Showing posts with label pumpkin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pumpkin. Show all posts

Pumpkin Pancakes: The Picture of Health (Really!)

10:41 AM | Labels: , , ,



Maybe you weren’t convinced after my last post to try the mushroom stew over pumpkin pancakes, but even if that was the case, you should really consider trying each of these recipes separately. With the stew, the pancakes didn’t taste nearly as pumpkin-y as they did when I had the leftovers on their own, or as they did when I made them a second time just the other week. It’s nice to have a festive pancake recipe that really is relatively healthy, since pancakes might be one of my all-time favorite treats.

In making these, I’ve substituted white whole wheat flour for the whole wheat pastry flour, and the maple syrup for the honey since I think it gives it an added layer of fall. A little nutmeg might really make it pop. With the more savory topping of the stew, the pumpkin blended into the dish, which was nice; it came out a little more when I ate it topped with a lightly sweetened homemade cranberry sauce. When cooking them, just remember that less is more – they rise as they cook and if you make them too big/thick, you’ll never get the insides to be anything but wet, batter-y mush – and to err on the side of low heat and slightly longer cooking times.

I’m still looking for the perfect regular pancake recipe (since I’m currently still in denial that all of those truly great diner pancakes are made with anything but copious amounts of butter and a hearty dash of sugar), but for now, these certainly hit the spot.


One Year Ago: Cheater’s Gingerbread Cookies
Pancakes in the Past: Buttermilk Pancakes, Bread Pudding Pancakes, Sour Cream Pancakes

Pumpkin Oat Pancakes, adapted from Mother Rimmy’s Cooking Light Done Right
Yield: 6-8 pancakes (approximately 2-4 servings)
(printable recipe)

The Ingredients
1 ¼ cups white whole wheat flour
½ cup oats
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons maple syrup
6 tablespoons egg whites
¾ cup pumpkin puree
1 ½ tablespoons canola oil
1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk1
1 teaspoon cinnamon

The Method
Whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, oats, baking powder and baking soda) in a large bowl. Stir in the remaining ingredients until well combined.

Meanwhile, heat a large non-stick griddle over medium heat, and add four ¼-½ cup-fulls of batter to the pan. Lower the heat to medium low and cook until the pancake just starts to bubble, 5-6 minutes. Flip, curse since this is the first batch and they all fall to pieces, and cook the other side until cooked through, approximately 5-6 minutes more. Repeat for the rest of the batch, without the cursing because the pan is now finally cooperating.2

Notes:
1You can also use low-fat milk, or likely whatever milk alternative you prefer.
2I don’t know why pancake griddles insist on ruining the first batch, but since I always make a larger batch of pancakes than I need, my first 1-2 batches are for the freezer, anyway. That way, I can warm up the griddle and still have the hottest, most recently cooked pancakes for serving immediately rather than worrying about keeping all of them warm while the rest cook.






 


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Posted by toni

Pumpkin Soup & Spinach Salad with Warm Walnut Vinaigrette

2:08 PM | Labels: , , ,


It feels strange to be sitting down to write about a meal that consisted of hot soup and a warm vinaigrette-dressed salad. It feels even stranger to know that my dinner tonight is going to be pumpkin pancakes with a hearty mushroom stew. It’s 65 and sunny here. Even my knit sweater feels inappropriate for the weather; forget how silly I feel in the Ugg boots I threw on this morning without consulting weather.com. Still, it’s November, and not even a gorgeous day that reminds me of Father’s Day more than Turkey Day can keep me from talking about pumpkin. (It does, however, make me wish that I hadn’t left my ice cream maker at home, since a batch of pumpkin ice cream sounds just about perfect today!)

In honor of Halloween a few weeks ago, I made myself a dinner consisting of pumpkin soup and a spinach salad dressed with a warm olive oil and walnut vinaigrette. The pumpkin soup actually had to grow on me, as the first spoonful reminded me a little bit too much of chicken stock and not enough of pumpkin. I was expecting a thicker soup, more of a slightly-thinned-out bowl of pumpkin puree, so the broth-based soup that I wound up with really just took me by surprise. In the end, though, I was really happy with it – it was nice and light, yet at the same time – especially when paired with the spinach salad – was actually more than enough for me. I wound up saving half of it for the lunch the next day! The chicken stock, which I might reduce just a smidge next time (reflected in the recipe below), pairs exceptionally well with the pumpkin, making it taste absolutely like fall in a bowl. I also replaced all of the sugar with half the amount of maple syrup, and used nutmeg instead of allspice. It was great! For a more substantial meal, pair it with a loaf of homemade bread, or a nice sandwich (in fact, it’d be just about heavenly next to a sandwich made from Thanksgiving leftovers)!

I didn’t have homemade bread or a sandwich, though – on the side of this soup, I had one of the best salads I have had in a while. I do enjoy traditional salads, but I’m also the kind of person who likes my food hot 9 times out of 10. The creation of a warm oil and nut vinaigrette was the perfect solution for a brisk, fall evening. I really didn’t change much in the recipe – I just used red wine vinegar because that’s what I had, and I admittedly burnt the walnuts a little (but they just tasted reminiscent of popcorn so who’s going to complain, really?). The vinegar added just enough sweetness so that sugar wasn’t necessary, and it was extremely filling due to the heart-healthy fats in the oil and walnuts.  You can find the recipe for the spinach and walnut salad over at In Good Taste.


One Year Ago: Pumpkin Stuffed French Toast

Pumpkin Soup, adapted from The College Culinarian
Yield: 4-6 servings
(printable recipe)

The Ingredients
1 can (15 ounces) unseasoned pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons butter
3 1/3 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon maple syrup
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
nutmeg and cinnamon, to taste

The Method
Combine the pumpkin and stock in a saucepan over medium heat. Once the mixture is heated through, stir in the maple syrup and a dash of pepper, then allow to simmer for a few minutes. Drizzle with melted butter, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Adjust seasonings, then serve.




 

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Posted by toni

Pumpkin Spice Granola

4:07 PM | Labels: , ,


After a scary bout of snow that did more damage than I thought possible for the measly 3 inches that accumulated, we’re back to fall weather flanked by sunshine and brightly colored trees. I breathed a sigh of relief when I walked out of my class this morning and wasn’t met with a blast of cold air that would convince any unsuspecting person that it was surely the dead of winter.

To celebrate this return to autumn, I have to tell you about this slightly sinful but absolutely incredible granola I tried out recently. I’ve actually never made granola until now, and for one reason and one reason only: the RD-to-be in me gets hung up on the nutrition facts. You hear the word granola and you think health – it conjures up images of yogurt and fresh fruit, whole grains – the perfect post workout snack, right? Unfortunately, granola almost always delivers a mean dose of sugar, fat, or both, and the calories can be pretty high. I’ve just never found a recipe that keeps those 2 in check – the sugar in particular. You see, even honey and maple syrup, no matter how natural, are sugar in the end.

This one passes the fat test (about 7 ½ grams total, less than 1g saturated), replacing most of the oil with applesauce and coming out no less fantastic. The calories aren’t even unheard of, with each ¾ cup serving being only 315 calories. Unfortunately, there are 29 grams of sugar, which is more than enough to push it into the dessert category for me. To put 29 grams into context, that equals about 2 1/3 tablespoons, or just over 100 calories just from sugar alone. It isn’t abysmal, but it’s still not going to find its way to my breakfast plate.

If you get past the nutritional hang up, however, this granola is quite something. I tried it warm from the oven and the flavors weren’t nearly as strong as when I let it cool. It also developed a better crunch as it cooled down, so in the end I had a bowl of crunchy granola that tasted exactly like pumpkin pie (with some raisins and walnuts thrown in for good measure)! I’d like to try decreasing the sugar at some point to see if I can get it into my breakfast cycle, but it really is tasty as it is. Turn it into dessert by sprinkling it over vanilla ice cream, mixing it into chocolate mousse, or just eating it by itself!

One Year Ago: Apple "Pie" Scones

Pumpkin Spice Granola, courtesy of Annie’s Eats
Yield: 6 cups, 8 servings
(printable recipe)

The Ingredients
3 ½ cups rolled oats
2 ½ cups puffed rice cereal
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice1
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup brown sugar
½ cup pumpkin puree
¼ cup natural applesauce
¼ cup pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
up to 1 ½ cups chopped nuts
up to 1 cup dried fruit

The Method
Preheat the oven to 325°F and line a large baking sheet or two with parchment paper; set aside.

Mix together the oats and rice cereal in a large bowl; set aside. In a separate, smaller bowl, whisk together the spices, salt, sugar, pumpkin puree, applesauce, maple syrup and vanilla until very smooth. Pour the wet ingredients into the oat mixture and stir until the ingredients are evenly distributed.

Transfer the granola mixture to the baking sheets and spread out in an even layer. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Flip the granola using a large, wide spatula, then sprinkle with nuts (if using) and return to the oven for another 15 minutes or so, until crisp and golden. At this point, it’s ok if the granola isn’t as crunchy as you’d like it to be – it will harden as it cools. If the outside layer gets done first, remove it and spread out the remaining inner section and cook 10-15 minutes more.

Cool the granola on the pan placed on a wire rack, then break it up and toss with dried fruit, if using. Store in an airtight container.

Notes:
1I didn’t have pumpkin pie spice or allspice, so instead I did 1 ¼t cinnamon, 1/2t ground ginger, and 1/4t nutmeg. You might even want to increase the cinnamon to 1 ½ - 1 ¾ t.






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Posted by toni

Oatmeal is breakfast's soup for the soul

9:37 AM | Labels: , , , , , ,


There isn't much in this world, I've found, that can beat a day spent inside while snowflakes slowly but persistently work their magic outside. That being said, the day afterward has a little special something about it, too. You get up and are faced with a white blanket across everything: your porch, your steps, your cars, your street. It's daunting and grumble-worthy, but you get out there with everyone else on your street and you just dig in. Two hours later, everything's clear, and you can come back inside to the warmth, leave your snowy layers on the blanket or towel by the front door, and enjoy the rest of the day just as you did the day before. It's on days like these that I want those warm, comforting foods. We tested out a new waffle mix this morning (I'm still unconvinced that a box mix - even this all-natural one - is capable of holding a candle to the recipes I'm searching for, the ones that will produce the big, fluffy waffles and pancakes), but in considering what I wanted to post about this afternoon, I could only think of one thing: oatmeal. I know a lot of people who don't like it, or who only really like the instant kind. I've recently started experimenting with the Real Stuff, the oats from the big container, and they've almost all turned out incredibly well.

Over the course of the semester, I made a lot of different kinds, though all similar in their autumn essence. So, today I have not just one recipe, but three - or really, one back-of-the-container recipe, three different, very delicious ways: Ban-umpkin, Cinnamon Apple, and Banana Cider. I'm sure as pumpkin and apple fall out of season and new fruits make their seasonal debut, I'll have another batch post. But for now, I would highly recommend a batch of one of these recipes, enjoyed curled up at your kitchen table, perhaps even watching the snow outside from the same storm that just hit my home town.

Three-Way Oatmeal: The Base Recipe
Yield: 1 serving
The Ingredients
1 cup milk (any fat content; I use 1%)
3/4C oats, not the instant kind

The Method
Bring the milk gently to a boil, whisking every so often and keeping an eye on it to prevent scorching. Once the milk is boiling, add in the oats and stir, allowing to cook for another 5 minutes or so - just until the oats have cooked up and absorbed a fair amount of the liquid. This can be flavored or sweetened to your liking - anything from sugar (brown or regular), syrup, cinnamon, extracts, etc. I would keep each individual sweetener at around 1-2 teaspoons, and cinnamon and extracts no more than 1/2 teaspoon each - though this can, of course, vary according to preference.



Ban-umpkin Oatmeal
Yield: 1 serving
The Ingredients
3/4 cup oats
3/4 - 1 cup milk
1/4 cup apple cider
1 small banana, mashed
1/4 cup pumpkin yogurt + 2-3 teaspoons pumpkin puree
cinnamon for sprinkling

The Method
Prepare oatmeal as you would for the base recipe, adding the cider to the pan at the same time as the milk. Meanwhile, mash the banana and add it to the pumpkin yogurt, then set aside. When the oats are ready, remove from heat and stir in the banana-pumpkin mixture. Sprinkle with cinnamon, and serve.

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
Yield: 1 serving
The Ingredients
1 cup milk
3/4 cup oats
1 apple, diced (skin on is fine)
1 teaspoon brown sugar, divided
scant 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, divided
scant 1 tablespoon walnuts, chopped
2-3 tablespoons apple sauce (unsweetened or homemade preferable)

The Method
Prepare as you would plain oatmeal, adding the diced apple and half of the brown sugar and cinnamon along with the oats. When the oatmeal is done cooking, stir in the apple sauce and top with the remaining brown sugar, cinnamon, and walnuts.



Banana Cider Oatmeal
Yield: 1 serving
The Ingredients
3/4 cup milk
1/4 - 1/3 cup apple cider
3/4 cup oats
1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 small banana, sliced
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 - 1 teaspoon maple syrup
dash nutmeg

The Method
Prepare as you would plain oatmeal, adding in the cinnamon and nutmeg along with the oats. Once the oats are ready, turn down the heat to low and stir in the apple sauce, the banana slices (optional: leave some out for a garnish), and the maple syrup. Garnish with extra apple slices and a light sprinkling of cinnamon.

All of these offer warm, hearty, and wholesome breakfasts. They're filling and full of fiber without being too heavy. All three versions are mildly or moderately sweet, but not overly so. You can also keep things new and different by using different spices, different liquids as the base (though I would stick with water or milk as the primary ingredient), and various fruits. Even dried fruit would work nicely.

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Posted by toni

Pumpkin-Stuffed French Toast Indulgence

5:51 PM | Labels: , , , , , , ,


I have temporarily traded in my apple hat for a pumpkin hat, in order to share with you a healthy but decadent recipe appropriate, in my book, for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or even dessert. Here's what you do: you take yogurt, pumpkin, and some syrup and spices, and you slather them between two pieces of deliciously, perfectly cooked french toast, and you let the pumpkin filling melt and warm just a little bit before slicing the whole thing in half and enjoying it immensely. The inspiration for this little gem of a sandwich came in stages: first, I really wanted to make some brinner (breakfast for dinner), but omelets are an all-too-common lunch item for me and pancakes are a little labor intensive/difficult to cut into small servings; second, I wanted to do something fall-festive, as usual; third, I was shockingly interested in venturing away from the world of apples. And so, there you have it: pumpkin-stuffed french toast, one of the few things in this world that are both saintly and heavenly (re: indulgent) at the same time.

Now, of course, I'm not ready to write this down on a recipe card just yet and sticking it into my recipe box for good. It's rare that I'm satisfied with anything, even a recipe borrowed from an already-perfected-elsewhere, on the first go-around. I added too much cinnamon, though I combated that a little bit by upping some sweetness (maple syrup) and pumpkin puree. Also, if you want this to be for a dessert or you just like things really sweet, you might be disappointed in the sugar level of this. I found it to be excellent for dinner, but my sweet tooth was still yearning for a little bit more simple carbohydrates in that meal. As it was, it was mildly sweet and very pumpkiny, and extraordinarily creamy. Be sure not to overcook the french toast - for me, this is critical for anything french toast related, and especially so for something like this. I briefly considered added some apple to the sandwich (ha! You thought I was over that!) but had just eaten an apple earlier in the day and didn't really feel like another one. Plus, it was nice to have just the pumpkin in there. Something like raisins might be nice, though, even just as a topping.

Pumpkin-Stuffed French Toast
Yield: 1 Sandwich, plus extra filling (trust me, you'll be thankful for this)
The Ingredients - The French Toast
1/2 C egg whites
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. maple syrup
1 Tbsp. pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
2 slices bread (I used whole grain oatmeal bread, and loved the delicateness - yes, I'm using the word delicate to describe a whole grain - of the oatmeal component; it was a very soft bread)
butter, for cooking (1/2 Tbsp. or less)
The Ingredients - The Filling
6oz. plain greek yogurt (you could also use vanilla, or even regular yogurt - though it might be less creamy with the latter)
3/4C pumpkin puree
1 tsp. cinnamon (1/2 - 3/4 tsp. might have been more appropriate)
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. apple cider
1 tsp. brown sugar

The Method
1. Combine all of the filling ingredients in a small dish or bowl, and set aside.
2. Combine the egg whites, cinnamon, milk, syrup, and pumpkin puree in a shallow dish (like a pie plate), and set aside.
3. Melt the butter in a skillet, preferably big enough for two slices of bread to fit side by side. Keep the heat fairly low - no higher than medium.
4. Dip each piece of bread into the egg dip, letting both sides soak up the liquid, and place onto the skillet. Cook for around 2 minutes; the bottom should be a nice golden brown. Flip over, and place about 1/3 of the filling onto one half. Cook open-faced until the piece without the filling is cooked on both sides.
5. Place the "empty" piece of bread on top of the one with the filling, and cook for a little bit longer; this whole process from the time you flip the pieces of bread to the time it's all finished should only take another 2 minutes or so.
6. Plate, cut in half, and enjoy!

This is one sandwich you'll want to eat with a fork and a knife, and you can certainly enjoy it open-faced if you want a smaller meal.

As for all of that pumpkin-yogurt filling you'll have left-over...well, okay, you could keep the filling the same and make 2 more sandwiches, and then you wouldn't have any extras. However, I would highly recommend keeping some of this in the refrigerator - use it as a parfait with granola and dried fruit, add it to some oatmeal (more on that later!), use it as a dip for - you guessed it - apples, it really is versatile. Plus, it doesn't use the whole can of pumpkin puree, so you have extra of that to do with as you wish, too. If you're worried about not using it all at once, freeze it in 2 Tbsp. portions so that you can pull some out as you need/want it (ice cube trays are great for this).

So, you see, I am capable of making a fall dish without apple in it! I also have a lot of recipes saved to share that are not fall-themed, but since it's getting to be close to Thanksgiving and once that comes, it won't even be November anymore, I figured I should cram them in while I still can.

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