NOVEMBER: FLORIDA AND NEW ENGLAND

Florida

November is a pivotal month. Summer is truly over , baseball is past and the Holiday fervor starts its slow crescendo. First Pumpkins, Squashes and Mums, then the makings of Holiday traditional foods appear on the grocery shelves and in the fresh markets. The pace is no longer leisurely, yet there is a sense of warmth (in  Florida, the lovely sunshine enhances that feeling), nostalgia and retreat. I feel it here in the shorter days and waning afternoon sun, the conversations which inevitably turn to family stories, and the quest for familiar foods to prepare.

This is really Florida, too, but looks like New England!

The following is an excerpt from my column, Cornucopia, which I wrote in the 1970's! It is the "November" I remember and echos the sentiments described above in a different environment.

"November in New England signifies many things. It is the end to any recall of summer that comes with the deceiving warmth of Indian Summer days. The brilliance of October is but a pale trace of color on a frosty cheek.

  It is a time of transition into winter, cheerful, despite nature's ominously  stark scene. Life turns indoors as thoughts of winter and the upcoming Holidays mount. 

  Amidst the atmosphere, the preparation of tradtitonal foods is almost a necessary ritual. As with rites of all kinds, the formula is prescribed: pumpkin pies, cranberry sauces, fruit and nut cakes. These are as much a part of November as the bare trees outlined against the sky. No changes should occur to them unless the household sanctions them. The following recipes, using pumpkin and cranberries, are solid enough not to offend the staunchest November Yankee, but interesting enough perhaps to tempt him and provide the cook some secret delight in a little bit of license."

The recipes I've included in this post are simple and homespun, yet delightful in their own way. Warm your hands on a mug of coffee or tea and enjoy them!

AUNT MATTIES' CRANBERRY CAKE

My aunt Mattie was a wonderful home cook. Everything she made was fresh, simple and delicious. Fresh food was all she knew, so there are no tricks or contrivances here to distract.

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla 

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup fresh, halved cranberries

Cream the butter and sugar until smooth. Add egg and beat until well blended.  Add the vanilla and almond extracats.

In another bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salta together.

Alternately add the dry ingredients and milk to the creamed mixture.

Fold in the cranberries and pour into a well greased 9 inch cake pan. Sprinkle the top with granulated sugar. 

Bake for 50 minutes. 

You could dust with confectioners' sugar or an orange glaze, but it is good as is. 

Simple ingredients for Cranberry Cake

Ready for coffee??

The next recipe makes 2 loaves. It is not the usual pumpkin bread as it is not really sweet. The sour cream and whole wheat flour make it more wholesome and maple syrup as the main sweetener make it slightly more subtle too.

New Englanders know that the best maple syrup for cooking is Grade B. (the same way that Floridians know that the best fruit is often the ugliest..we send the pretty stuff to the tourists) Grade B is darker and more opaque, perhaps not as translucent as its light amber Grade A cousin reserved for the tourists, too.

These loaves are great toasted with butter or cut into triangles and used as a base to hold a fruity or curried chicken or turkey salad.

MAPLE PUMPKIN BREAD

(2 LOAVES)

3 cups white flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ginger

1 stick unsalted butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree

1/2 cup sour cream

1 1/4 cups maple syrup

(1 cup chopped nuts or raisins-optional)

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream the butter and sugar until smooth and add the eggs one at a time.

Stir in the pumpkin puree, sour cream and maple syrup.

In another bowl, sift the dry ingredients together.

Gradually mix them into the pumpkin mixture.

Fold in nuts or raisins if using.

Divide the mixture between 2 well greased loaf pans. 

Bake for approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes or until done.

Serve warm or room temperature.

Freeze one loaf for later, or give as a nice holiday gift.