Pumpkin Bread Pudding with a Caramel Rum Raisin Sauce

This is my first year celebrating a Canadian Thanksgiving. At the beginning of October, the timing feels wrong, but the fall flavors feel right. Canadian Thanksgiving isn't a romantic idealism about Pilgrims and Indians breaking bread together for the first time. It's about celebrating the autumn harvest. But let's be real, no matter which country you are in, Thanksgiving is all about the food.
Today, I am thankful that this pumpkin bread pudding was not a complete disaster. My bread pudding finished cooking ten minutes before it should have, burning the top layer of bread. The first time I made the caramel, the sugar seized up about halfway through, turning it into a giant, impenetrable sugar cube of failure. I added more water to compensate which seemed wise at the time, but really just made the caramel much too runny. So, I dumped it down the drain, sat next to my charred bread pudding and sighed.
My thanksgiving party was in less than an hour and my dessert was in a sad state of affairs. But self pity wasn't going to feed anyone, so I set off to salvage what I could. I picked off the burnt layer of bread and made another batch of caramel. This time, everything came together just right. And just in time to grab it and run out the door.
At the end of the day, my drama over this bread pudding seems trivial. After an evening spent in good company, my stomach is full and my eyes are heavy. The outcome of one component of the meal was not going to make or break the evening. Thanksgiving is a time for togetherness, whether you are sharing the holiday with family you love or friends you have just met. Having moved to Montreal a month ago, being surrounded by a new family of friends is something I am truly thankful for.
And, just for the record, this bread pudding was an absolute hit. Every bite was cleanly eaten from the plates. The pudding itself is moist with a mild pumpkin flavor, but the caramel rum raisin sauce really sets this bread pudding apart. The caramel compliments the pumpkin in the bread pudding and the rum soaked raisins add just the right amount of alcoholic flair. This dessert is truly decadent. It serves well at dinner parties or Thanksgiving meals (yes, I am looking at you, fellow Americans).

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Butternut Squash Custard

I look forward to the autumn season every year. The leaves and landscape beginning to change colors. The earth beginning to hibernate. The brisk smell of smoke and leaves hovering in the air. The dissonant sound of leaves clashing with cement underfoot. Drawing the hot chocolate out from the back of the cupboard. Snuggling under a warm blanket, sipping apple cider, and reading a good (cook)book. These are my favorite moments of fall.
Last weekend, I went rock climbing with a few friends. We drove an hour outside the bustling city of Montreal and into the heart of the Quebec countryside. I was floored. Coming from the plains of North Dakota, it is rare to see more than a small cluster of trees at a time. Quebec has thick forests that spread out for miles and miles over the gently rolling hills. And the colors! Dark greens, light greens, orange, red, pink. All in transition. Gorgeous.
It was one of those perfect fall afternoons. The sun was shining, the air was chilled, and the wind smelled heavily of the death before spring's rebirth. We traipsed through the worn forest paths to conquer the rocks.
And conquer them, I did.
There are very few moments more compelling than climbing a difficult rock face, reaching the top, bruised and battered, and being greeted with this. The sun setting over the vibrant forest beneath my feet. I was the queen of my own domain.
This butternut squash showcases the flavors of autumn. Cinnamon and nutmeg compliment the deep flavors of the squash beautifully. The caramelized sugar crust adds just the right amount of texture. This custard is comfort food at its finest. After a long day out in the brisk fall air, this hits the spot. Perfectly.

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Chocolate Avocado Cupcakes with Avocado Buttercream Frosting

The idea for these cupcakes visited me in a dream. A real, honest-to-god, its-three-in-the-morning-and-I'm-under-the-covers dream. When I groggily woke up the next morning, I sweetly remembered dreams filled with chocolate cake and green avocados. As consciousness slowly regained, I remembered I had made an apple cake the night before, so I threw the idea of the avocado cake to the wayside as the prospect of a sugar-laden, pretend-healthy cake breakfast whispered to me from the kitchen. But the more I thought about it, the more delicious a chocolate avocado cake sounded. So delicious, in fact, that I couldn't think clearly the rest of the day.
My curiosity was piqued. After work, I immediately ran to the supermarket and rummaged around for the ripest avocados I could find. It took me 15 minutes and several hundred fruit handling assaults to find the ripest avocados. I was a mad woman with a mission. After all, these cupcakes had come to me in my dreams, clearly it was destiny!
By themselves, these vegan chocolate avocado cupcakes are a perfect representation of a delicious, moist cupcake with the perfect crumb. But with the avocado buttercream? Game changer. This combination is absolutely lethal. The avocado taste in the buttercream is subtle, yet present, and has such a fantastic natural coloring. I would seriously take this avocado buttercream over the traditional buttercream any day. Any day. It is that good.

I shared these cupcakes with my fellow grad students and they were unanimously a hit. I need to dream about pastries more often.

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