Yummy Fall Goodness: In A Cup

Oh, how i love the lovely ladies at our local market's bakery.

The whole staff actually is wildly cool, being that they are foodies of the neatest order--working in an upscale grocery where most items are either haute-y taute-y $200 vinegar in a plexiglass case and the like or prepacked for single "grab -n- go" urbanites with their seemingly plentiful dollars in their wallets. But the staff there, they aren't paid wages that can afford to shop at their workplace (which is completely and udderly sad!), however, they are quite creative and crafty--and thankfully willing to share their wonderfully tasty ideas!

Last time i was there, Greg, a produce clerk from Russia, illustrated this beautiful recipe for Kubotcha squash, in his sexy Russian accent, the way they make it in his family--oranges lying in the bottom of the pan with squash on top and the juice of the oranges poured all over, roasting in the oven. Yummy!

This time, it's the bakery ladies with their fancy "Pumpkin Sauce" for the pumpkin lattes.

1 -30 oz Pumpkin Pie mix (the canned pumpkin with the spices added)
14oz canned evap milk
1 can condensed milk
cinnamon and fresh grated nutmeg to taste.

Oh, baby!! And i like how you could adjust it to include no sugar, practically!! Yee-haw!! And the fact that if you drink it straight, it tastes just like you're guzzling pumpkin pie filling before you pour it into the pie shell. Not that i've ever done that, mind you. ahem

Also, since i am coming to you from the land of the people who for some reason refer to themselves as "coffee aficionados" (a title won purely by the amount we ingest rather than actual production of a product from our region), i will share with you a little tidbit of info i learned from the morning news about coffee.

It takes a special person with a gut o' steel to enjoy his cup of Trucker Coffee, and worse off is the kind that looks like someone took brown crayons and swirled them around in a boiling mug of water for a few seconds. The recipe that really knocks your socks off ,when it comes to coffee, is this:

2 TBSP of grounds : 6oz h20 brewed in 210 degree F water, preferably brewed in a French press, no less. :O)

With this 2:6 ratio, you'd never be able to put the appropos amount of grounds in the basket for a 12 cup coffee maker, so you'll have to adjust your measurements if you're brewin' up a batch with your # 1 assistant, Mr. Coffee.

I've tried it with my little 4-cupper, and i have to say, it makes for a more mouthier joe.
My advice though is to get yourself a thermos to pour the rest of it in, as if the liquid sits on the burner too long (eg 30 minutes), it's starts tasting like it's coming from the local Flying J.
**blech** And when you have that, you might as well just resort to unfiltered coffee like the Greeks and Brazilians. Mind that last ounce though! :o)