Poor pumpkins! They’re completely ignored in this house, rarely making it into the kitchen, let alone be turned into nourishing meals. They decorate the front stoop, get turned into jack-o’-lanterns, propped on a table in a centerpiece, then left alone to rot and thrown in the compost bin. And to think they’re a superfood!
Their days of being insignificant are over from now on, starting from today. I’m set for a cooking marathon, with pumpkins as the star ingredient. I have my comfy fluffy slippers on, and I’m not afraid to take a stand (Sorry Eminem, couldn’t resist). I can stay all day on my feet, cooking. And the family had better eat what I cook.
Or at least, eat half of it. A couple of friends have invited me over for dinner/sleepover to celebrate my birthday (it’s already past). It’ll be a potluck for everyone else, except the birthday girl. The instruction was explicit. I was to bring nothing. But did I listen? Of course not. I never go to a potluck empty-handed, and I’m not about to start now. Some of these goodies are just too yummy not to share, anyway. Who hoards yummy food to themselves? Certainly not me. I’m a sharer, not a hoarder. 🙂
Well, first let me tell you what happened. I roasted a whole fresh pumpkin, the kind sold as pie pumpkin, not the kind you use as decorations. I’m assuming there’s a difference, since the pie pumpkin kind costs more.
I was going to use fresh pumpkins in my recipes, but when I tasted the roasted pumpkin, I thought it was…uh…horrible! Not sweet at all, and slightly bitter. Apparently, I can’t pick the right pumpkin, just like I can’t pick a watermelon. I should stick to canned pumpkin and cut-up watermelon. So, the following 2 recipes use canned pumpkin, instead.
Pumpkin & Chia Seeds Muffins
I read this recipe on Oprah.com, and thought it sounded healthful and easy. I’ve been trying to incorporate chia seeds into my diet. Except it was odd that it also listed “salt & pepper to taste”. And 2 cups (16 oz) of pumpkin for 1 1/2 cups of flour? Does that sound right to you? Looks to me someone didn’t edit the recipe. Should I trust it? I decided I couldn’t, so I tweaked it and came up with a recipe of my own. But the inspiration did come from Oprah.
1 1/2 cups flour (all-purpose, whole wheat, or a mix of both)
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 tbsp hemp hearts
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg (I mean it; it’s very strong!)
Pinch of salt
1 cup (8 oz) can pumpkin
2 eggs
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 water
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup mini chocolate morsels, plus 2 tbsp for sprinkling
1. Pre-heat oven to 350° F.
2. Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix all wet ingredients.
3. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, fold in chocolate morsels as well.
4. Spoon into oven-safe paper baking pans or paper-lined muffin tins. Sprinkle more chocolate morsels.
5. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean. You can drizzle chocolate ganache on top of muffins, if you like.
When you eat one of these, remember all the healthful ingredients that went into it and the unhealthful ones that didn’t. You’ll be surprised how good it really is!
Pumpkin Pull-Apart Bread
Gerard from Tortillas and Bread always comes up with bread recipes that sound too good not to try. Well, Gerard, I finally made one your breads. I just shaped it differently, that’s all. And I drizzled caramel sauce on it instead of piloncillo sauce.
The recipe for the bread is here, and the caramel sauce here.
Here’s how I shaped my pull-apart bread:
First, I rolled the dough into a rectangle, brushed on the melted butter, sprinkled the cinnamon sugar mix, then cut the rectangle into several strips.
Then, I stacked up the strips, and cut the stack into squares. The whole thing was then stacked again into a tower, and the tower was then placed sideways in a loaf bread pan.
The recipe makes 2 loaves, by the way. And don’t forget to check on the bread after it’s been in the oven for 20 minutes. If the top was turning too brown too soon, cover it loosely with aluminum foil.
What happened to the roasted fresh pumpkin, you ask? It’s been turned into this.
Recipe will have to wait. I have a potluck dinner to go to, right now. But I do have something pretty for you to look at.
I like the way you shaped your bread! I love to eat more pumpkin after carving it, but I usually end up throwing half away (the half is used for pumpkin pie). I should come back to your recipe next year!
Thanks, weebirdie, so glad you like it. I suppose you can make other versions of pull-apart bread. Maybe with apple, or just cinnamon & sugar. Sounds pretty good actually, doesn’t it?
I’ve just found your blog, and gosh you take beautiful photos!
pumpkin is one of my favourite things, and it’s nice to see so much of it!
Thank you so much for saying that, that’s very kind of you! And I’m glad you love pumpkins. They’re loaded with nutrients, I hear. That’s reason enough for me to start loving them, too, don’t you think? 🙂
Teach me photography, my fav gardener! Teach me more on gardening. So blessed to be a follower and a crazy fan of yours 🙂
But I AM a fan of your photography! And your writing! Can never get enough of either! 🙂
What a fabulous fall post! That pull apart bread looks amazing! 🙂
Thank you, Celeste, for stopping by and leaving such a sweet note! And so nice to meet you, Cafifornia girl.
xoxo, Angie.
Everything looks delicious….especially the pull apart bread! Thanks for sharing with us over at the Homeacre Hop! Please join us again soon!
Mary 🙂
http://www.homegrownonthehill.blogspot.com
I had no idea you could do all that with just pumpkins! Amazing:-)
Oh, I’ve seen people do much more creative things with pumpkins, Robbie. I wasn’t always a big pumpkin fan, so my cooking with them is limited. There’s room for experimentation, a big one! 🙂
I tried making the pumpkin bread last weekend and it was amazing! I loved your idea to stack it instead of making balls.
That’s great, Amy! I’m so glad you gave the bread a try, and kudos to Gerard for an excellent recipe! XOXO, Angie.
We must have different varieties of pumpkin in my part of the world (Australia). It is a standard vegetable that almost everyone eats in mostly savory dishes – roasted, in soup, in salads etc.etc.etc. I buy pumpkin every week! The two best varieties here are butternut pumpkin (which I think you all call butternut squash) and a beautifully sweet varitey called Kent pumpkin, which has a streaked green skin, very orange flesh and is really scrummy. My problem in blog land is that all the recipes from my US based blog buddies call for canned pumpkin, which you cannot get here! Love your recipes and will try and make my own pumpkin puree with spices (cinnamon and nutmeg?) to give them a go. margaret
Had no idea you don’t have canned pumpkin over there, but I’m pretty sure you can make your own pumpkin puree. We have 2 kinds of canned pumpkin. One is just pumpkin puree without the spices (that’s what I used) and the other is pumpkin pie filling, which is pumpkin puree that’s been sweetened and flavored with cinnamon and nutmeg, among others. There may have been ginger and cloves added, too. I actually never use the second kind!
If you do make your own puree, the consensus from all the comments I get, is that butternut is the superior variety. So, give it a try Margaret. Roast a butternut and then scrape off the flesh and puree in a blender. If it seems too watery (canned pumpkin is very thick) you can cook the puree down further so some of the liquid evaporates. I hope that helps! Thanks for stopping by and add to our discussion. I love it when that happens! XOXO, Angie.
Stunning photographs!
Thank you! That means a lot coming from a pro like you! I referenced your blog and lamb shank curry in my lamb shanks post, by the way. Great to know you’re still active! XOXO
Ha! You’re kidding, right?? I just looked at your food photos on this post and was thinking I could never get to this standard of food photography! 😀
Those are some very delicious pumkinney photos! 😉
If you think the photos look delicious, wait til you try the real things. What are you waiting for, Ayesha, make some of these, and then tell me about it! 🙂