Pumpkin Is MY FOODIE

I was destined to love pumpkins since my first Halloween when my parents dressed me as a pumpkin. I love pumpkins no matter the season. Pumpkins are seasonal but I like to eat them all year long. I bought a white pumpkin from Bountiful Baskets and wanted to get the most of it since I am limited on freezer space. Below I discuss five recipes that will use up a whole pumpkin. 

Baking pumpkins are as

EASY as 1, 2, 3

SIMPLE COOKING DIRECTIONS: 1) Cut the pumpkin in half, cut slits in it for it to breathe 2) Bake at 375 degrees F for 1 hour and 30 minutes

I am still on a quest for finding flavorful raw pumpkins in the United States. Do you have a type of pumpkin to recommend? The white pumpkin was delicious but it’s still not as flavorful as the pumpkin I bought in China’s farmers markets.

Here are some of the main ingredients I used in this 6 hour cooking session.

5 Fresh Pumpkin Recipes

1) Paleo Pumpkin Pie: Gluten & Dairy Free

Ingredients:

Pie Crust:
The recipe is from Mark’s Daily Apple. 
-2 1/2 cups walnuts
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
-2 tablespoons butter, melted

Pumpkin Pie:
Recipe adapted from Ask Alisa.
-3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
-1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
-1/2 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
-1/4 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg or Allspice
-1/4 Teaspoon Ground Cloves
-1/2 Teaspoon Salt
-2 Large Eggs
-15-ounce or 1 can of Pumpkin
-1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
-1 Cup Coconut Milk

Directions:

Bake at 350 degrees F for 50 minutes- 60 minutes

My mom was my lovely helper. I can’t express how much, but cooking with others is a fun way to bond and share an experience together.

The measuring device below is awesome. It measures ounces. 
I used a food processor for the crust. You could use a smasher for the nuts instead if you want the crust to be harder. You can use oats and almonds for substitution if you run out of walnuts. 

The final product!

Note: I tried with this years batch of 3 pies substituting bananas for my sugar but this pie needs the sugar. Don’t skimp.

2) Spicy Mexican Pumpkin Soup

Recipe adapted from Yummly.com

Ingredients:
-2 tbsp butter
-1 onion
-2 cups water
-3 cloves of garlic
-1 cup of chicken broth
-28 ounces pumpkin
-14 ounces coconut milk
-2 tsp ground ginger
-1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
-1 1/2 tsp chili powder
– Hot sauce (amount to taste)

Directions:
Mix and cook all ingredients together. Finish soup with some hot sauce poured on top.

3)  Pumpkin Joe

Recipe adapted from Fast Paleo

Ingredients:
-2 lbs grass fed ground beef
-1 onion
– 8 diced roman tomatoes
– 2 cups of pumpkin
-2 mashed bananas
-1 1/2 tsp salt
-1 tsp curry powder
– 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
-1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
-1/4 tsp pepper
– Mustard to taste (Optional)

Directions:
1) Saute onions
2) Cook beef
3) Mix and cook all ingredients together

My mom did most of the fresh cutting of the pumpkin.

Lots of seasoning was happening. 

4) Bacon & Pumpkin

Recipe is an April Maura original.

Ingredients:
-1.5lbs baon
-2 cups pumpkin
-1 banana
-1 onion
-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
-1/2 tsp salt, curry and pumpkin pie spice

Directions:
1) Saute onions
2) Cook Bacon
3) Mix and cook all ingredients together

5) Spiced Country Pumpkin Bread

Recipe is an April Maura original.

Ingredients: (Serving: 2 loaves)
-15 ounces (1 can) pumpkin
-4 eggs
-1 cup olive oil
-3 bananas (acts like sugar)
-3 1/2 oatmeal gluten free flour
-2 tsp baking soda
-1 1/2 tsp salt
-1 tsp ground cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and nutmeg
-1/2 tsp ground cloves
-1/4 tsp ground ginger

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and bake for 50 minutes.

Chef: If you are going to try a recipe above, which one would you pick? If you cook the recipe, please let me know what you think.

Friends please share the link to your favorite Thanksgiving recipe.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

10,000 Smiles

10,000 Smiles is a photography project that I am doing for the year 2013. Read more about why I am doing this project. You can vote for the picture that makes you smile by listing the number of the picture in the comment box at the end of the post.

 

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