it!!! This recipe is very quick and easy to make. Fall never tasted so good!!

Sofra Bakery and Cafe: Cambridge Bakery Brings Middle Eastern Spices to the Masses

Published on November 22, 2015November 22, 2015 by The Crimson CraveLeave a comment

by Bovey Rao ’19

In 2001, Ana Sortun opened her landmark restaurant, Oleana, in Somerville. After an incredible tour of Turkey, Sortun returned to Boston to introduce the city to exotic Eastern Mediterranean flavors. The restaurant exploded in popularity, and in 2005, Sortun was awarded the James Beard Award for Best Chef Northeast. As Oleana was filled consistently, Sortun began looking into a new project, Sofra.

Sofra Bakery and Café was inspired by Turkish bazaars, which offer food, drinks, spices, and other ingredients in a small area. The store has two separate sections with a café in one section, then a market space that sells condiments, wines, and spices. Upon entering, you encounter the vibrant aromas of the Mediterranean like cardamom, cinnamon, and coriander. A quick glance at the counter reveals an extensive menu with a wide assortment of baked goods. Sofra followed the meze style of dining, so there are many small vegetarian dishes as well as some larger dishes with meats. With staples like falafel, shawarma, and hummus, the menu might seem generic at first; however, upon closer inspection, the subtle complexities shown through. Sortun’s goal is to make Mediterranean flavors and spices approachable to the American palette, so many local ingredients are incorporated into the complex “foreign” dishes.

As my exhausted group of friends and I collapsed into Sofra after a run, we glanced over the counter at the menu. After we caught our breath, we placed our orders and cooled down from our run. A short while later, my spinach falafel wrap, pumpkin turnover, and grape sharbat arrived with my friend’s orders of chicken shawarma and a red-dragon iced tea.

The spinach falafel wrap was served with a little tahini, beet tzatziki, pickles, and fresh greens. Falafel is a traditional Middle Eastern dish, prepared by grinding fava beans or chickpeas and then frying it. While the dish may be simple, there is a complexity to the dish, with a unique mix of spices and textural differences giving it almost meaty impression. Sofra’s rendition was mixed with spinach and accompanied by rich, creamy tahini and acidic pickles. Unfortunately, the exterior of the falafel lacked the distinctive crispness I expected. Thus, I was slightly underwhelmed as the wrap had a uniform texture, but the refreshing bitterness of the greens and crunch of the pickles improved dish immensely.

While ordering, I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices for the baked goods. With cookies, tarts, breads, and a plethora of other seasonal baked goods, Sofra prepares a number of traditional Mediterranean pastries as well other European baked items with Mediterranean influences. Fortunately, the cashier provided a quick recommendation of the pumpkin turnover. While the recommendation seemed plain, I was pleasantly surprised by the flavorful sweet and savory pastry. With the traditional pumpkin spices of cinnamon and nutmeg, the flavor was incredible with the flaky buttery turnover. The fresh sweet pumpkin inside was a nostalgic reminder of autumn.

Normally, I do not comment on the drinks that are served in my restaurant reviews, but the seasonal sharbat was sensational. With a strong grape cardamom concentrate mixed with sparkling water, the drink left a powerful sweet flavor.

A mere two miles away, Sofra serves as a cheaper destination for those seeking the Mediterranean experience. The more accessible sister of Oleana, Sofra delivers similar flavors in a cozier and more comfortable environment. While the food may not have been as elevated as at Oleana, the identity of the restaurant as an approachable café was apparent. If I ever desire a falafel wrap or a savory, spiced pastry, I will run in the direction of Sofra.

Sofra Bakery and Cafe

Location: 1 Belmont Street, Cambridge, MA 02138

Reservation: N/A

Stand out dishes: Pumpkin Turnover (Seasonal), Grape Sharbat (Seasonal)

Overall Rating: 4/5

Food: 3.5/5

Service: 5/5

Ambience: 4.5/5

Pumpkin Muffins with a Spice

Published on October 26, 2015 by The Crimson CraveLeave a comment

by Richa Chaturvedi ’18

In an effort to test how yummy Buzzfeed suggestions really are, I spent my Friday afternoon making these pumpkin muffins! Spoiler alert: never shall I doubt Buzzfeed again.

Pumpkin is always a tricky ingredient – it has an interesting consistency and tends to overpower everything else in the dish. A basic rule of thumb for cooking with pumpkin is to enhance the flavor with the correct spice, but to make sure to incorporate more dynamic elements into the recipe so that pumpkin isn’t the only flavor. This is why I added chocolate chips to these muffins. Chocolate and pumpkin is actually an underrated combination, plus they look amazing together!

The recipe also calls for pumpkin spice, which is just a combination of basic fall flavors: cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and ginger. Since I’m a normal college student, I didn’t just have those lying around so I was very generous with cinnamon and vanilla extract. It still tasted great! The big takeaway from this is that recipes aren’t set in stone. As long as you have the basic chemistry down, you can take liberties to personalize and experiment with the dishes you create. After all, you’re the one eating them so it’s really up to you.

Above all else, don’t be scared to try new recipes and ingredients. I’m basically inept – there was a period of time in high school when I was banned from using the microwave due to an unfortunate aluminum foil incident – but I was committed to making myself something nice and pumpkin-y and, I’m not going to lie, I crushed it. It’s helpful to remember that if you don’t make yourself chocolate chip and pumpkin muffins, then you won’t be able to eat chocolate chip and pumpkin muffins. With that inspiration, go forth! And happy fall from Crimson Crave.

Make it yourself!

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. pumpkin spice
¼ tsp. salt
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup canola oil
1 (16 ounce) can pure pumpkin
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
½ cup butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
24 pumpkin-shaped candies

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 °F. Line 24 muffin cups with paper or silicone liners and coat with nonstick cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin spice, and salt. Set aside.
In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a whisk, combine eggs, sugar, oil, and pumpkin. Add the flour mixture in two batches, mixing after each addition until uniformly combined.
Using a large cookie scoop, fill the muffin cups nearly to the top with batter. Bake about 25 minutes, rotating the muffin tins halfway through baking time, until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean with a few crumbs attached. Cool completely.
While the muffins are cooling, in a large bowl, combine cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until smooth. Frost muffins using a spatula or a pastry bag and piping tip of your choice. Top with pumpkin candies.

*Recipe courtesy of CulinaryHill.com.

In Defense of the Pumpkin Spice Latte

Published on October 19, 2015 by The Crimson CraveLeave a comment

by Richa Chaturvedi ’18

Growing up in southern California, fall was never really a thing for me. When temperatures dipped into the 60s, we would bundle up in our leggings and uggs and head to class. The leaves never changed color because most of the trees were already dead (thank you California drought) and the ones that weren’t were palm trees. But there was one thing that meant fall had truly arrived: the pumpkin spice lattes.

Pumpkin spice lattes, or PSLs, are fall’s gift to earth. In the last decade, Starbucks has sold over 20 million of them. They’re everything wonderful and make everything okay. This year, for the first time ever, they even contain real pumpkin. But they are constantly attacked, which begs the question: why?

What’s wrong with enjoying a fall-flavored latte on a cold day? Why is it an offense to drink a coffee the same color as the leaves on the ground? I think people are entirely too critical. Pumpkin spice lattes aren’t basic because more than one people enjoy them. I’m not going to find coffee at some alternative venue with about three regular customers. It’s out of the way and, frankly, I don’t want to.

To those who say that PSLs disrupt the true taste and flavor of coffee I say the following: did it ever pretend to be coffee? Is it named as such? As far as I can tell, coffee is coffee and pumpkin spice lattes are pumpkin spice lattes. There’s a distinction there. PSLs aren’t trying to be something they’re not – rather, pumpkin spice lattes are wonderfully individual.

And so am I. So the next time I’m late for class because I got stuck behind a long line of PSL enthusiasts at Starbucks, don’t judge me. Be jealous of me because I’m sipping on a slice of heaven.

“Fall” In Love: With Everything Pumpkin

Published on October 19, 2015 by The Crimson CraveLeave a comment

by Angela Yi ’19

When I was four, pumpkin was my least favorite vegetable. It has since become one of the best; a seasonal flavor I can’t pass up. Pumpkin chai latte, pumpkin spice, and the classic pumpkin pie – I can eat those all day long. So this weekend, I made it my mission to go to three different eateries and try out their pumpkin-themed desserts.

Every day is J.P. Licks Day. Above is a waffle cone with pumpkin custard and white coffee chunk.

My first stop was, of course, at J.P. Licks. Its location right across from the Yard is both a blessing and a curse; whenever I want ice cream, I don’t have to walk far to get some, but its closeness always tempts me every day.

I had a small in a waffle cone of two of J.P. Licks’ Flavors of the Month: pumpkin custard and white coffee chunk. The white coffee chunk was a delicious blend of coffee and chocolate – two things that I can never resist. The pumpkin custard was good, but I felt like the pumpkin flavor wasn’t strong enough.

Then, I walked over to Tealuxe to have some fall-themed tea and tea cake. I had the chaider, a blend of hot apple cider and cinnamon chai. It definitely warmed me up from the cold weather outside. But, I saved my Pumpkin Tea Cake to eat at my next stop:

Also located at 0 Brattle St., Sweet has simply amazing cupcakes that everyone should try.

Sweet, a cozy bakery filled with some of the best cupcakes I’ve ever had, ended my day on a high note. They had a nice variety of fall-themed desserts, and at least three different kinds of pumpkin flavored cupcakes. I ordered the pumpkin pie cupcake, and relished every bite of it.

Tealuxe’s Chaider and Pumpkin Tea Cake & Sweet’s Pumpkin Pie cupcake.

The pumpkin is one of fall’s greatest classic flavors, and my mission to find delicious pumpkin-flavored desserts clearly demonstrates why it remains popular season after season.

“Fall” In Love: A New Series About Uniquely Fall Food and Drinks

Published on October 17, 2015October 17, 2015 by The Crimson CraveLeave a comment

by Angela Yi ’19

The breeze is blowing, the leaves are taking on lovely red and gold hues – and the delicious scent of cinnamon and pumpkin are wafting in the air. Autumn has finally arrived, and with it are new, seasonal food and drinks.

Pumpkin Spice, Apple Cider, and Caramel Apple are only a few of the numerous flavors that are available only during the fall. And I’m going on a mission to try as many seasonal pastries, drinks, ice cream, cakes, pies, anything and everything that I can – and fall in love with each and every one of them.

Autumn is definitely my favorite season. The weather is in the perfect balance of hot and cold, and fall fashion is indisputably the best fashion. Coats, booties, tights, scarves – the possibilities and outfits are endless.

But most of all, the fall-specific menus many restaurants and cafes have makes autumn the real winner. The only detraction is that these foods are available only during a few months of the year. But, this exclusivity might be what makes Pumpkin Spice – and all the other fall flavors – impossible not to love.

Golden Bars of Heaven: Pumpkin Streusel Snack Cake

Published on November 14, 2014June 8, 2015 by Victoria PiccioneLeave a comment

by Victoria Piccione

These days, one is considered “basic” if she (or he) admits to being pumpkin-obsessed. But I would argue that there is nothing basic about pumpkin. If anything, it’s one of the season’s richest flavors. It has an earthy warmth that’s just begging to be paired with chocolate. It adds spice to one’s life and eases the cruel transition out of Daylight Savings Time. And this snack cake or, more fittingly, golden bars of heaven are certainly not basic.

Last year, I made pumpkin bread nearly every three weeks, starting in October and ending in April, not because it was finally no longer winter but because I’d run out of canned pumpkin. I consider this pumpkin bread pretty much unbeatable: it’s the perfect breakfast, perfect afternoon snack, perfect dessert, perfect bedtime treat, and perfect post-exam pity food. But as someone who regularly and genuinely laments that there are far, far more recipes that exist than I can possibly try in a lifetime, I’m always aware of the need to explore new options, and an email from one of my favorite blogs instructed me on exactly where I ought to go adventuring.

When an email titled “Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Streusel Cake” arrives in your inbox, full of mouthwatering, tantalizing photos, you don’t just let it pass. You don’t simply archive it and let it disappear into the depths of cyberspace. You struggle not to lose your head until you try your hand at creating it yourself. Or at least I do. I couldn’t wait. It had started to invade my dreams.
These bars are dense. They are rich. And they are moist. They’re perfectly studded with chocolate chips, and the spices are subtle but balanced. I had some salted caramel sauce on hand from these divine apple crumb bars, so naturally I couldn’t resist adding some to the pumpkin. And inspired by the pumpkin bread that I can never get off my mind, I threw in a handful of butterscotch chips, for they bring pumpkin to the next level, in some inexplicable way.

There’s nothing particularly fancy about the cake. It’s simple, and it’s easy to whip together. While I’d still have no shame in eating a piece for breakfast, there’s definitely something about the cake that’s distinctly more dessert-like. Pumpkin pie can be polarizing – it’s sort of a love-it-or-hate-it food – but these bars fall entirely on the love-it end of the spectrum.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Streusel Cake

Adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod

For the cake:

2 cups flour

2 tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. ground nutmeg

1 tsp. baking soda

¾ tsp. salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp.

¾ granulated sugar

¾ cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 Tbs. vanilla extract

1 cup pumpkin puree*

1 cup chocolate chips

⅓ cup butterscotch chips

For the streusel:

⅔ cup flour

½ cup brown sugar

½ tsp. cinnamon

6 Tbs. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

½ cup chocolate chips

Optional: salted caramel sauce

*When I first made this recipe, I didn’t realize it called for 1 cup of pumpkin puree rather than 1 can of pumpkin puree. The bars were still delicious (though a bit wet), but could’ve used some more spice. For a more cake-y consistency, stick to the 1 cup of pumpkin puree. I think that 1 can (which is nearly 2 cups) makes for a tasty, moist bar if you just add a dash more of cinnamon and nutmeg.

1) Preheat oven to 350°F, and butter and grease a 9” x 13” cake pan.

2) In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

3) In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugars. Beat in the egg and vanilla until combined. Add the pumpkin puree, reduce the speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. Evenly spread the batter in the prepared pan.

4) Pour about a half-cup of salted caramel sauce over the batter, swirling it into the batter. Smooth over with a rubber spatula.

5) For the streusel, combine the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Using your fingertips or a fork, add the butter, working it into the dry ingredients until the mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle the streusel over the top of the cake, then top with chocolate chips and drizzle with salted caramel sauce.

6) Bake in the preheated oven for about 35-40 minutes or until the sides pull away from the pan and a toothpick comes out clean – there may be some streaks of melted chocolate. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Enjoy – serving with an additional drizzle of salted caramel sauce to be extra indulgent!