Pumpkin Prep with the House Elf Liaison

It's Autumn in the Northern Hemisphere and that brings cooler weather, changing leaves and pumpkins! Pumpkin patches pop up everywhere this time of year, and, while most of the pumpkins sold there aren't the tastiest varieties, that doesn't mean we can't talk about our favorite pumpkin recipes!

The House Elves want to know...What's your favorite pumpkin recipe?

Here's mine, we make these every year-

Pumpkin Muffins

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup shortening
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup golden raisins (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Mix all dry ingredients together thoroughly. Cut in the shortening until fine. In a separate bowl, combine egg, pumpkin and milk. Add this to the dry mixture and mix until just moistened. Stir in raisins. Fill greased muffin pans 2/3 full. (this recipe is for 12 muffins) If desired you can sprinkle a little sugar on top of each muffin. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes.

Yum!

Going Shopping with the House Elf Liaison

So, the House Elves have learned about the Muggle invention of grocery stores with their aisles lined with food and they are all atwitter. House Elves just conjure up the things they cook, so they don't really understand what "ingredients" are, except for when you're talking Potions. They want to learn more about these strange places! Let's help them out by sharing our grocery lists with them.

The House Elves want to know...What's on your grocery list?

Hint: you might want to pick up a can or two of pumpkin for next week!

Something Special with the House Elf Liaison

Canadians just celebrated Thanksgiving and it's coming up in the USA too, not to mention all the other holidays and special occasions that come around this time of year. What do you like to eat on a special occasion? Do you like to break out that special gourmet cookbook and whip up a five course meal? Or that tattered, much loved recipe from your grandmother's recipe box? Or would you rather go out to a restaurant and let someone else do the heavy lifting?

The House Elves want to know...What's your favorite special occasion meal? Share your most special recipes, favorite restaurant splurges, or touching stories!

Time for Breakfast with the House Elf Liaison

It's a new month and every day is a new day. Mom always said that breakfast was the most important meal, and the House Elves agree. Please share your favorite breakfast ideas, recipes, experiences, anything at all about food in the morning!

The House Elves want to know... What is your go-to breakfast?

Pantry Soup with the House Elf Liaison

You know the day before the big shopping trip? When the food available doesn't quite add up to a meal? Some people call it Pantry Soup, some people call it "Cheesy Grapefruit Surprise", here is your chance to share the food you make with the dregs left in the kitchen.

The House Elves want to know... What is your most (or least!) successful thrown together meal?

Snooping with the House Elf Liaison

It's a well known fact amongst wizards that House Elves are notoriously nosy. The fact that employed House Elves are bound by strict silencing spells is the only thing that keeps the daily habits of their households under wraps.

So, today, let's let them snoop around a bit in our refrigerators...
The House Elves want to know... What's in your fridge right now?

Just Desserts with the House Elf Liaison

House Elf Liaison, back from the kitchens...

When life gets busy, frazzled and harried, what to turn to but our crafting chocolate!!!! Or if not chocolate, dessert (but why not just shave, drizzle, or drench it with chocolate?)

Tell me about your favorite sweet treats, the one you make the best, the one you pick over the all the others, or the one that changed your world! Recipes, tips, and general comments are all welcome!
The House Elves want to know: What's the best dessert you've ever eaten?

Lunch Date with the House Elf Liaison

House Elf Liaison, back from the kitchens!

Welcome Hufflepuffs, old and new! It’s a new term and the House Elves want to hear more from you! This term, instead of me just posting recipes, I’ll be asking questions about food- what you like and what you cook, what you eat and what you wish you could eat. I’d love it if you shared your recipes, ingredients, tips, anything that you want. Let’s talk about food!

Now that the term has started and we're all back in classes, the House Elves want to know:

What is your go-to lunch? A sandwich? A salad? A bento box? Tell us all about it!

Recipe Catch-up

Life is crazy in the Common Room, and so here we are, back to present TWO recipes in this installment :-D

Summertime means burgers! The House Elves couldn’t be more excited! So, for your next burger, why not try something a little different, and a whole lotta tasty? Lilleduck was so kind to share this little gem with a House Elf named Dink and now we get to share it with all of you.

Do you have a tried and true burger recipe? A summertime favorite? Let the House Elf Liaison know!

Salmonburgers



600 grams (approx 1 1/4 lbs) skinless, boneless salmon fillet
2 ½ teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons potato flour (this is similar to instant mashed potato flakes) or you could possibly use corn flour
¼ teaspoon white pepper
2 teaspoons parsley
2 teaspoons chives
3 teaspoons onion
1 ¼ dl (approx 1/2 cup) double cream (in the US sub heavy cream)
Butter or oil to fry in.

Put everything except the salmon and cream in a food processor and run it in intervals until it is chopped fine. Add the salmon and cream and pulse it until you get the consistency that you want. I like it to be a little chunky but you could make it smooth if you like that better. Form 6-8 burgers and fry them.

Make your burgers with the burger bread you like and salads and dressings. I use green salad and onions and crème fraiche dressing. The kids just put ketchup on everything…

Crème fraiche dressing
3 dl (1 1/4 cups) crème fraiche
Juice squeezed from 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons chives
2 tablespoons parsley
2 tablespoons sugar

Mix it all and serve.

And as a refreshing drink, try Lettuceleaf’s No Recipe Breakfast Smoothie!

This recipe is great because there is no measuring, or specific ingredients - you just use what you have on hand.

First you set up your blender.
Start with some juice
Add 2 fruits (banana is encouraged as one of your two fruits, and our intrepid Blog Assistant to the House Elf Liaison has discovered over the years, frozen banana adds a lovely frothiness to a smoothy)
Finish with a carton of yogurt, or some milk, or even ice cream
(Another assistant addendum is to throw in a scoop of protein powder. I loves me my smoothies ;-D)
Blend, pour, enjoy!

Thank you, ladies, for getting in touch with our House Elves and sharing your lovely recipes!

Enjoy! :-D

Sunday Special, May 16, 2010

It’s been a busy week. Homework is in full swing, OWLs are starting to see some progress, the first big Quidditch challenge is behind us. I heard the House Elves talking about carrots and Curiouskate and my ears perked up. They happily chattered on until I had finally secured her recipe which looks so yummy and delicious! I did a little Arithmancy (which is hopefully accurate) to help out our students in the USA, my notes are in the parenthesis. So, for the Sunday Special here is

Super-Quick Carrot cake

* 4 eggs
* 250g (about 1 1/4 cups) sugar
* 200ml (1 cup) oil
* 200ml (1 cup) carrot juice or milk
* 200g (3/4 cup) ground hazelnuts
* 125g (1/2 cup) finely grated carrots
* 300g (2 1/4 cups) flour
* 1 T baking powder

Beat eggs & sugar until creamy. Add moist ingredients and stir thoroughly. Add dry ingredients and mix quickly until everything is smooth and even.
Pour into a 30x40cm form and bake at 180°C (350°F) for about half an hour.

Add frosting and decor as you like to, but the cake is yummy on itself :)

Enjoy!

Sunday Special, May 9, 2010

The House Elves wanted to wish every ‘Puff mom a Happy Mother’s Day! They had a little meet and greet with StitchingMagic and they came up with this fabulous looking Apple Cake - yum! StitchingMagic’s special touches are noted in parenthesis, the original was from cooks.com.

The House Elves are thrilled to get feedback and recipes so PM YarnVista to get in touch with them!

So, for the Sunday Special the House Elves have chosen…

Silver P.’s Apple Cake

* 1 1/2 c. vegetable oil (1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, melted and cooled)
* 2 c. all-purpose flour
* 1/4 tsp. ground cloves (leave out all 3 spices and put in 2 tsp. gr.)
* 1 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon ( cardamom )
* 1/4 tsp. ground mace
* 1 1/4 c. walnuts, chopped (I prefer pecans or blanched almonds)
* 3 tbsp. Calvados (or the flavored brandy to match, or Poires Guillaume for pears, kirsch for cherries)
* 2 c. sugar
* 3 eggs
* 3/4 tsp. salt
* 1 tsp. baking soda
* 1 c. whole wheat flour, sifted
* 3 1/4 c. coarse chunks of peeled and cored apples (or pears, or peaches, or cherries)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a large bowl, beat vegetable oil (or butter) and sugar until thick and opaque. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift together all-purpose flour, cloves, cinnamon, mace, (or cardamom) baking soda, and salt, then stir in whole wheat flour. Add to oil mixture and blend. Stir in nuts, fruit, and brandy or liqueur. Stir to distribute pieces evenly. Pour into a greased 10 inch round cake pan (This is not big enough. I use a large spring form pan placed on a baking tray.) Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cake rest for 10 minutes, then unmold and pour glaze over warm cake or cut cake and pour glaze over slices.

Apple Cider Glaze for Silver P.’s Apple Cake

Melt 1/4 cup unsalted butter. Stir in 2 tablespoons brown sugar and 6 tablespoons granulated sugar. Add 3 tablespoons Calvados, or brandy, or liqueur, 1/4 cup sweet cider, or juice of your choice, 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice, and 2 tablespoons heavy cream. Stir, bring to a boil, reduce heat slightly, and cook 4 minutes. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Pour while still warm over warm cake.

Enjoy!

Sunday Special, May 2, 2010

The House Elves heard that several ‘Puffs wanted some healthy recipes and they are glad to oblige us! Remember, if you have a recipe you want to share, PM Yarnvista and we’ll get the Elves right on it!

So, for the Sunday Special the House Elves have chosen…

Honey, Do You like Blueberries?
1 Honeydew melon, skinned, seeded and diced into 1” cubes
1 pint blueberries
Fresh mint
Fresh lime juice (optional)

This is the easiest fruit salad ever, but it is so good! In a medium to large bowl mix together the melon, berries and several whole mint leaves. Yum! If you want to make it a little more tangy you can also mix in some lime juice to taste.

Quick Pasta with Tomatoes and Beans
2 cans diced tomatoes with basil, garlic & oregano
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
8 cups fresh spinach chopped (approx. 1 pre-washed bag)
4 cups hot, cooked penne
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Mix all the ingredients in a large pan over medium heat- cook until spinach is just wilted.

Until next time, Enjoy! :-D

House Elves Welcome back the Hufflepuffs!

The House Elves wanted to welcome all the Hufflepuffs to the shiny, new common room! This term the House Elves are sharing tasty recipes with us. There is still time to vote in the House Elf Poll if you haven’t yet.

Also, if you have a favorite recipe - of any kind! - please PM Yarnvista! The House Elves really want to be able to share beloved recipes - they don’t have to be fancy or even be totally homemade. The House Elves will credit you with the recipe and I bet they can convince the ratties to give you extra love and kisses, if you like :)

So, for the start of term the House Elves decided to share

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
40 miniature chocolate covered peanut butter cups, unwrapped (tip: put the uwrapped cups in the fridge or freezer as you are prepping the rest of the cookies)

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Sift together the flour, salt and baking soda; set aside.
Cream together the butter, sugar, peanut butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla and milk. Add the flour mixture; mix well.
Shape into 40 balls and place each into an ungreased mini muffin pan.
Bake at 375 degrees for about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press a mini peanut butter cup into each ball. Cool and carefully remove from pan.

Enjoy!

Best Cornbread

Get those ovens hot!

House Elf Liaison, back from the kitchens…

The House Elves were so interested to learn that lots of you want to make desserts and baked goods! (Did you miss out on the House Elf poll? Make sure you vote!) As the term starts the House Elves will have certain types of recipes on certain days but our wonderful Liaison is still working out a schedule with them. For now, they wanted us to share this absolutely delicious cornbread recipe with you all!

This is our Dear Liaison's favorite cornbread ever! It’s better than those Jiffy packs and almost as easy. It’s a little bit cake and a little bit bread and it’s absolutely wonderful with a little butter and honey on top!

Best Cornbread

• 1 cup flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup milk
• 1 egg, well beaten
• 1 tablespoon oil

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400° F (204°C)
Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a second bowl, beat egg then add milk and oil. Add the wet ingredients to the dry- mix, but don’t overmix, you want those happy bubbles to do their job!

Get out a square pan or a pie pan (approx 9” x 9”) and grease it with oil or butter. Add batter to the pan and bake for 20-25 minutes. Your finished cornbread should be a golden yellow on top and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.

Enjoy!

As the Blog Assistant to the House Elf Liaison, I have to say I'm stopping at the store for cornmeal today!

House Elf Liasion Recipes

*tap tap tap* Is this thing on? *feedback skreeeeeeetch!*

*cringes* sorry....

As an enterprising Not Quite Hufflepuff, for my own amusement, I decided to collect the recipes that the House Elf Liaison brought to us straight from the kitchens, in a word document. Since I'm already
obsessively collecting
copying and pasting them, I've been asked by the powers that be to assist the Liaison by posting recipes here to the blog :-D And so, we have our first recipes!

First, a throwback from our own Bijou3owl: Five Minute Mug Brownie!

• 4 Tbs Flour
• 2 Tbs Sugar
• 2 Tbs Cocoa Powder
• 2 Tbs Veggie Oil
• 2 Tbs Water
• Dash of Salt

Combine dry ingredients in a mug. Add wet and mix well. Microwave aprox. 1 min. The middle should still be a bit liquidy, though you can microwave a little more (15s-30s, depending on your microwave) if you like. She likes to add chocolate chips after it’s done, and a splash of vanilla with the wet ingredients.

The house elves have developed Five Minute Strawberry Ice Cream to go with it!

• 10 ounce package frozen sliced strawberries (or frozen fruit of your choice)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup heavy cream (half and half, lowfat milk, or even soymilk work too, it just isn’t as creamy)

Combine the frozen fruit and sugar in a food processor or blender. Process until the fruit is roughly chopped. With the processor running, slowly pour in the heavy cream until fully mixed. Yum! If liquid nitrogen is in short supply, a quick stash in the freezer will help the ice cream to firm up.

Enjoy!