Filed under: cooking, family activities, Recipes | Tags: botanical garden, botanical gardens, family activities, gardening, New York, plants, public garden, public gardens, pumpkins, vegetables
Patty, QBG’s Deputy Director, has been making everyone on staff very hungry as she describes the large batches of incredible soup simmering away for her family’s Thanksgiving Dinner this year. So we pried the recipe out of her (!) and are happy to share it with our readers – along with her modifications to the original recipe.
Pumpkin Lentil Soup
Lynn, QBG’s receptionist and plant hotline guru, passed along this recipe a few years ago. We’re not positive of its origins – a fundraiser cookbook is the recollection – but we’ve both added our own flourishes and the soup has since become a Thanksgiving tradition.
Basic Ingredients:
2 large onions, chopped
¼ cup butter or margarine
5 cups chicken broth
1-1 ½ cups cooked and mashed or canned pumpkin
½ cup lentils, washed and picked over
¼ tsp. ground pepper
1/8 tsp. each marjoram and thyme
Dash hot-pepper sauce
1 cup light cream
½ cup toasted sliced almonds
Directions:
In a large Dutch oven-type pot, sauté onions in butter until golden. This is the real secret to a tasty soup, so caramelize those onions!
Add broth, pumpkin, lentils, pepper, herbs, and hot pepper sauce.
Cover and simmer about 1 ¼ to 1 ½ hours or until lentils are tender. Cool slightly.
Puree – an immersion blender is perfect or use a food processor. Add the cream and salt. For thinner soup, add more broth or cream.
Reheat and serve with the almonds.
My first batch was for Thanksgiving 2009. I substituted cayenne pepper for the hot pepper sauce, and added more ground pepper while layering salt over several stages. Modified the herbs a bit too, by using a pinch of sage plus Herbs de Provence (rosemary, marjoram, thyme and savory) rather than just marjoram and thyme.
The soup was such a hit that I made another batch for QBG’s holiday party the same year. To accommodate some of the vegetarians on staff (and satisfy my culinary curiosity!), I used vegetable stock. Tasty still, but I do prefer using the suggested chicken stock.
Just prepared soup for this year’s Thanksgiving Dinner and couldn’t resist a new modification! To give a bit of a Latin flavor, I added two envelopes of Sazon. Yum –can hardly wait to serve it to the family tomorrow!
Lynn’s modifications show just how flexible and creative this recipe can be. She prefers to simply let the pumpkin flavors come through stronger, and likes to lighten up the calories in this heavy-duty eating season. She leaves out the almonds, salt and light cream, adding just a touch at the end — and only if necessary. Since hot pepper sauce might not be to everyone’s liking, she eliminates it completely which lets more pumpkin and lentil come through.
Enjoy, and from all of us at Queens Botanical Garden, Happy Thanksgiving!
Fall greetings garden lovers!
Here’s a great recipe from Mary, a beloved member of the QBG family, packed with delicious apples.
So swing by the Farmers Market located at QBG, Fridays from 8:30am to 4pm, and grab some gorgeous apples to try this scrumptious treat at home!
Recipe: Apple Walnut Supreme Cake
What you’ll need
½ cup chopped walnuts
4 cups coarsely chopped apples
1 ¾ cups sugar
2 eggs
½ cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups sifted flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
What to do
-Combine apples and sugar. Set aside for 45 minutes until apples are nice and juicy.
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-Add nuts to the apples.
-Mix flour and baking soda.
-In a large bowl mix eggs, oil, vanilla, cinnamon and beat for 1 minute.
-Add the other ingredients to the egg mixture, alternating between the apple mixture and the flour mixture, stirring well.
-Spoon the cake mixture into a baking pan 13” x 9” x 2”.
-Bake for 40- 45 minutes
Filed under: cooking, Events, family activities, gardening | Tags: botanical, botanical garden, botanical gardens, environment, family activities, farmers market, honey, New York, plants, public garden, public gardens, Queens, recipes, sustainability, vegetables
That glorious time of year has returned — the Farmers’ Market at QBG has opened for the season!
This is THE spot to get fresh fruit and vegetables, coffee, nuts, and even honey. Plus the market is a terrific place to meet your neighbors, and pick up a recipe or two.
You’ll find the market on Dahlia Avenue, near Main Street, every Friday from 8:30 am to 4 pm. Click here more more info and to find our about upcoming events.
To whet your appetite, our staffers picked up this terrific recipe at the market. Enjoy!
Sauteed Mushrooms & Garlic Scapes, created by Rebecca Pedinotti
Serves 4
4 tablespoons of olive oil
8 garlic scape tendrils, roughly chopped
1 sweet yellow onion, sliced
9 button mushrooms, sliced
Soy sauce (approx. 1 tablespoon)
Rice wine vinegar (approx. 2 tablespoons)
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan. Add the garlic scapes and saute for a few minutes, then add onions and mushrooms. Squirt with soy sauce.
When the scape bulbs begin to brown, pour in the rice wine vinegar, mixing and scraping to remove any browned bits off the bottom of the pan (i.e. deglazing).
Filed under: cooking, family activities | Tags: botanical garden, botanical gardens, family activities, public garden, public gardens, pumpkins, recipes
One last recipe in time for the holiday!
Tim, QBG’s Director of Development & Marketing shares tips on making this favorite dessert, Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle, from Paula Deen:
This has become and friend and family favorite since I first made it several years ago. Not only is it tasty and moderately addictive, but it has the “wow” factor when you put it on the table.
Here are my tips after making this recipe many, many times.
1) Use whole wheat gingerbread mix – I really like Hodgson Mill brand. It’s not too sweet and the texture is dense enough to hold up to the rest of the ingredients.
2) Make the gingerbread one day ahead and let it sit out. Its much better if it starts to go stale as it will absorb the other flavors much better.
3) You can make the filling a day or two ahead and keep them in the fridge until you’re ready to assemble. Make sure that you use pumpkin pie filling, not pumpkin. Its a smoother consistency. Also, I use the food processor or handmixer to combine the filling; again, it makes for smoother consistency.
4) Don’t assemble more than a few hours before you plan to serve. If it sits overnight in the fridge it will start to get soggy. However, you should give it a little time to set-up before serving; I often make it just before I’m heading out for Thanksgiving Dinner so that it has a few hours to get itself together, but no more.
5) Don’t fret if you don’t have a trifle dish. Anything with a straight side will work.
6) Set the trifle down on the table, hear the oohs and aahs, and then step back. Your guests will love it!
Once you’re comfortable with the concept of trifle, experiment with it. I’ve made a black forest trifle, lemon-lime trifle and others.
Filed under: cooking, family activities, gardening | Tags: botanical, botanical garden, botanical gardens, family activities, gardening, gardening tips, public garden, public gardens, recipes, vegetables
The QBG Blog is in the holiday spirit and looking forward to some festive food! Here’s another great side dish for a special meal, submitted by Community Markets – the folks who bring the farmers market to QBG (watch for their return in 2010!).
Curried Winter Squash, created by Peter Berley, from Fresh Food Fast
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 cup apple cider
¼ teaspoon salt
2 pounds winter squash, peeled if necessary and cut into 2” chunks
Preheat the over to 450 degrees F. Select an ovenproof casserole or skillet large enough to hold the squash in a single layer.
Melt the butter in the casserole over medium heat. Add brown sugar, curry powder, and salt, and cook, stirring, until the butter melts. Add the squash and toss to coat.
Gradually pour the cider down the side of the pan without pouring it directly over the squash. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil.
Transfer the casserole to the oven and roast for 30 minutes, basting midway through the cooking time. The squash is done when the tip of the knife does not meet with any resistance when inserted into the squash.
Filed under: cooking, family activities, gardening | Tags: botanical, botanical garden, botanical gardens, family activities, farmers market, gardening, gardening tips, public garden, public gardens, recipes, sustainability, vegetables
Annette, QBG’s Individual Giving Associate, offers up this terrific, easy dish – perfect as a main course or side dish for a holiday meal. And since it’s the end of the growing season, if your vegetable crisper looks like ours, this is a terrific way to use up the last produce!
Eggplant Vegetable Medley
3 medium eggplants, sliced to about ¼ to ½ thickness
3 leeks or one large onion or 5 scallions, sliced into bite sized pieces
1 large red, green, or yellow pepper, chopped
5-6 large celery stalks, chopped
Garlic cloves – as many as you like!
(Any other vegetables – try throwing them in, too)
2-3 cups of tomato sauce – seasoned as you like
Grated cheese – pick your favorite
1-2 cups shredded mozzarella
- Roast the vegetables at 400° F for 20 minutes to get some good color.
- In a square or rectangular baking pan, layer roasted vegetables alternately with tomato sauce and both cheeses. Top off with a layer of both cheeses
- Bake at 400° F for another 20 minutes COVERED, then remove cover and brown for 10 to 15 minutes.
Thanks Annette — we’re getting hungry!
Filed under: cooking, family activities | Tags: botanical, botanical garden, botanical gardens, environment, family activities, farmers market, fruit, public garden, public gardens, vegetables
Don’t forget — this Friday, November 13, is your last chance to pick up fresh fruit and vegetables from the QBG Farmers Market. Stop by the temporary parking lot between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Filed under: cooking, Events | Tags: botanical gardens, family activities, farmers market, fruit, gardening, public garden, public gardens, recipes, vegetables
Plan a shopping trip to the Farmers Market in QBG’s temporary parking lot. Plenty of eggplants, leafy greens, and root vegetables like carrots and beets — and don’t forget to pick up apples! The Farmers Market is open every Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. until November 13.
(Stop by our gift store beforehand and purchase a QBG tote bag to carry all your Farmers Market treasures.)
Looking for an apple recipe? Shari Romar, QBG’s Grant Writer & Manager, shares her family’s apple crisp.
Grandma’s Apple Crisp
5-6 Granny Smith apples
1 cup flour
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup sugar
½ cup (approximate) butter or margarine
Cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Peel, slice, and core apples and place in baking pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon.
In a bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, and sugar. Add butter or margarine and mix until ingredients form moist crumbs (a little more butter or margarine may be needed). Spread crumb topping over apples in baking pan.
Place baking pan in oven. Bake between 30-45 minutes.
Filed under: cooking, family activities, gardening | Tags: botanical, botanical garden, botanical gardens, childrens gardening, family activities, gardening, gardening tips, herb gardening, HSBC Bank, public garden, public gardens
The herbs are still looking beautiful in our Herb Garden. Did you know it’s easy to dry your harvest so it can be used after the garden is finished for the season?
Rebecca Wolf, QBG’s Coordinator of the HSBC Children’s Garden, dries herbs regularly and has found this article from The Herb Companion to be a great guide.
Check out the article and preserve that last fragrance of summer!
http://www.herbcompanion.com/Projects/The-Low-Tech-Art-of-Drying-Herbs.aspx
Filed under: cooking, family activities, gardening | Tags: botanical gardens, public gardens, recipes
Rebecca Wolf in the HSBC Children’s Garden shares her recipe for bruschetta, which the kids love to make. It’s an easy appetizer for last minute company, or toss it with pasta for a quick weeknight meal.
Best of all, it uses all those late tomatoes in the garden, plus the ingredients can be adjusted to personal taste.
Rebecca’s Bruschetta
Chop tomatoes and place in a bowl. Season with onion, green pepper and salt to taste. Let the mixture sit for a few minutes so flavors mingle, then drain the excess juice.
Split a loaf of fresh French or Italian bread and drizzle olive oil on open sections. Spoon the tomato mixture on the bread and enjoy! If making a pasta dinner, cook and drain pasta, then add olive oil to taste. Toss with tomato mixture and grated Parmesan cheese, if desired.
Interested in finding out more about the HSBC Children’s Garden? Click here to learn about this great program!
