Apple Pumpkin Delight

I found this recipe on the blog The Fatfree Vegan Kitchen. Her idea was to make the inside of an apple pie using half apples and half pumpkin. She used Granny Smith apples, which is a traditional apple pie apple, and lots of sugar. I tried using sweeter apples and less added sugar. Hers looked like the inside of an apple pie, mine looked like some baked pumpkin and apple slices. Oh well, we ate it, but I doubt I would make it again.

Pumpkin Apricot Daybreak Cookie

This recipe came from the now defunct magazine Today's Health and Wellness by way of the Bob's Red Mill website. I had really high hopes for this recipe, and could already picture myself enjoying cookies every day for breakfast. But alas, it was not to be. These cookies are barely edible. Whole wheat flour, oat bran cereal and pumpkin are heavy ingredients and I knew it would take more than 1/8 teaspoon of baking powder to get them to rise. Mine came in at 85 calories each, so for three mornings I chewed and chewed and chewed my way through three cookies until they were gone. I feel the recipe needs more than a little tweaking to get it right. Even the pricy apricots could have been replaced with cheap raisins. Oh well, I'll keep looking for a great tasting and healthy breakfast cookie recipe.

Coconut-Lime Fish Curry with Pumpkin

I'm back from France, where I had a wonderful 11 days with my girlfriends. In Paris I had a bowl of pumpkin/chestnut soup which was fabulous although I suspect it was probably butternut squash because it was fresh and I just don't know where they would get pumpkin this time of year. But they are pretty truthful about these things too, so maybe it was. They are much more "local" than we are about food. Even in the grocery stores the signs list the item, country of origin and the price. In Provence, I added to my pumpkin decoration collection with a cement pumpkin and a faux antique pumpkin sign. Both clearly marked Made in France.

I added two cups of diced pumpkin to this recipe from the website Katy She Cooks. Both the Hub and I loved the curry, which we ate over brown rice. I used lite coconut milk although she warns against it and used flounder fillets from Costco as my "mild white fish." We liked the recipe because it's not something we eat all the time, it scores high on our eating plan for nutrition and calories and never once tasted "fishy" for those who don't like fish.

Pumpkin Pie Bites

This may be the last post for a couple of weeks because I am going on vacation tomorrow. I have the recipes ready, but we'll see if I'm tech savvy enough to post from France.

The Hub made these gluten-free pumpkin pie bites from the blog Fat Free Vegan Kitchen. The crust is made with rolled oats and sorghum flour. I recommend using the quick oats because the whole ones are too chewy and distracting. Although as the author mentions in her blog, they soften up over time. The filling is a can of pumpkin, tofu, a little sugar and some spices. The topping is chopped crystallized ginger, rolled oats, brown sugar and walnuts. The Hub forgot the walnuts, but we didn't really miss them. This recipe makes a big pan, which when cut into 48 pieces come in at 68 calories each (probably less for us without the nuts). Both the Hub and I like these as snacks although it will take us a while to finish the pan.

 

Pillsbury Bake-Off Winner - Pumpkin Ravioli

I'm passing on (literally passing on) this recipe that won a million dollars in this year's Pillsbury Bake-Off. A million bucks is a lot of money for a recipe. I made a half hearted attempt to find the crescent recipe creations dough sheets necessary to make the recipe and couldn't find any in my local stores. The reason I was dragging my feet is that this recipe is soooo unhealthy. I just kept wondering who would eat it if I did make it (should I do that to my co-workers?) and if I would be able to resist eating it (probably not and neither would the Hub). There is barely a thing in it that's good for you except the pumpkin and there is only 1/2 cup in a recipe that serves 6. It's not like I haven't made, eaten and written about less than nutritional recipes before, there are plenty of cakes, candies, donuts, cookies and other sugar laden recipes on this blog, but this one's fat content is just over the top for the nutritional payoff. But for anyone who would like to try it, here it is. Let me know how it tastes, although no doubt, it's fabulous, it is a million dollar recipe after all.

Picture from the Pillsbury website.

Espresso Pumpkin Spiced Walnuts

Andrew and I made these spiced nuts from the website Elle's New England Kitchen when he was home for Mother's Day weekend. They were amazingly easy to make, taking less than a half an hour. I'm not a fan of coffee flavor, but even I liked these. Andrew took the rest of them with him to a get together with his friends where they disappeared in no time even if the Caps did lose.

Pumpkin Chili Mexicana

Both the Hub and I like this main dish from the Libby's website. I substituted Boca Crumbles for the ground turkey and bulked up the vegetables, otherwise followed the recipe exactly. The pumpkin doesn't add any flavor at all, so it would be a good way to sneak pumpkin into those who don't like it. It makes a large pan of chili, and we ate it for several days.