Cooking a fresh pumpkin for baking - it's easy! September and October are always SO busy for us. We become slaves to the garden and the freezer and canner. Have to get all that fresh produce, including fresh pumpkin, taken care of! It makes for a lot of very tasty eating over the winter months. Still, I sometimes ask myself just who had the bright idea of planting all this stuff? On the other hand, it is awfully nice to look around on a January morning and find that we have all I need to ... Read More about How to Cook a Fresh Pumpkin
Fruit
Double Apple Bourbon Cake
Summer is really losing its grip here in the Northeast. The temperature has cooled off a lot - we have days of mellow sunshine and the beginnings of fall colors. It's the perfect time to make this Double Bourbon Apple Cake. When apples are just beginning to get ripe, nearly any variety is good for baking. Later in the season, everyone wants Granny Smiths and Northern Spies, but in September and October, my favorites are Cortlands. Cortland apples, developed about 20 minutes from my ... Read More about Double Apple Bourbon Cake
Preserving the Harvest: How to Freeze Blueberries
Where we live, here in Upstate NY, it's blueberry time, which means preserving some of that wonderful harvest. Freezing is a fast and easy way to save that summer goodness for later in the year. I'm bringing this post up from a few years ago, for a fresh audience [and maybe for you to enjoy again!]. Once blueberries start ripening, there's a pretty short window of opportunity to get them picked and dealt with. You can only eat so many fresh berries. You might want to check out a few ways ... Read More about Preserving the Harvest: How to Freeze Blueberries
Maple Walnut Rhubarb Crisp
This is a rewind post, refreshed and brought up to date for new life. Having made it numerous times since the original publishing date, I can tell you that Maple Walnut Rhubarb Crisp definitely worth another look! Maple Walnut Rhubarb Crisp is everything you might think the name implies. It's sweet, tangy, fruity, nutty, and crunchy. We have not been the least bit sorry that it took 3 batches to get it tweaked just so, because taste testing the "failed" batches has been very pleasant work ... Read More about Maple Walnut Rhubarb Crisp
Pumpkin Bread with Walnuts and Raisins
{Or plain old Pumpkin Bread if you prefer!} If you're like me, you are deep in the midst of last minute Christmas prep, and not really looking for one more thing to do. Or maybe, even more like me, you are near the end of Christmas prep, because you're leaving in a few days, and you realize you are short a few baked gifts for the neighborhood? Yup - that. And then, you suddenly realize that you have never posted your favorite Pumpkin Bread recipe on the blog. Say whaaa? So, even though I just ... Read More about Pumpkin Bread with Walnuts and Raisins
![Find the recipe for Concord Grape Preserves [no pectin recipe] from The Creekside Cook](https://thecreeksidecook.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/gp_feat-400x600.jpg)
Concord Grape Preserves {no pectin recipe}
Concord Grape Preserves with Deeper Flavor, and Less Sugar It has been a crazy summer around here - lots of work outdoors, training a new puppy, doing Farmer's Market every week, and still finding time for family visits, and getting all of our produce saved for winter. It's not left much time for blogging I'm afraid, but now that things are getting a little calmer, I am feeling like sharing some recipes again. The grapes that went into these marvelous Concord Grape Preserves, came from vines ... Read More about Concord Grape Preserves {no pectin recipe}
![Homemade Raspberries Preserves [no pectin recipe] from The Creekside Cook](https://thecreeksidecook.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/featured-400x600.jpg)
Raspberry Preserves {no pectin recipe}
It has been a mighty busy summer around here. A good busy though. In addition to having a bigger garden and selling at the Farmer's Market, we found a new church that we are trying, I got into essential oils [okay, that should probably say I became instantly obsessed with essential oils!] and now, any day, we expect to be called suddenly to drive 3 hours south to watch our granddaughter while her little brother gets born! I am trying to get everything from the garden put up for winter in between ... Read More about Raspberry Preserves {no pectin recipe}
Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
Summer certainly took it's time finding us this year. Now that it is here, in all it's hot, steamy, Upstate New York glory, there is no better time for some Strawberry Cheesecake Ice cream. The strawberries have been really good this year - sweet, juicy and, locally at least, huge. Strawberries like things cooler, and a bit on the rainy side. Certainly better than we do. If there are no more fresh strawberries where you live, this is easily made with frozen berries. Just take care that the ones ... Read More about Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
Easy Citrus Jam
I'm a little late getting this recipe posted, but it is definitely not too late to make it yourself! There is still plenty of fresh citrus in the stores this spring, and you can change up what you use to suit what you can find. I wanted to get this posted before I left to spend a week in Arizona with my folks, sister and brothers, but as so often happens, time got away from me and I am not getting to until now. I hope it's right on time for you though! This time of year, you may find that your ... Read More about Easy Citrus Jam
Upside Down Grapefruit Cake
You don't see that many recipes using grapefruits in baking. I guess they don't have quite the same pizzazz as lemons and limes, and they are not as sweet as most oranges. If you juice them, the flavor isn't really bold enough to hold up much grapefruit flavor - unless you reduce it, and then it loses a lot of it's pop because you lose the fresh uncooked flavor. The trick is to use the fruit itself. I love fresh grapefruits, and don't mind the trouble involved to section them, but Larry can't ... Read More about Upside Down Grapefruit Cake
Dried Plum Oatmeal Cookies
Okay, Okay - so they are actually just plain old humble prunes. "Prune" is not a word that brings out a positive thought for a lot of people, I realize. I figure if the package can call them "Dried Plums", then I can too, and maybe a few more people will be drawn to the idea. The truth is, though, that I have always loved prunes. Growing up next door to my grandparents, I was given to think that only old people eat prunes, because they had them every morning for breakfast. I'm not sure that we ... Read More about Dried Plum Oatmeal Cookies
Cranberry Eggnog Bread
We are having some really difficult days in our family right now. I don't talk a lot about day to day events here on the blog, but I have been so absent here lately, and events have kind of overwhelmed us, so I thought I would share a little bit. Late last year, Larry's youngest sister, Janet began to experience some changes in how she was feeling. A lack of energy and just not feeling like herself. In the last couple weeks it has been discovered that she has a very aggressive form of cancer, ... Read More about Cranberry Eggnog Bread