Swedish Meatballs

It's been a crazy month for us.  We just moved into a new house and haven't been cooking much lately.  But in the midst of unpacking I decided I needed to cook something. This recipe isn't complicated, but it's time consuming.  Better suited to a Sunday afternoon than a weeknight when your kitchen is filled with boxes.  But the final product is worth it, and it makes enough for at least two meals. 

I love the way the meatballs turned out and I'd definitely use this method again for any kind of meatball. The beef and pork together make a very tender meatball.  Swedish meatballs are spiced with allspice and sometimes ginger and/or nutmeg.  Well, the allspice hasn't yet made it out of my packing boxes, but I had a little tin of pumpkin spice and it worked great!  Pumpkin spice meatballs! 

The gravy contains lingonberry jam, and it's extra tasty to serve a little extra jam on the side.  

Here's what you need for 55 meatballs!

Tart of the Month Autumn Round Up

It's been a very busy month around here, so I didn't have time to make a new tart in September.  Instead, I thought I'd browse the archives for seasonal Autumn tarts I've made in the past.

There are some real winners here!

This Butternut Squash Tart with Sage, Honey & Chilis is really easy and makes a tasty, fancy appetizer or light lunch.

Stone fruits are still in season here in Ontario, and these Plum Tarts with Honey and Black Pepper are a sweet and sour treat.

This Roasted Vegetable Tarte Tatin takes a little more effort, but it is so beautiful and delicious, it's well worth it. 

I can't get enough butternut squash at this time of year, so here's another Butternut Squash Tart, this time with mushrooms and Gruyere.

Little Beet, Cheddar & Apple Tarts on puff pastry are a simple treat for a savoury dessert or snack.

Tarte flambée, or Flammekueche is similar to pizza and makes a wonderful dinner when nights get cooler.  

Carrots are in season and I love the way this Carrot and Herb Tart uses a variety of coloured carrots with the green of fresh herbs. 

And, finally, it isn't really fall without some pumpkin spice. These Pumpkin Spice Tarts have a gingersnap crust I love. 

Get outside and enjoy the season!  

Pumpkin Spice Waffles

I'm not the world's biggest fan of sweets for breakfast. I prefer bacon, scrambled eggs and toast. But I had a strong desire to see how pumpkin waffles would taste.  I searched online for recipes and there are plenty made from scratch, but I have a bunch of buttermilk waffle mix I need to use up so I played around with that until I got the texture and flavour where I wanted it.  

Here's what you need for about 6 waffles:

Waffle Maker (you can also make pancakes out of this by reducing the amount of water)

• 2 cups buttermilk waffle mix
• 1 cup pumpkin purée
• 2.5 to 3 cups water
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg (or freshly grated)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Maple syrup

To the waffle mix add the spices and pumpkin.

Then add 2.5 cups water.

Whisk together to combine. This is a little too thick so I added more water.

This is better.

For waffles you need a pourable batter so this looks about right.

Preheat the waffle iron and mist with cooking spray.

Measure the correct amount of batter for your waffle iron.  Mine comes with a measuring cup that tells you how much.

Pour the batter into the waffle iron...

...making sure it spreads into the corners.

Then close it up.  I cook mine on high to get nice and crispy but you can set it however you prefer.  

Once done, carefully remove from the waffle iron.  You can place them in a warm oven if you want to serve them all at once.  Just don't forget to spray the waffle iron with cooking spray before adding the next batch.

If you want to go crazy you could add whipped cream spiked with cinnamon and sugar, but I wanted to keep it simple. 

Drizzle with maple syrup.

And serve.  These have a subtle pumpkin flavour and a nice touch of spice and they're super easy to make.  A delicious, lazy fall breakfast.