Pumpkin Juice

One of the most exciting things to try at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is pumpkin juice. Very sweet, but also pumpkin-y and delicious! I do think it's funny that a British school of Wizardry in existence for thousands of years would serve pumpkin juice... since pumpkins are native to North America, which wasn't "discovered" until 1492...

Maybe the wizards found it before Columbus did.



Regardless, the first occurrence of pumpkin juice is during Harry and Ron's epic car ride to Hogwarts:

"He [Harry] had stopped noticing the fantastic cloud shapes now and was thinking longingly of the train miles below, where you could buy ice-cold pumpkin juice from a trolley pushed by a plump witch" (Chamber of Secrets 72).

Dinah Bucholz includes a recipe for Pumpkin Juice in her cookbook, as well as in the digital collection of summer recipes published last June. So that is the recipe I'll use today.

You Will Need:

1 cup of cooked and mashed pumpkin (or canned pumpkin, which is what I used)

2 cups apple juice

1 cup white grape juice

1 cup pineapple juice

1. Place all the ingredients in a pitcher and stir until the pumpkin is incorporated and not lumpy.

2. Chill in the fridge until very cold.

3. Serve over ice and enjoy.

I have to say, this quails in comparison to the pumpkin juice sold at Universal Orlando (and theirs is basically just apple cider mixed with pumpkin and spices). You can't even really taste the pumpkin in this recipe. Honestly, if I had to describe the taste... it's closer to apricots than anything else. Luckily you can purchase it from the website above!

I recommend skipping the homemade pumpkin juice. 

Go have a butterbeer instead.

Toffee

In America, people often think of toffee as a chewy, sticky candy. Of course, toffee's first appearance in the Harry Potter series is during a very hot and sticky "road trip," so maybe that contributes to the misconception:

"This, thought Harry, was surely the way to travel-- past swirls and turrets of snowy cloud, in a car full of hot, bright sunlight, with a fat pack of toffees in the glove compartment, and the prospect of seeing Fred's and George's jealous face when they landed smoothly and spectacularly in the sweeping lawn in front of Hogwarts castle" (Chamber of Secrets 71).

English toffee is much more like the hard toffee you might find in the middle of a Heath Bar. There are several recipes out there, including one in The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook. Though slightly modified, that is basically the recipe I will use.

You Will Need (this includes my modifications):

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup golden syrup or light corn syrup

1.5 sticks salted butter

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp vanilla

your favorite chocolate, chopped (I used milk chocolate chips)

1. Grease a rimmed baking sheet and line it with parchment or wax paper, allowing the paper to climb up the sides on at least 2 sides.

2. Place the sugar, golden syrup, butter, heavy cream, and cream of tartar in a medium-large saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until completely combined.

3. Reduce the heat to medium-low (wash the sides down with a pastry brush dipped in water if any sugar crystals form).

4. Using a candy thermometer, continue to cook, stirring constantly (this really is important!), until the temperature reaches 260 degrees (Dinah Bucholz' recipe calls for it to be way hotter).

5. Remove the pan from the heat and quickly (but carefully!) stir in the vanilla.

6. Immediately pour the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Move quickly, because it will start to harden pretty fast. Allow it to cool completely, without putting it in the fridge.

7. Melt the chocolate in the microwave and pour/spread it over the hardened toffee.

8. Place the chocolate-covered toffee in the fridge for 10 minutes or until the chocolate sets.

9. Peel the toffee off the wax paper and break it into irregular pieces. 

This is some tasty candy, my friends! And I really think cooking it to the lower temperature (260 degrees versus the 300 called for in the cookbook), yields a much better toffee that is hard, but gets pleasantly chewy after a few moments in your mouth. If you like, you could certainly press some chopped nuts into the chocolate before it sets, creating a more classically English Toffee. But however you decide to prepare it, be sure to enjoy! And maybe imagine you're in a flying Ford Anglia on your way to your next year at Hogwarts!

Hot Chocolate

I kind of love that the Weasley family seems to always serve hot cocoa before bed. But the adult in me is confused... sugar right before bedtime... chocolate right before brushing teeth... oh well. Harry and the Weaselys like it!

"Then it was time for a last mug of hot chocolate and bed" (Chamber of Secrets 65).

The best hot chocolate I've ever had was in Edinborough, Scotland, at a cafe called Pleasir du Chocolat. That was seven years ago. And I still think about it.

It was some seriously amazing hot chocolate, okay?

Let's hope that Dinah Bucholz' recipe comes close!

You Will Need:

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsp instant coffee (or not...)

2 ounces chopped bittersweet chocolate

2 cups milk (the higher the fat content, the creamier the hot cocoa)

1/2 tsp vanilla

whipped cream for serving

cocoa powder for serving

1.  Combine the water, sugar, cocoa powder, and coffee (if using) in a small saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until hot and bubbling.

2. Remove from the heat and whisk in the chopped chocolate until smooth.

3. Return to the heat and add the milk, cooking and stirring until heated through (do not boil).

4. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

5. Pour into teacups and top with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkling of cocoa powder.

This hot chocolate is really delicious. It doesn't beat the hot chocolate I had in Scotland, but it's certainly better than microwaved milk with chocolate syrup! Enjoy!

Treacle Pudding

One of my favorite British foods I've learned about through the Harry Potter series is one of Harry's favorites as well:

"On their last evening, Mrs. Weasley conjured up a sumptuous dinner that included all of Harry's favorite things, ending with a mouthwatering treacle pudding"
(Chamber of Secrets 65).

This will be the third time I've used Dinah Bucholz' recipe for treacle pudding. While it is always delicious, the batter somehow manages to turn out slightly different every time. Oh well!

You Will Need:

2.5 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 sticks butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup golden syrup treacle (or light molasses)

3 large eggs, at room temperature

2/3 cup milk, at room temperature

1/2 cup golden syrup treacle (or light molasses), plus more for serving

I always forget that this recipe makes way more batter than will fit in the dish I use to make pudding. I highly recommend that unless your cookware is ENORMOUS that you halve this recipe.

1. Fill a large pot with water and place a shallow bowl or tall plate upside down inside the pot. I didn't have one that would fit, so I used the jam-jar-lid-as-a-trivet trick. Butter and flour a 2.5qt dish or glass bowl and its lid; set aside.

2. Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a mixing bowl and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, and 1/3 cup treacle, scraping down the side of the bowl as necessary, until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

4. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each until incorporated.

3rd Egg

5. Add the lemon zest and juice (watch out for the seeds!) and beat until incorporated.

6. Scrape down the sides and add the flour and milk mixtures, alternating and mixing on the lowest speed until combined, and beginning and ending with the flour.

7. Pour the 1/2 cup treacle in the bottom of the prepared pudding dish. Scrape the batter unto the dish and smooth the top. Cover tightly with the lid (I also covered the lid with foil just to be safe) and place it in the pot on top of your "trivet." Add water to the pot so that it comes halfway up the sides of your pudding dish.

8. Cover the pot and simmer for 2.5 hours. Check every so often to see if more water needs to be added (don't let it boil dry).

9. Remove the pudding from the pot. Remove the lid and invert the pudding onto a serving dish. Serve with warmed treacle.

This is such a delicious dessert (and the batter is dangerously delicious too!)! It's very sweet but also citrusy and seems very impressive when served (even though it's super easy to make!). Enjoy!

Strawberry-and-Peanut-Butter Ice Creams

Today's food is one of the many that is offered at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Sadly I didn't find that out until my very last day of living in Orlando! Lucky for our favorite trio, they discovered this delight at Florean Fortescue's early:

"The bag of gold, silver, and bronze jangling cheerfully in Harry's pocket was clamoring to be spent, so he bought three large strawberry-and-peanut-butter ice creams, which they slurped happily as they wandered up the alley, examining the fascinating shop windows"(Chamber of Secrets 58).

Now, the way Ms. Rowling has written our ice cream flavor, with hyphens, led me to think that it is one single flavor of ice cream, and not one scoop of each. However, I am concerned that swirling peanut butter into strawberry ice cream might not turn out so great. Because of this, I will use Dianh Bucholz' recipe from The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook.

For Strawberry Swirl Ice Cream, You Will Need:

 1 pound strawberries, roughly chopped (can be frozen)
3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
3 large egg yolks
1 cup strawberry jam

1. Process the strawberries with 1/4 cup of the sugar until smooth (if you're using frozen strawberries, like me, your texture won't really be "smooth").

2. If you want, push the mixture through a sieve to remove the seeds. I left my seeds in.
3. Transfer the strawberry mixture to a medium saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is reduced and very thick. Set aside.

4. In a separate saucepan, heat the heavy cream, milk, and remaining sugar over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until hot but not bubbling.

5. Temper the egg yolks by whisking in 1 cup of the hot milk mixture (whisk constantly!). Then pour the egg yolk mixture into the saucepan while constantly whisking.
6. Continue whisking over medium-high heat until the mixture is hot but not bubbling. Pour the mixture through a sieve if you'd like. (Can you tell I'm not really a fan of the whole sieve thing?)
7. Whisk in the strawberry mixture until smooth and transfer to an airtight container.

8. Allow to cool to room temperature before chilling in the refrigerator until very cold (at least 6 hours).
9. Remove the cold mix from the fridge and give it a quick whisk to reincorporate the strawberries.
10. Pour into your ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.

11. Transfer the ice cream into a clean airtight container and swirl in the (whisked) jam. Don't swirl too much, or it will just become incorporated. Place the container in the freezer until firm.

For Peanut Butter Ice Cream, You Will Need:
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
5 large egg yolks
1 cup chunky peanut butter

1. In a medium saucepan, heat the heavy cream, milk, and sugar over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until hot but not bubbling.

2. Temper the egg yolks (like above) and pour back into the hot milk mixture while whisking constantly.
3. Continue whisking over medium-high heat until the mixture is hot but not bubbling and pour into another bowl.
4. Immediately cover the surface directly with plastic wrap so a skin doesn't form. Cool to room temperature, then chill in the fridge at least 6 hours.

5. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. I recommend adding and mixing in the peanut butter one scoop at a time using a rubber spatula while the mixer is still running (assuming your ice cream maker is like mine!). Or you can transfer the plain ice cream to an airtight bowl and then mix in the peanut butter. Adding large amounts of extras to homemade ice cream (like a whole cup of peanut butter) makes the ice cream softer, so you'll definitely need to pop it back in the freezer for awhile.

To assemble your strawberry-and-peanut-butter ice creams, add a scoop of each to either a cone or a bowl, and slurp to your heart's content!

yummy!

I will add that the Florean Fortescue's ice cream was better... but this version has no chemicals or preservatives, and isn't miles and miles away in Hogsmeade. So enjoy!

Cabbage

Today's food is not actually mentioned with regard to eating, but is one of Hagrid's many excuses:

"'I was lookin' fer a Flesh-Eatin' Sluf Repellent,' growled Hagrid. 'They're ruinin' the school cabbages" (Chamber of Secrets 55).

So today I will share the family recipe for Hungarian Stuffed Cabbage! Of course, I will have to experiment with a way to make them vegetarian, soooo.... here we go!

You Will Need:
a cabbage
your favorite ground beef substitute (I used Morningstar Farms Meal Starter Grounds)
your favorite ground pork substitute (I used seitan)
either 1 cup of cooked brown rice, or 1 pkg of soy Tempeh
1 can of tomato soup
1 medium onion, chopped
salt and pepper

When relaying this recipe to me, my mother forgot to tell me to parboil the cabbage. She realized her error after I was finished and mentioned how difficult it is to roll the raw cabbage leaves. Yeah. Boil your cabbage.

1. Place the cabbage in a pot of water and boil for a few minutes, until slightly tender. Let it cool.
2. Mix together your "meats" with your rice/tempeh.

3. In a large skillet, heat a little vegetable oil and add your onion. Cook until tender.
4. Add your meat mixture to the skillet and mix with the onion. Since it's not really meat, you just have to mix it all together... it doesn't even really need to be super hot at this point either.

5. Carefully peel the cabbage leaves apart and place a scoop of filling in the middle.

6. Fold/roll the cabbage leaf around the filling like a burrito (carefully, but tightly!). If you need to, you can use a toothpick to secure it (just don't forget to take them out again!)

7. Arrange the rolls in a large pot, with the seams facing downward.

8. Mix the tomato soup with about 3 cans worth of water and pour over the cabbage rolls.

9. Place the pot on medium heat and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about an hour, until the cabbage is completely tender.
10. Carefully scoop out the rolls, serve, and enjoy!

This turned out really well! It's pretty simple to make, and is super healthy! And my mom says my version tastes the same as the carnivore kind! I hope you enjoy it!