pumpkin Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Authentic Simplicity

Pumpkin Spice Granola

October 5, 2011 By Anne Simpson

Granola claims a colorful and circuitous history, strangely intertwined with religion, health nuts, and hippies. Odd, but familiar bedfellows, indeed. Starting with Sylvester Graham (yes, of graham cracker fame), ending up with the hippies of the ’60s, and continuing on to the modern nutrition-conscious housewives of today, it satisfies the need for a quick and healthy breakfast for bleary-eyed mornings.

There are many wonderful things about granola, not the least if which is its adaptability to the contents of your pantry, your dietary needs and desires, and even to the season and its produce. Using a background of a variety of grains and seeds, the fruits of the season can shine in their limelight and create a wide variety of pleasing tastes and textures.

And, of course, pumpkin is the star of the harvest season, and deserves its chance to hog the spotlight. When combined with the usual spices, and some honey, it creates the perfect dressing for granola, made even better by the addition of dried cranberries and apples. Autumn in a delicious handful.

Pumpkin Spice Granola

Ingredients

2 cups rolled oats
1 cup steel cut oats
1 cup puffed millet, or other puffed grain
1 cup crispy rice cereal, or other crispy cereal
1/2 cup sunflower or pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp powdered ginger
dash salt
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped dried apples

Instructions

Stir together the grains and seeds in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, stir together the pumpkin puree, honey, and seasonings.
Pour the liquid mixture over the grains, and stir thoroughly until well coated.
Spread the mixture on a cookie sheet, and bake at 250F for at least an hour, stirring every 15 minutes or so. Bake until desired crunchiness, up to 2 hours.
Remove from oven and sprinkle with cranberries and dried apples. Store in airtight containers.

11 Comments Filed Under: Breakfast, On The Table Tagged With: oats, pumpkin

Coconut Oil and Cookies

November 7, 2010 By Anne Simpson

There is a growing number of people - among them medical professionals, scientists and nutrition experts - who believe that natural fats play an important role in a healthy diet, and that we are cheating ourselves out of vital nutrients by sticking to low-fat or no-fat diets. I do not count myself among the experts, but I do tend to agree with the research. When looking at the big picture, and even when reading between the lines of conventional research that seems to prove otherwise, the evidence suggests that they may be on to something.

Some go so far as to purposely include more fat in their diet, intentionally planning high fat foods into their meal plans. I don’t seek out extra sources of fat, but neither do I shy away from using high-fat products like whole milk, cream, palm oil shortening… and coconut oil.

The whole topic can be controversial and political, and it’s hard to find independent research that isn’t trying to sell something. The Coconut Research Center is a good unbiased place to start if you want to read up on the subject. I read an article (that is unfortunately not available online or I would share it with you) in the Living Without magazine that independently analyzed a variety of “specialty” oils, and coconut oil was one of them that struck me as having the highest potential health benefits, as well as the most ease of use in cooking and baking.

One of the more attractive features of coconut oil is the fact that it is very heat-stable, meaning that cooking and frying with it does not destroy its nutrients, unlike most vegetable oils. It has a decently high smoking point, too, which helps.

Normally, I buy the cheap, not-quite-as-healthy refined stuff at Walmart just because I can’t afford the really good stuff. However, Tropical Traditions was kind enough to send me a quart of their Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil.

This is definitely the good stuff! It still has the faint aroma and taste (when raw) of the coconut so you know it still has the highest number of nutrients intact. It’s definitely worth the investment, especially since Tropical Traditions is always running a sale of one kind or another, and also promotes heavily through blog reviews and giveaways (sorry, folks, no giveaway this time).

Soooo…. check out the Tropical Traditions website for all their amazing products! For coconut oil inspiration, try their collection of coconut recipes, look throughout my blog for recipes featuring coconut oil, or make these delicious, perfect-for-fall cookies…

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon milk
1 cup pumpkin
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup coconut oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips

In a small dish, dissolve baking soda in milk. Set aside. In large bowl whisk together pumpkin, sugar, honey, oil, egg and vanilla. Whisk together dry ingredients in a separate bowl; then add to pumpkin mixture. Mix well, then stir in the baking soda-milk mixture and then chocolate chips. Spoon onto cookie sheet or baking stone. Bake 12 to 15 minutes at 375F.

This is a good QUICK recipe, perfect for after-school snacks!

It’s also very EASY. There might be one extra minimal step or two, like the baking soda milk mixture, but that doesn’t make it difficult or complicated. There’s a lot of moisture in these cookies, so it’s easy to make them nice and soft.

It’s pretty CHEAP, although with the extra ingredient of pumpkin, and the use of coconut oil, it’s not as cheap as regular old chocolate chip cookies.

Did you notice the honey replacing part of the sugar, and the whole wheat flour? Combine that with the addition of pumpkin and the use of coconut oil, and you have yourself a fairly HEALTHY cookie!

Disclosure: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review in return for the free product.

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2 Comments Filed Under: At Home, Dessert, Health, Home, On The Table, Snacks Tagged With: cookies, nutrition, pumpkin

You Know it’s Autumn When…

November 2, 2009 By Anne Simpson

…you eat pumpkin at every meal. Or practically every meal. That’s what it’s been like around here lately, not that I’m complaining! I love pumpkin. And I will miss it when it’s gone for the winter… sniff sniff.

Pumpkin is definitely not reserved for pumpkin pies anymore. It seems like every year, people discover new things they can do with pumpkins: muffins, waffles, pancakes, pies, custard, pudding, mousse, the list goes on and on. You may have noticed most items on that list were desserts, but pumpkin is not even reserved for the dessert tray anymore. It has become the featured star in a number of entrees and side dishes for the dinner table.

Because of my DH’s colitis, he cannot have any highly acidic foods, including tomatoes and tomato sauce. (On a side note, he can have ketchup, which is odd, but I guess that’s because the life has been boiled out of the poor tomato by the time it becomes ketchup!) As you can imagine, that eliminates a lot of Italian food, especially that standard busy-mom classic: spaghetti. Nope, no spaghetti around here. When we have pasta, I have to get creative with sauces, which is actually not a bad thing, because I like to be creative.

So when I found this recipe for pumpkin pasta sauce in my January 2009 Woman’s Day, I was super excited! I was skeptical, to be honest, but variations of Alfredo sauce get old and I was ready to try something new. I was mostly nervous that my DH would hate it, but fortunately, that fear did not come true: he actually loved it! The first time I made it almost exactly as the recipe requires, including the sausage, the sugar and the sweet spices (the alliteration was not intentional, by the way!). I left out the broccoli because that is yet one more thing DH cannot have, but it was great anyway.

This time around, I did not have sausage and I wanted the pasta to be a side dish, not the main meal. So I eliminated the sausage, sugar and sweet spices (there goes that alliteration again) and made it a savory pumpkin sauce instead. Can I just say: YUM! My DH even said that it reminded him of mac ‘n’ cheese, which, as my sister says, is high praise from him, seeing that mac ‘n’ cheese is pretty much his all-time favorite food ever. Even though I used fresh pureed pumpkin, it wasn’t a real strong flavor, which is good if you’re not a huge pumpkin fan. The dish basically tasted like creamy noodles with a slightly spicy flavor.

Savory Pumpkin Pasta Sauce
1 lb pasta noodles (I used elbow macaroni; any short sturdy noodle will work)
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup milk
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
dash of paprika
1 TBSP freshly grated parmesan

Cook the pasta noodles according to the directions on the package. While the noodles are boiling, mix heavy cream, whole milk (you can use 1 1/4 cups half and half to replace those two ingredients) and pumpkin in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Stir until smooth, and bring to a boil, stirring often so the milk doesn’t burn. Allow to simmer for several minutes, stirring often, until mixture is slightly thickened. Add spices and stir to blend well. Drain noodles and dump them into a serving bowl. Pour sauce over noodles and stir to cover them completely. Sprinkle freshly grated Parmesan cheese over noodles and serve.

Optional: Because I was using fresh pumpkin and it was still somewhat stringy, I put the sauce in the blender and pulsed it a few times before mixing it with the noodles. If you’re using canned pumpkin, this step is unnecessary, although I did find that it made the sauce thicker and creamier.

Also, you can adjust the amount of spices to your taste: I have to be careful, again because of my DH, but if you like things a little spicier, by all means, spice it up!

This is one of the QUICKest of QUICK recipes! I know sometimes my idea of “quick” isn’t the same as someone else’s, but I dont’ think anyone will quibble with me over this one! It’s pretty much just as fast as heating up a jar of spaghetti sauce - and much tastier, too!

This is even EASY-er than a white sauce or the mock Alfredo sauce I often make (I’ll have to blog about that recipe one of these days). Dump in the pan, mix and heat: easy!

CHEAP, more or less. Here’s what I paid for mine:
1/2 cup of heavy cream @ $2.85/quart: $0.35
3/4 cup whole milk @ $2.99/half-gallon: $0.28
1 cup of pumpkin @ $1.50/whole pumpkin: $0.75
1 box pasta @ I have no idea how much I spent, let’s say: $0.75 (I try to pay less than $1)
TOTAL: $2.13 (not including spices)
Not bad, especially since one whole box of pasta feeds us for several meals!

Pumpkin is a super-food, so yes, this recipe is very HEALTHY. Even the heavy cream and whole milk are healthy! As long as you’re not taking in too many calories throughout the day, fats like this are not going to make you fat.