Whipped Pumpkin Cream

Nothing adds an easy touch of elegance to holiday desserts like freshly whipped cream. (Skip the aerosol can!) Be sure to chill your beaters and bowl before whipping away, either by putting them in the fridge for a good 30 minutes or by popping them into the freezer for a quick 10. I like to sweeten my cream by drizzling in a little bit of maple syrup before I begin to whip; sometimes I add a bit of vanilla or almond extract for flavor, too.

The key to lush whipped cream is choosing lush cream to begin with. Ideally, you want cream from grass-fed cows — it has a richer, fuller taste and a lighter, fluffier texture — and cream that has not been UHT pasteurized. UHT means “ultra-high temperature,” which in turn means that the cream will be difficult to whip since it’s been thoroughly cooked and in the process has lost a great deal of its natural thickness and ability to hold that thickness when whipped. (Whipping simply incorporates air into the cream. The fat in the cream stiffens around the air pockets and holds itself up to create the fluff effect. Cold fat is stiffer than room-temp fat, which is why using chilled equipment and chilled cream is so important.) Take a look at the ingredient list on UHT whipping cream — you’ll see that it’s been thickened with carrageenan, gums, and other stabilizers to recreate the thick texture the cream has lost through having been overheated. Not exactly an ideal scenario.

I’m in a cowshare program*, which means that I can order fresh raw cream directly from my farmer. It’s a lovely pale yellow color (the cows eat grass and the orange-hued beta carotene in the grass shows through in the milk) and whips to fluffy peaks in less than a minute. If you live in a state like California that allows retail sale of raw dairy products, by all means go for the raw cream. If you live in a state like Michigan that allows cowshare programs, join one! If you simply can’t find raw cream, try to find whipping cream that isn’t UHT.

Note: if you want to whip cream, you need whipping cream! The other types — coffee cream, light cream, even light whipping cream — don’t have enough fat in them to whip, particularly not when they’ve lost so much of their natural texture through pasteurization.

Pumpkin Whipped Cream
This amount is enough to serve 2 people; double, triple, or quadruple as necessary to suit the number of guests.

1/4 cup whipping cream
1 T. maple syrup
1/2 tsp. vanilla OR almond OR hazelnut extract (optional, but adds a nice flavor dimension)
1/4 cup puréed pumpkin (canned is fine, or you can roast your own and then put the cooked flesh through a food processor with a splash or two of water to make your own fresh purée)

Chill your beaters and bowl for at least 30 minutes in the fridge or 10 in the freezer. Pour the cream, syrup, and extract into the chilled bowl and whip at the highest speed until the cream has gone from liquid to a fluffy consistency. If you’re lucky enough to be using raw cream, you’ll be done in less than a minute. If you’re stuck on the opposite end of the spectrum and are using UHT cream, this could take three or four minutes. Either way, if the cream starts to take on a grainy look, STOP! You’re about to make butter.

Fold in the pumpkin with a spatula, occasionally turning the bowl and scraping the sides as you carefully lift and tuck the pumpkin into the cream. Raw whipped cream is very stable and can handle a fair amount of pumpkin; UHT cream collapses quite easily.

Serve the cream atop cake (here I spooned it onto pumpkin bread and had it for breakfast), as a dip for fresh fruit (apples and pears are especially nice), or as a treat all by itself. Feel free to sprinkle on some spices for additional flavor and as a garnish.

Enjoy!

* To find cowshare programs in Metro Detroit, check out my Local Farms & Markets list; to find them across the nation, check out sites like www.eatwild.com and www.localharvest.org.

Four-Loaf Tray of Pumpkin-Almond Bread

Some kitchen tools are so handy that after you’ve used them once, you can’t imagine going without them ever again.  This four-loaf tray is one of those: not only is it perfect for making gift loaves, it’s an ideal way to make one loaf and then be able to freeze/save half of it for later.  (You could cut a large loaf into halves or quarters, of course, but baked goods seem to freeze better when they’re intact vs. after they’ve been cut and their crust has been breached.)  The quartered-loaves concept is especially useful if you’re making pumpkin bread for one person and don’t want to risk any of it going uneaten and stale.

Quite happily, this loaf pan holds the equivalent of one full, standard-sized quickbread recipe.  That means you can translate any of your favorite recipes into a four-parter: pumpkin bread, zucchini bread, banana bread, carrot-walnut bread, you name it.  Just be sure to let each loaf completely cool before wrapping it securely in plastic wrap and then putting the loaf/loaves into a freezer bag — if the loaves are still warm at all, the condensation they give off will turn into little ice crystals in the freezer.  Should that happen, unwrap the loaves and brush off the crystals as best as you can the instant you take them out of the freezer to thaw.

Pumpkin-Almond Bread

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease the four-part tray with extra-virgin olive oil or butter (or one standard loaf pan) and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together:
1/2 cup sorghum OR corn flour*
1/2 cup brown rice OR millet flour*
1/2 cup freshly ground almonds
1 T. baking powder
Dash sea salt
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. cloves OR cardamom
1/2 tsp. nutmeg OR coriander
1/2 cup sliced almonds OR chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

In another large bowl, whisk together:
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup date sugar OR palm sugar
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil OR 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil + 1/4 cup applesauce
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk (dairy, coconut, nut, grain…your choice)
1 cup pumpkin purée (homemade or canned)
1/2 tsp. almond OR 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Stir wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, then immediately scoop into loaf pan and place in preheated oven. Bake for 50 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean and warm. The smaller loaves take between 50 minutes and an hour; the full-sized loaf may take over an hour.

* These are gluten-free flours. If you’d prefer to make a wheat-based version, substitute 1 cup of kamut, spelt, or whole-wheat flour for the sorghum and brown rice flours. When you combine the wet with the dry ingredients, only stir until just blended since overstirring will toughen the batter. Gluten-free bakers don’t have to worry about that.

Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream

I was lucky — as a kid, I had the pleasure of visiting a local ice cream shop that made (and still makes, as far as I know) its own ice cream.  It was creamier and tastier than anything you could buy in a store.  Although all of their flavors were fantastic, my far-and-away favorite was the pumpkin ice cream they only made between Halloween and Christmas.  Ice cream in the summer was grand, but Ray’s Pumpkin Ice Cream in the winter was even better.

Since I had a half-can of organic pumpkin left over from making pumpkin bread yesterday, I decided to give my own pumpkin ice cream a shot.  (Literally … I included a shot of rum.)  In lieu of heavy cream — I only had whole milk on hand — I added a few extra egg yolks, then threw in a few of my favorite spices.  The result was a not-too-rich, very pumpkin-y ice cream that tasted a lot like the inside of a pumpkin pie.  In short, I’d say that making your own pumpkin ice cream is so easy that you can enjoy a bowl of pumpkin ice cream even in the sweltering depths of July.  (If you’re a big pumpkin fan, you might want to stock up on canned pumpkin while it’s plentiful in stores — the organic pumpkin at Trader Joe’s is particularly nice, but they only stock it seasonally.  Whole Foods does stock organic pumpkin year-round, though.)

Note on making ice cream: the more fat you include (in the form of heavy cream, coconut cream, or egg yolks) and the more liquor you include (plain vodka and rum work best), the less frozen the ice cream will get.  If you like your ice cream soft, use more yolks; if you like it to freeze harder, use fewer yolks or skip the booze.  Don’t use more than one shot of booze per batch, because 1. odds are the rum/vodka flavor will be too pronounced and 2. the ice cream probably won’t freeze well.

Sugar also helps modulate the freezing consistency, but I prefer less-sugary ice cream, so I use natural sweeteners that don’t have much effect on the how hard the ice cream gets, both because there’s simply less sweetener in my ice cream vs. a commercial brand and because I use sweeteners like maple syrup and molasses rather than refined white sugar.  I’d rather control the consistency by upping or decreasing the fat content.  Note that you are consuming uncooked yolks, so be sure to at least get organic eggs; if you have access to local eggs from a local farmer, so much the better.  I wouldn’t recommend using 99-cents-a-dozen eggs in a raw situation.

Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream

1 cup whole milk, preferably from grass-fed cows (Calder’s and Organic Valley are good choices)
1 cup canned pumpkin, preferably organic (it really does taste better!)
3-4 egg yolks (3 if you like harder ice cream, 4 if you like softer ice cream), preferably from pastured hens
2/3 cup maple syrup
1 shot of unflavored rum
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions. (Mine takes about 20 minutes to churn the blended mixture into a frozen cream.)

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Dessert Soup

Pie pumpkins are such an economical treat!  By “pie” pumpkins, I mean those cute little guys who only weigh a pound or two, the kind that are way too small to carve but are easy to bake, simmer, mash, or sautée.  (I would not want to try to cut a monster-sized pumpkin in half for roasting!  Not even with my beloved 8″ G2 Global Japanese folded steel knife…)  And even though the mini-pumpkins are often called “pie” pumpkins because that’s where they usually end up, you can use pie pumpkins the same way you’d use any winter squash: in soups, tossed with pilafs, as puréed sides, etc.

This autumn dessert soup was inspired by the fact that I had two autumn staples on hand — pumpkins and apple cider — and wanted to make something lightly sweet and decidedly different with them.  Including roasted seeds as a topping added a crunchy, salty contrasting element to this smooth, rich soup.  Mmm…the flavors of fall…  Plus, as you’ll see, you can bake a pumpkin and/or roast the seeds and then use them in many different ways.  Pumpkins are a natural 2-for-1 deal!

Pumpkin Dessert Soup

Freshly baked or leftover baked pumpkin
Whole coconut milk or heavy dairy cream
Apple cider
Cinnamon
Roasted pumpkin seeds

To bake a pumpkin:
Preheat oven to 375F degrees. Line a baking tray with parchment paper or aluminum foil and set aside. Wash and dry a pie pumpkin, then place it stem side up on a cutting board. Take a sharp, heavy knife (an 8″ chef’s knife is ideal) and cut through the pumpkin, cutting from just next to the stem down through to the bottom. Cut off stem and discard. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and fibrous bits, placing the seeds in a colander as you go and discarding the stringy fibers. Arrange the pumpkin halves cut side up on the baking sheet and bake for 30 to 45 minutes or until a knife can easily pierce the flesh of the pumpkin. (The bigger the pumpkin, the longer it will take to soften.)

The cooked pumpkin can be served in the shell — cut the halves into wedges for individual servings — or you can scoop out the flesh and mash it as you would potatoes. You can serve the mashed pumpkin on its own or use it in other things, from sauces and soups to baked goods. If you purée that mashed pumpkin in a food processor, you have a fresh version of canned mashed pumpkin.

Another option for pumpkin prep is to cut it in half, then trim away the hard outer skin.  Chop pumpkin flesh into cubes and simmer them in water until they’re soft.  (This takes anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the size of the individual cubes.)  Toss the cubed pumpkin with pasta, chicken — or whatever else strikes your fancy — or mash the cubes the same way you’d mash potatoes.

To roast pumpkin seeds:
Rinse reserved seeds well, using your hand to flip the seeds around and over as you run cool water through them. Place seeds in a pot, cover with an inch of cool water, cover with a lid, and simmer for over low heat for at least an hour. Drain seeds well and spread them out on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Drizzle unrefined peanut oil or extra-virgin olive oil over the seeds, then sprinkle with sea salt if desired. Mix well with your fingertips. Bake seeds at 250F degrees for at least an hour or until the seeds have reached a good crunch point. (I like my seeds pretty crunchy.) You can include your roasted seeds in trail mixes, use them to garnish dishes, or just enjoy them out of hand.

To make dessert soup:
Blend cooked pumpkin with a dollop of coconut milk. Add a splash of cider and a shake or two of cinnamon and blend again. Taste to see if you like the flavor and texture. If you want a thicker, creamier soup, use more coconut milk and less cider; if you want a thinner, sweeter soup, use more cider and less milk. You can also add a splash of maple syrup if you’d like a sweeter soup. Serve soup with a scattering of roasted pumpkin seeds and a dash of cinnamon on top.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Coffeecake

Even though The Great Pumpkin Day has come and gone, pumpkins are still everywhere we look, and they’ll still be seasonally “in” when winter has us in an icy grip.  (Not looking forward to the slick streets, but I am looking forward to soft white carpets of snow making the neighborhood look like it’s been transported to an alien planet.  Every winter, I wonder if the Hoth scenes from Empire Strikes Back were shot in Michigan…)

In the spirit of continuing great pumpkin traditions, I’ve come up with a moist pumpkin coffeecake that can be served as dessert, as breakfast, with tea…or with coffee, of course.  The yogurt and pumpkin in the batter contribute to its velvety richness, and the date sugar and sucanat lend the cake a sweetness that’s flavorful instead of being just sheerly sugary.  You could even make an autumn parfait by layering small pieces of the cake with dried cranberries and Greek yogurt (or ice cream).  One of the versions of a classic trifle, in fact, is really a gigantic parfait, typically layered with whipped cream rather than ice cream and served in a large, clear bowl with straight sides.  Talk about a tasty fall party dessert!

Pumpkin Coffeecake

This cake is gluten-free, but if you’d prefer to use wheat flour, use 1 3/4 cups whole-wheat flour instead of the blend of gluten-free flours.

For the topping:

3/4 cup old-fashioned oats (be sure to get gluten-free oats if you’re making a gluten-free cake!)
1/3 cup sucanat
1 tsp. cinnamon
Pinch of sea salt
1/4 cup slivered or sliced almonds
2 T. melted butter, preferably from pastured cows (see note below)

Mix topping ingredients together in a medium bowl and set aside.

For the cake:

1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup amaranth flour
1 cup sorghum flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cardamom OR ground cloves
1 stick butter, preferably from pastured cows (Organic Valley and Kerrygold are good choices)
1/3 cup sucanat
1/3 cup date sugar (which is simply dried dates that have been ground up; you can find date sugar at any whole-foods-oriented grocery store, including health-food stores)
2 eggs, preferably from pastured hens
1 cup puréed pumpkin (organic really honestly does taste a LOT better and is well worth seeking out)
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Grease an 8×8 glass pan and set aside.

Whisk together flours, baking soda, salt, and spices in a medium bowl. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter for at least 1 minute — the more you aerate the butter, the loftier and more tender your cake will be — and then blend in sucanat and date sugar, beating the mixture for another minute. Beat in eggs one at a time.

Beat in half of the flour mixture, then beat in the pumpkin, yogurt, and vanilla. Beat in the rest of the flour mixture. NOTE: if you are using gluten-free flours, you can work with the batter for as long as you like without making it tough. If you are working with whole-wheat flour, only beat the batter long enough to just blend the ingredients — when you overmix a wheat-based batter/dough, you can overdevelop the gluten and run the risk of having a chewy cake. Either way, though, be sure not to poke along when you’re blending the batter, because baking soda begins to react and poof the moment it comes into contact with an acidic liquid (in this case, the yogurt). The sooner you get that batter into the oven, the better the baking soda will be able to do its job.

Pour the batter into the glass pan, then spoon on the topping. Bake cake for 40 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy!

Individual Crustless Pumpkin Pie

There’s a time for crusts and ends and corners, but that time isn’t all the time.  Sometimes you just want what’s in the middle without having to bother with anything else.  If you’re a big pumpkin fan like I am, you might prefer no-holds-barred, maximum pumpkin, especially at this time of the year when it’s okay to see how many ways you can serve it.  (Seeing as pumpkin pie doesn’t go over too well in the sweltering heat of August…) 

Enter, then, the crustless individual pumpkin pie, served in ramekins, crocks, or custard cups.  They’re practical and cute!

Crustless Maple Pumpkin Pies

1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup cold water
3 eggs, divided into yolks and whites
1/2 cup maple syrup, preferably Grade B
1/2 cup whole milk, preferably organic/local (if you’d like to make this dairy-free, use whole coconut milk)
1/2 tsp. sea salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
15-oz. can of pumpkin, preferably organic
Chopped pecans for garnish

Dissolve the gelatin in the water in a small saucepan over low heat OR microwave water and gelatin in a small microwave-safe bowl for 30 seconds, then stir. Microwave for another 30 seconds and stir again, repeating once more if necessary. Set aside.

Separate yolks from whites, placing the yolks in a medium saucepan and the whites in a large mixing bowl. Set whites aside.

Stir the yolks with a whisk. Blend in maple syrup, milk, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin. Heat mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, until it’s thick and smooth. (This will take about 6 minutes.) Add the dissolved gelatin, stir thoroughly, and remove from heat. Let cool.

Beat the egg whites for about 3 minutes or until they’re tall and white and form stiff peaks. Using a spatula, carefully fold the whites into the pumpkin mixture, then carefully spoon pumpkin into individual ramekins, crocks, custard cups, or even small bowls. Garnish with pecans and a drizzling of maple syrup.

These pies can be served fresh or can be kept in the refrigerator for about 4 days. (They make good breakfasts, too!)

Enjoy!

Pumpkin & Spinach Pasta

Who says pumpkin is only for pies?  It’s a squash, after all, and we use every other kind of squash — acorn, butternut, spaghetti — in savory dishes.  It’s a shame that zucchinis are the only squashes that have managed to make the jump from savory (in countless Mediterranean dishes) to sweet (quickbreads and fritters).  Given pumpkin’s potential and the fact that Thanksgiving feasts will be hitting tables across the land this weekend, what better time to explore your savory options?

Pumpkin & Spinach Pasta

Note:  this recipe serves 2.  Simply double or triple ingredients as needed.

2 servings of whole-grain pasta
4 cloves garlic, sliced into rounds
1 T. unrefined peanut oil OR extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup whole coconut milk
1/4 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp. ginger
2 cups spinach, roughly chopped

Prepare pasta according to package directions. Rinse with hot water, drain, and set aside. While pasta is cooking, prepare sauce.

In a large pot or pan (you’ll need enough room to add the spinach later), sautée garlic in oil over medium-low heat for 1-2 minutes or until garlic is fragrant and slightly golden, stirring often to make sure that garlic doesn’t scorch.

Add coconut milk, pumpkin, and ginger and stir to combine. Simmer on low for about 5 minutes to allow the flavors to marry, then add spinach. Cook for another 1-2 minutes or until spinach is wilted.

Toss pumpkin sauce with drained noodles and serve piping hot. A few crushed peanuts and/or a spritz of lime juice would be nice garnishes.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Pumpkin-Coconut Muffins

Perhaps I’ve spent too many hours in the Caribbean sun, but I think pumpkins and coconuts should occupy a more prominent place on the American table.  They both have a smooth, silky flavor, are durable to ship and easy to grow, and are endlessly versatile in sweet and savory dishes.  There’s pumpkin bread, pumpkin-stuffed raviolis, pumpkin dip (especially terrific with apples and pears), and pumpkin soup…and equally-luscious coocnut smoothies, coconut fish curries, coconut macaroons, and coconut chicken.  (If you’re still not convinced, try to imagine the world without piña coladas.  Takes some of the fun out of it, doesn’t it?  And Thanksgiving would seem incomplete without pumpkin pie.)

Since I’m such a proponent of pumpkins and coconuts, I thought I’d create muffins with both.  (Coconut milk is also a great substitute for dairy milk, especially if you skip the “light” coconut milk and go straight for the much-better-tasting, much-more-nutritious whole milk.)  These muffins make a great breakfast or snack; you could also top them off with a scoop of high-quality ice cream and a splash of maple syrup for dessert.  And making the muffins is simple — all you need is two mixing bowls, a whisk, and a mixing spoon.

Pumpkin-Coconut Muffins*

*Note:  these are gluten-free muffins.  If you want to make them with standard wheat flour, use 2 cups of wheat flour in place of the brown rice and teff flours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare muffin tins by either greasing them well or filling them with paper muffin cups.

In a large bowl, whisk together:

1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup teff flour
1 T. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. sea salt

In a smaller bowl, whisk together:

1 cup pumpkin, either canned or freshly-roasted, peeled, and mashed
1/3 cup maple syrup, preferably Grade B
1 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 tsp. vanilla

Stir wet ingredients into dry ones until just blended. If you like, add a handful of dried berries (cranberries or cherries work best) and/or chopped nuts (walnuts and pecans are tasty options).

Spoon into muffin tins and bake for 22 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy!

Also note: in addition to being gluten-free, these muffins just happen to be dairy-free, egg-free, and sugar-free — if you know someone with lots of food sensitivities, these might just be the muffins for them!

Pumpkin-Apple Spice Muffin with Milk

A lot of people are shocked when they hear that I don’t eat store-bought cereal for breakfast.  I used to, but no longer–today’s cereals are packed with sugar, refined grains, sugar, additives and chemicals, sugar, damaged fats, sugar…and sugar.  (On the more upscale cereal boxes, you may see words like “evaporated cane juice” or “fruit concentrate.”  To wax Shakespearean, sugar by any other name is still sugar.)  A sugar breakfast doesn’t exactly give you a good start to your day.  It’s also a great way to guarantee that you’ll be hungry again by 10:00 a.m…at which point you’ll probably reach for a breakfast/granola bar that’s loaded with sugar.  (I speak from experience:  I used to down two bowls of cereal and two granola bars in the course of a single morning.)

Nowadays, I have a lot of different things for breakfast:  I blend fresh fruit and whole milk/coconut milk for a satisfying smoothie, I poach or scramble an egg or two (fantastic with fresh salsa!), I make a batch of muffins that will serve as breakfasts for an entire week, I make my own granola, I enjoy whole grains I’ve soaked overnight (such as groats, quinoa, or bulgur), or I simply have whatever tasty leftovers are in my fridge.  All of these options are low in sugar, high in protein and healthy fats, and don’t make me reach for something else an hour later–in short, they’re a great way to start my morning.

One of the easiest things you can bake are muffins.  Enjoy them plain or with milk poured over the top, in your kitchen or on the road, sweet or savory…they’re endlessly adaptable.  Here’s a basic recipe I developed for a friend who’s making the transition from the American Standard Sugar Breakfast to a healthy one:

Basic Muffins

Dry ingredients:

2 cups flour (not white flour!)*

1 T. aluminum-free baking powder (i.e., Rumsford)

½ tsp. sea salt

Wet ingredients:

2 large eggs (organic and containing omega-3s; preferably from pastured hens)

1 cup organic, whole milk**

2/3 cup raw agave nectar or maple syrup (Grade B)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

(For savory muffins, decrease the sweetener by 1/3 cup and add additional 1/3 cup of milk.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 12-muffin tin or line each cup with paper liners.

Using a whisk (or fork), mix dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Use the same whisk to mix together wet ingredients in a bigger bowl, then pour in dry ingredients and use a mixing spoon to combine everything.

Spoon batter into muffin tin. (Using a large soup spoon is best.) Bake for 20 minutes, then pull out of the oven and stick a toothpick in one of the center muffins. If the toothpick comes out clean, muffins are done—if it doesn’t, bake for another 2 minutes and check again.

*Note:  you can substitute non-gluten flour for up to half of the amount of wheat flour.  Try cornmeal, coconut flour, bean flour, or ground nuts for new flavor combinations.  Gluten-free grains like teff and quinoa are also tasty options.

**Note:  you can substitute different flavors for up to half of the amount of the milk:  pumpkin, mashed banana, applesauce, Greek yogurt, grated zucchini (squeeze out the moisture first).  Or you can use coconut milk or non-dairy milks like almond and hazelnut for part or all of the dairy milk.  (If you do opt to try denser semi-liquids like pumpkin or banana, you may have to add 1 T. of so of additional liquid if the batter seems too thick and dry.)

Any dried fruit, chips, cheese chunks, etc. should be stirred in at the very end of the mixing process.

Enjoy your fresh new start!

Pumpkin Maple Chocolate Bread

As part of my continuing quest to find more flavorful (and healthier) alternatives to white sugar–especially when I want to bake something tasty for breakfast–I decided to try my hand at maple syrup creations. (See Sweeteners for more information on natural sweeteners.) The result? A lightly-sweetened bread with the warm undertones of maple, the smooth backdrop of pumpkin, and the richness of cocoa.

Note: the general rule when substituting maple syrup for sugar is to use 3/4 cups maple syrup for each cup of sugar. You’ll also need to reduce the total liquid amount in the recipe by 3 T. per cup of syrup you use and reduce the cooking temperature by about 25 degrees Fahrenheit so that the maple doesn’t burn. If there is no acidic ingredient in the recipe, then add 1/4 tsp. of baking soda. Acids would be citrus juice, buttermilk, yogurt, sour cream, etc.

Pumpkin Maple Chocolate Bread

2 1/2 cups flour (can be any mixture of wheat, spelt, kamut or barley flours; all of these contain gluten and will react the same way)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
pinch of sea salt
1/2 cup cocoa
1 cup + 2 T. maple syrup
1/4 cup organic butter, melted (grass-fed if you can get it)
1/4 cup + 2 T. canned pumpkin
2/3 cup organic milk (raw if you can get it)
1 tsp. vanilla
3 free-range eggs

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease an 11×17 pan OR prepare enough cupcake pans for 24 cupcakes.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cocoa together. Pour the liquid ingredients into a smaller bowl and use the same whisk to thoroughly combine. Stir liquid ingredients into the dry ones, scraping the bottom of the bowl to make sure that all ingredients are mixed together. Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 35 minutes. (If inserted toothpick doesn’t come out clean, continue baking for another 5 minutes and check again.)

Serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt and a sprinkling of cinnamon. Fresh fruit would be a nice garnish.

Enjoy!

Cranberry Pumpkin Bread

With its mixture of ground flaxseed and almonds, this moist, tart-but-sweet pumpkin bread makes a nutritious and filling breakfast.  It can also become a tasty dessert if it’s topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of honey.

If you’d like to give a gift loaf to a friend, mix 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar with a dash of vanilla extract and little bit of milk or water (just enough to make a thick liquid) to make a quick decorative icing.  Let the icing drip off of a spoon and go back and forth over the loaf to make a zig-zag pattern.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease and flour a 9×5 loaf pan; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together and then set aside:

1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cloves OR 1/2 tsp. allspice

Combine in a small bowl and then set aside:

1/3 cup almond milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla

In a large bowl, whisk together:

1/4 cup applesauce
1 cup sucanat

Whisk in one at a time:

2 eggs

Whisk in:

1 cup canned pumpkin (if you can find organic pumpkin, it’s worth the splurge; Trader Joe’s sells excellent organic canned pumpkin during the holiday season)

Add flour mixture and milk in three parts, alternating between the two.  Stir in:

1 cup cranberries (fresh or frozen)

If you’d like your loaf to be a bit sweeter, add:

3-4 chopped dates OR 1/3 cup raisins

Pour batter into greased pan and bake for 70 minutes. Check doneness with toothpick; if necessary, bake an additional 5 minutes and then check again.

Enjoy!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and grease a standard 12-cup muffin tin (or use paper liners).

In a large bowl, whisk together:

1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup almond flour (my local Trader Joe’s store carries this)
1/2 cup flaxseed flour (I found this at TJ’s as well)
1 T. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg

In another bowl, combine:

2 large eggs
1 cup almond milk
1 cup cooked or canned pumpkin
2/3 to 1 cup sucanat, depending on your sweet tooth
1/4 cup coconut oil or melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla

Add the liquid mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just blended. Stir in:

1 cup whole cranberries OR 1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Divide the batter into the muffin cups and bake for 20 minutes. Test doneness by poking the center muffin with a toothpick–if it doesn’t come out clean, bake for another 3 minutes and check again.

These muffins are much better the next day, when the flavors have had a chance to marry. Drizzle with maple syrup or honey and sprinkle with additional cinnamon if you like.

Enjoy!