40th day of Fall, 513 AV
Kenash's Fall Harvest is quickly approaching, and what better way to celebrate than pumpkin pie?
Cecily had been putting off the work of making a new pumpkin pie recipe, but she could no longer make excuses as her entire day was free, besides watching the shop for customers. The Fall Harvest was only days away now, and whenever she made holiday desserts, they sold like wildfire. People were always in need of pies, cakes, cookies, muffins, and the like when they were throwing festivities. It made for interesting days when three, four, or five cakes were needed for a party. Though today it seemed like there was nothing planned in all of Kenash. Cecily's shop was as quiet as the overcast autumn day.
It was time to get down to business. This morning, Cecily went bustling about the city to find ingredients for her new recipe. She picked up a basket full of sugar pumpkins, fresh and ripe for cooking, along with the proper spices and a few pieces of candy for herself. It was all laid out in front of her, ready to to whipped into a delicious pie. First things first, she tied her bleached apron around her waist, and washed her hands to rid of the dirt. Her long brown hair was tied back in effort to get rid of stray hairs. Some, however, still did seem to escape. She ignored them and got to work anyway.
She grabbed a medium sugar pumpkin from her basket and swiftly chopped it in half, straight down the middle. After cutting out the stem, she grabbed a regular spoon and scraped out the insides, save the pulp. She did this with many of the pumpkins, put them on baking stones, and baked them. After one annoying child beggar, (whom Cecily chucked a piece of candy at and swiftly proceeded to shoo him out) several chocolates for herself, and 60 chimes, the pumpkins were ready to be pureed. She put them into a food mill, making sure that it was all very smooth.
After pureeing, it was time to add the rest of the ingredients:
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs plus the yolk of a third egg
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamon
1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest
1 good crust
She grabbed a wooden spoon and mixed thoroughly the sugars, salt, spices, and lemon zest to a batch of the puree. A small drip of sweat appeared on her brow which she wiped away quickly. Soon thereafter, she beat the eggs, added them to the mixture, and also added the cream. For the first time, it bared slight resemblance to a pumpkin pie.
The night before, she always prepared the dough for her goodies, so the pie crust was already set out. She put them into a pie shell and then put them into the oven. Fifty chimes later, a couple of them were finished.
Cecily couldn't help herself. She grabbed and plate, and cut a piece out to sample. It was delightful. The rest of her afternoon was filled with pureeing and baking, but it was worth it when the outcome was pure bliss.
Kenash's Fall Harvest is quickly approaching, and what better way to celebrate than pumpkin pie?
Cecily had been putting off the work of making a new pumpkin pie recipe, but she could no longer make excuses as her entire day was free, besides watching the shop for customers. The Fall Harvest was only days away now, and whenever she made holiday desserts, they sold like wildfire. People were always in need of pies, cakes, cookies, muffins, and the like when they were throwing festivities. It made for interesting days when three, four, or five cakes were needed for a party. Though today it seemed like there was nothing planned in all of Kenash. Cecily's shop was as quiet as the overcast autumn day.
It was time to get down to business. This morning, Cecily went bustling about the city to find ingredients for her new recipe. She picked up a basket full of sugar pumpkins, fresh and ripe for cooking, along with the proper spices and a few pieces of candy for herself. It was all laid out in front of her, ready to to whipped into a delicious pie. First things first, she tied her bleached apron around her waist, and washed her hands to rid of the dirt. Her long brown hair was tied back in effort to get rid of stray hairs. Some, however, still did seem to escape. She ignored them and got to work anyway.
She grabbed a medium sugar pumpkin from her basket and swiftly chopped it in half, straight down the middle. After cutting out the stem, she grabbed a regular spoon and scraped out the insides, save the pulp. She did this with many of the pumpkins, put them on baking stones, and baked them. After one annoying child beggar, (whom Cecily chucked a piece of candy at and swiftly proceeded to shoo him out) several chocolates for herself, and 60 chimes, the pumpkins were ready to be pureed. She put them into a food mill, making sure that it was all very smooth.
After pureeing, it was time to add the rest of the ingredients:
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs plus the yolk of a third egg
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamon
1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest
1 good crust
She grabbed a wooden spoon and mixed thoroughly the sugars, salt, spices, and lemon zest to a batch of the puree. A small drip of sweat appeared on her brow which she wiped away quickly. Soon thereafter, she beat the eggs, added them to the mixture, and also added the cream. For the first time, it bared slight resemblance to a pumpkin pie.
The night before, she always prepared the dough for her goodies, so the pie crust was already set out. She put them into a pie shell and then put them into the oven. Fifty chimes later, a couple of them were finished.
Cecily couldn't help herself. She grabbed and plate, and cut a piece out to sample. It was delightful. The rest of her afternoon was filled with pureeing and baking, but it was worth it when the outcome was pure bliss.
