The history of pumpkin pie goes way back to the 1600s. According to Linda Stradley at What's Cooking America website,  the first possible sort of pumpkin pie was likely in 1621 when early American settlers of Plimoth Plantation (1620-1692), the first permanent European settlement in southern New England, might have made pumpkin pies (of sorts) by making stewed pumpkins or by filling a hollowed out shell with milk, honey and spices, and then baking it in hot ashes. An actual present-day pumpkin pie with crust is a myth, as ovens to bake pies were not available in the colony at that stage.

Then, 1651 - Francois Pierre la Varenne, the famous French chef and author of one of the most important French cookbooks of the 17th century, wrote a cookbook called Le Vrai Cuisinier Francois (The True French Cook). It was translated and published in England asThe French Cook in 1653. It has a recipe for a pumpkin pie that included the pastry:

• Tourte of pumpkin - Boile it with good milk, pass it through a straining pan very thick, and mix it with sugar, butter, a little salt and if you will, a few stamped almonds; let all be very thin. Put it in your sheet of paste; bake it. After it is baked, besprinkle it with sugar and serve.
  

In modern times, the pumpkin pie has become a staple on the American table at Thanksgiving holiday and Christmas as well. Along with the bounty of winter squash season, so many pumpkin spice flavored dishes and beverages appear and take over for a few months during the cold winter.

Here is my favorite pumpkin pie recipe that has worked very well for me with any kind of winter squash available at the CSA,  courtesy of Erin Boyle from the blog reading my tea leaves which I love to follow.

Here is another pumpkin recipe I would like to try very soon, it's pumpkin scones with cinnamon butter... 

I hope you are all enjoying the harvest season, and with lots of pumpkin available for Halloween coming up, don’t waste the flesh of the pumpkin! You can make an awesome pumpkin pie.

- Yumi Zaic

It's Friday! World Music Friday!

The month of October makes us think of Germany and its people. 

German culture began long before the rise of Germany as a nation-state and spanned the entire German-speaking world. From its roots, culture in German states has been shaped by major intellectual and popular currents in Europe, both religious and secular. Historically, Germany has been called Das Land der Dichter und Denker ("the land of poets and thinkers"), because of the major role its famous writers and philosophers have played in the development of Western thought and culture.

Germans place a high priority on structure, privacy and punctuality. The German people embrace the values of thriftiness, hard work and industriousness. There is great emphasis on making sure that "the trains run on time."

Germans are stoic people who strive for perfectionism and precision in all aspects of their lives. They do not admit faults, even jokingly, and rarely hand out compliments. At first their attitude may seem unfriendly, but there is a keen sense of community and social conscience and a desire to belong.

The desire for orderliness spills over into the business life of Germans. There is a staunch adherence to hierarchy and decisions are often made by a small group of leaders. Meetings are highly structured, and since opinions have often been formulated beforehand, there is not much tolerance for divergent viewpoints or debate.

Workers at all levels are judged heavily on their competence and diligence, rather than interpersonal skills. Communication with co-workers as well as outsiders tends to be direct and not always diplomatic.

In the field of music, Germany claims some of the most renowned classical composers of the world including Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven, who marked the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western classical music. 

A little sample here from the great composer Johann Sebastian Bach Cello Suite No. 1- Sarabande by Rostropovich.

Have a great weekend!

- Alba Serrano-Miro

It was a delicious mistake. There are conflicting stories concerning Tarte Tatin's origin, but the most common is that Stéphanie Tatin, who did most of the cooking in the Hotel Tatin in Lamotte-Beuvron, France, was overworked one day. She started to make a traditional apple pie but left the apples cooking in butter and sugar for too long. Smelling the burning, she tried to rescue the dish by putting the pastry base on top of the pan of apples, quickly finishing the cooking by putting the whole pan in the oven. After turning out the upside down tart, she was surprised to find how much the hotel guests appreciated the dessert. From there, the hotel and the tarte became world famous. For more information on the history of Tart Tatin, go to  Friends of the Tarte Tatin site. 

We are right in the season of harvest, with beautiful colors of pumpkins, radishes, pomegranates and apples in full swing. Tart Tatin, it turns out, is not as difficult as it may sound. It may actually be easier to make than the traditional apple pie! This article in the NY Times, offers a recipe and video of how to make a foolproof tarte tatin. Watching the video made me want to get out there and get a cast-iron pot. The pot must be stove and oven proof, so something like this would work beautifully.

If you love to travel and learn about different cultures, a great way is through their cuisine. At our blog, we will start a series of World Cuisine highlighting different recipes and history of the dishes from all over the world. We hope you will enjoy and try out some of the recipes, and have your kitchen be filled with the aroma that makes people call it their “home”. 


- Yumi Zaic