Pumpkin is probably a long forgotten vegetable on the rise to fame, again. I always liked pumpkin in all its form; soup, roasted or mashed. Pumpkin seed oil, from roasted seeds are a perfect ingredient for ice cream or any baked desserts. Pumpkin for breakfast, oven roasted with honey and Rosemary, lots of pepper and a dash of pumpkin seed oil is a perfect meal for the day.

Pumpkins are very versatile in their uses for cooking, from the fleshy shell, to the seeds, to even the flowers; most parts of the pumpkin are edible. Traditionally, pumpkin is a very popular Halloween and Thanksgiving staple. Although most people use store-bought canned pumpkin, homemade pumpkin purée can serve the same purpose.

 
A can of pureed pumpkin, typically used as the main ingredient in pumpkin pie. When ripe, the pumpkin can be boiled, baked, steamed, or roasted. In its native North America, it is a very important, traditional part of the autumn harvest, eaten mashed and making its way into soups and purees. In Mexico and the U.S., the seeds are often roasted and eaten as a snack. Often, it is made into pie, various kinds of which are a traditional staple of the Canadian and American Thanksgiving holiday.

Pumpkins that are still small and green may be eaten in the same way as squash or zucchini. Pumpkins can also be mashed (similar to mashed potatoes) or incorporated into soup. In the Middle East, pumpkin is used for sweet dishes; a well-known sweet delicacy is called halawa yaqtin. In South Asian countries such as India, pumpkin is cooked with butter, sugar, and spices in a dish called kadu ka halwa. In Guangxi province, China, the leaves of the pumpkin plant are consumed as a cooked vegetable or in soups. In Australia, pumpkin is often roasted in conjunction with other vegetables. In Japan, small pumpkins are served in savory dishes, including tempura. In Thailand, small pumpkins are steamed with custard inside and served as a dessert. In Italy it can be used with cheeses as a savory stuffing for ravioli. Also, pumpkin can be used to flavor both alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages.

I did some food shots of the new Gastro Pub menu today, taking my Lumix LX3 and worked that camera hard! The menu is not launched as of yet and I can’t tell of the restaurant where it will be launched.

Apple Pie with Custard Ice Cream & Kit Kat Brownie with Cherry Ice Cream

Raspberry Salad with Lineseed Crisp & Date Toffee Pudding

Lemon Tart

This week I had to do a product shooting for S who had a project of Thai food presented in a modern way. Now, Thai food has a long history, not much had changed over the years and certainly not presentation. (We are very lucky for that) However since Thai food has become so much popular around the world a few individuals have tried to fuse Thai cuisine with other cuisines like French, Italian, Spanish and even Japanese. More often these fusions are a complete failure since all these cuisines have their distinctive flavors and methods of cooking. Perhaps the only way to fuse other cuisines with Thai I can think of is in the presentation; Thai served like Tapas or small individual courses, Keiseki style.

Tom yum is characterized by its distinct hot and sour flavors, with fragrant herbs generously used. The basic broth is made of stock and fresh ingredients such as lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, lime juice, fish sauce and crushed chili peppers.

In Thailand, tom yum is usually made with prawns (tom yum goong), chicken (tom yum gai), fish (tom yum pla), or mixed seafood (tom yum talay or tom yum po taek) and mushrooms – usually straw or oyster mushrooms. The soup is often topped with generous sprinkling of fresh chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves. In Laos, tom yum is typically made with fish or chicken, but freshwater prawns are also available.