Pumpkin' Pickin' Fun!

Although a week has passed since we sailed over to the great pumpkin patch, the memories are just as fresh as the apples we picked that day. This was Lilia's first time and we all held our breath with anticipation of meeting the Great Pumpkin, alas, just like Linus, we will have to wait another year.

After riding the hay wagon and listening to our drivers favorite spots to pick, we selected our perfect apples, pumpkins, pumpkin flowers and headed home as the sky grew dark and the heavens opened up. On the way home Angela and Christina teased us with talk of how they were going to prepare a home made apple pie and Erika played coy about her mother's recipe for the pumpkin flowers.

On the menu that evening was the Zuppa di Cavolfiore a soup recommended by our Captain served with three styles of grilled bread – Fett’unta, Bruschetta, and Pan con tomate. These recipes were selections that Mario and I picked from our Captain's app. We both agreed that there is something comforting about creating a meal knowing we have at our disposal a "play by play" video that can guide us through if we should fall off course.

The first step was to clean the cauliflower, and cut it into bite-sized florets. We then heated up some olive oil over medium heat and added the cauliflower, onion, bay leaves and salt. Once it had browned, we then added the garlic, tomato sauce, chicken stock and brought it to a boil and then left it cooking until the cauliflower was very tender. While the soup cooked we started our grilled bread – learned how to pronounce Bruschetta thanks to the video – and Mario made small signs on tooth picks so that everyone knew what style of bread they were eating. After about 25 minutes we added in some more water and added the mezzi rigatoni. On a side note, we wanted to thank the Kokoros family for sharing with us a wonderful homemade olive oil from their family farm in Greece. Although you may see a bottle of Fillipo Berio olive oil, rest assured that we are using this family's treasured recipe.

As Mario and I prepared the soup, Angela and Christina prepared a homemade apple pie using a cookbook passed down to Angela from her mom. Now, from what I understand Angela and her mother used to cook out of this very cookbook when she was a little girl.  Although the cookbook is not in the best shape it has some of the best recipes for baking.  Angela and Christina began by peeling, coring, and cutting the apples.  While Angela cooked the apples over a slow heat and added sugar, nutmeg and flower to the mixture, Christina rolled out the homemade dough for the crust.  Once the apples were cooked the pie went into the oven for about 35 minutes.

The aroma in the kitchen was a pleasant mixture of the Zuppa di Cavolfiore and the homemade apple pie. Everyone gathered around the kitchen table to enjoy the hearty bowl of soup and bread. As the meal came to an end we all agreed it was a success and looked forward to Angela cutting the first slice of pie.

Caio,
Mario & Mario

The Three Tocayos