You may be surprised to see I've been cooking with pumpkin lately, as it's not exactly in season, but I had a reason to use it the other day for a project and decided to recycle the flesh and seeds for further use. Using the seeds to create a spicy mix, I also wanted to use the flesh for something sweet and thus created these awesomely cakey chocolate chip pumpkin cookies.
Using a simple recipe from from Food Network, I combined the pumpkin flesh with a standard chocolate chip batter and added in chunky semi-sweet chocolate as well as some super dark and salty Moonstruck chocolate. The result was fantastic and really soft on the inside, which was perfectly enjoyed with a tall glass of milk or coffee.
Hope it inspires you to make something similar for V-day or any other day. Here's the recipe for these chocolate chip pumpkin treats - enjoy!
While Thanksgiving may be over, you can still find pumpkins and butternut squash out there to cook with (well at least for a little longer). And although this recipe doesn't use fresh pumpkin, but instead canned organic pumpkin puree, you can absolutely substitute with fresh pureed pumpkin too.
I decided to make these pancakes on Thanksgiving morning actually to kick off our day of indulgence the proper way. Making my own pancake mix, which was easy enough (see simple recipe), and then eyeballing the pumpkin puree at about a 1/3 of a cup for 2 servings. It was jut enough too, as it didn't overpower the pancakes with pumpkin flavor, but still gave them that fall, comforting feel. I sprinkled the top with a dash of cinnamon, also helping to decorate the plate, and then finally dressed it with a modest helping of Canadian maple syrup. You can also use chunky preserves or a fruit compote on top such as an apple or pear.
The whole thing was wonderful to enjoy with a big mug of coffee and your loved one.
Homemade Pumpkin Pancakes recipe, courtesy of the Food Network
As a result of our constantly busy schedule, Dan and I are always on the run and rarely sit down to a nice, leisurely breakfast together. Well I aimed to change that this weekend, as a little purchase over at All Good Things on Friday inspired me to make French Toast.
That little purchase to be more specific was pumpkin bread. Not what you may be thinking, this wasn't a desserty pumpkin bread, but instead a hearty, not sweet version. I purchased it at All Good Thing's Orwasher's stand, which has a lot of other interesting breads, and while they come at a premium, they're really fantastic.
So as you can see here, I decided to use this bread for a homemade French Toast, topped with authentic Canadian maple syrup, courtesy of my friend Sarah from Calgary (thanks Sarah!). We further topped it with Back to Nature's Apple Blueberry Granola, which was just delicious.
Even though you probably don't need me to tell you how to make French Toast, here's a little synopsis just in case.
Pumpkin Bread French Toast:
Ingredients (serves 2)
3 eggs, beaten well
4 large slices of pumpkin bread (you can substitute with oatmeal raisin bread too)
A dash of cinnamon
Vegetable or olive oil
A pinch of salt
Good quality maple syrup
Your favorite granola
Directions:
Heat a large non-stick skillet on medium high with oil until really hot. Add the pinch of cinnamon and salt into the eggs and whisk well.
Coat the bread in the egg mixture and place into the skillet. Pan fry on both sides for about 2-3 minutes or until the sides are golden brown. Place on a plate and blot with paper towels.
Serve immediately and top with maple syrup and granola. Enjoy a great start to the day!
As you can tell, I've been pretty into making soups lately and the rainy, chill weather has presented the perfect opportunity to consume them.
I wanted to share this simple recipe for a split pea, butternut squash soup with toasted pumpkin seeds that I got from my Whole Foods iPad app. Finding a lot of value in their recipes, I like how healthy they are and the nutritious ingredients they incorporate.
Making this soup was really enjoyable and a good learning experience, as it doesn't use any kind of oil or chicken or veggie stock. The flavors simply stew together for a long time and intermingle in the process, creating a flavorful concoction that's satisfying and also good for you. The toasted pepitas on top are the best part, as both Dan and I loved biting into something crunchy while enjoying this smooth, creamy soup (no cream included).
Whole Foods' recipe uses sweet potato, but I had butternut squash on hand and it worked great. Enjoy.
Split Pea Butternut Squash Soup Recipe.
Even though I'm not hosting Thanksgiving at our place (never have and will try to shirk it as long as possible) - I'm of course contributing to a fabulous feast that's about to take place at Dan's cousin's house. And since I've been on a truffle kick lately, I decided to have another go at it, creating these white chocolate, pumpkin truffles. Similarly to my first try at truffles, I see that I still need loads of practice, but the good news is that the end result still tastes yummy.
I made two types of truffles, as you can see here - one is coated in white chocolate and includes a pumpkin (butternut squash in my case), cream cheese, white chocolate, cookie crumbs, cinnamon, sugar and orange zest filling and is coated in the white chocolate. Like a proper truffle should look. The others are a bit more rustic, as I ended up mixing the remainder of the white chocolate with the above mentioned filling and then coating it with the cookie crumbs. Still yummy but just a different look. Hope you have the patience and appetite to try something like this - while the pumpkin (or the butternut squash lasts).
Happy Thanksgiving everyone, and I can't wait to hear about the yummies you cooked up.
White Chocolate Pumpkin Truffles Recipe (courtesy of Whole Foods)
