Bye Bye winter - COMPOSTA DI ZUCCA AL RUM E MELA

Veramente una buona luce...

Dire bye-bye all'inverno potrebbe essere difficile per qualcuno.
Non per me.
La luce appare più forte. Io mi sento più forte. metereopatica.
Mentre nuoto dalle vetrate filtra una luce dorata che si spinge tentacolare fino al fondo azzurro della piscina di via Murat. Non importa che ora sia, questa luce ferma il tempo.
Riesce a giocare con l'acqua illuminando angoli e cose che di solito, pur tenendo la testa sott'acqua, non vedrei.
Esco di casa e posso dimenticare il cappotto. Esco dalla piscina ad ora di cena e mi fa ancora compagnia. la luce.
Se fino a qualche giorno fa il freddo era ancora fin troppo intenso, adesso a Milano nevica polline a pallini. Di zucche se ne trovano ancora un bel po' in giro e, prima che siano finite per il troppo caldo, cercherò di conservarne qualcuna in vari modi e fino al prossimo inverno. E per la gioia di P. che sembra non apprezzarle per niente.
Quindi un'idea veloce ed eccezionalmente buona per una marmellata/composta di zucca aromatizzata al rum e mela.
Già, dilemma: la chiamo marmellata, composta o confettura?
Voi sapete le differenze?
Composta mi piace molto, sa di signorile ed elegante... potrebbe rendere anche delle zucche delle gran signore. Confettura mi sa' di cose terribili (per le carie dei miei denti) e che ti propinano negli alberghi di bassa lega, in monoporzione.
Marmellata è l'unico termine che mi fa riconoscere che si parla di qualcosa di buono da spalmare sul burro e una fetta biscottata!
Eppure in italiano c'è una differenza notevole tra i tre termini.
Ho trovato un accostamento ideale tra questa composta, dolce e profumata, e dei formaggi forti come la Toma valdostana del contadino e la forma d'Ambert (un formaggio blue di origine francese). Se, come me, siete appassionati di formaggi forti e saporiti lo apprezzerete sicuramente!

...et voilà!

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Faccio il mio benveuto nella blogosfera a Lele di senzasaperloungiorno.
English version
A really strong and golden sunlight....
Say bye-bye to winter it might be difficult for someone. But not for me.
These days the sun light is stronger and I feel stronger. While I am swimming the golden sun light filters through the windows and reaches sprawling to the blue bottom of the pool.
No matter what time it is, this sun light can stop the time.
It can play with the pool water lighting up corners and things that normally even keeping my head under water I would't see.
When going out I can forget my coat. When finish at the pool, at dinner time, there is still sun light to keep me company.
great light .

Just few days ago the cold was still too intense, now Milan is blooming of pollen. We still have quite a lot of pumpkins around and, before they are finished because of the heat, I try to store some of them til next winter(this would not make the happiness of P. who doesn't like pumpkins at all... yet it's a way to save money).
Here my recipe for a fast and exceptionally good idea for a pumpkins jam/compote flavoured with rhum and apple.
Well, here it comes the dilemma: Do I call it marmalade, jam or compote? Do you know the difference?
Yet in Italian there is a noticeable difference between the three terms.
The word marmalade comes from the Portuguese marmelada which means “quince cooked in sugar.” In Great Britain, marmalade referred to preserves made with bitter oranges. Actually, marmalade is simply made with citrus fruits, bitter or sweet. and it is also the only word that makes me recognize that we're talking about something good for spreading on butter and bread!
Jams are made with whole or cut fruits and sugar
Compotes are made from cut or crushed fruits cooked with water and only a little bit of sugar, which is why they cannot be stored for very long. This seems more appropriate for my recipe today
I found a perfect combination between this compote, soft and fragrant, and strong blue and old cheese (kind of French and Italian not cheddar please!)  such as Toma and the form of Ambert (blue cheese of French origin).
If, like me, you are strong-flavoured cheese lovers will surely appreciate it!

Pumpkins compote with rhum and apple
Recipe:
1.1 Butternut squash Pumpkins
1/2 (half) Apple
1 Glass of Rhum
Dry Pectin (Fruttapec 2:1 or 3:1)
400g Sugar caster
1 Lemon juice

DIRECTIONS:
1.Cut the pumpkin in small cube and steam or cook in the owen (180°/300F for 20 m.). Once ready, put in a medium soucepan add the apple in slices and add the sugar and dry pectin* whisked together.
2. Bring to boil and add the Rhum and half of the lemon jiuce. Boil 5 to 8 minutes and check the consistency
Check the consistency during cooking... always...
Here is a little trick that works well to check the consistency of jam as it is cooking: put a spoonful of jam on the top of a plate and set it vertically in the refrigerator. If the jam runs to the bottom of the plate, it is not yet ready; if it stops at the center of the plate, it is perfect!
3. Add the rest of the lemon juice and boil for another 5 to 8 minutes. Check again the consistency! And it's ready!
Makes about 6 small jam pots of 125g. Use within 3 weeks refrigerated, or within one year if canned properly.
*For adding the pectin, follow the directions on the pectin box I used Fruttapec 2:1 easily found in Italy.
Bon appetit!