And now, for something...slightly different.

Okay, so this is another pumpkin recipe (yes, I am aware I have a bit of an obsession), but there is something different about this one.  It's SAVORY!  Pumpkin is, after all, a squash, something we usually consider to be more akin to vegetables and suited for dinner rather than dessert or breakfast.  So it's definitely time to pay tribute to how well pumpkin blends with savory fall flavors.

Pumpkin pasta sauce is something I discovered years ago when my half-roommate would always come over and we would cook for ourselves and my two full roommates.  I've always had an obsession with recipes.  From the time I was little, I loved looking through my mom's recipe box and dozens of cookbooks (okay, so maybe this is an inherited trait).  I believe I have mentioned before my current obsession with foodgawker.com.  But before I found that, my main point of obsession was epicurious.com.  I have hundreds of recipes saved on there to try, and hundreds more saved on my phone app.  It was great to have people to cook for and with to try out all these recipes.  This was one recipe I had saved, and though we followed the recipe for the most part, we also immediately modified it by adding asparagus and lamb shanks.  That definitely made for a decadent meal, but perhaps too much so.

Over time, I have tweaked it a bit more, to suit my tastes and available ingredients.  This is one of those beautiful recipes that can be treated as a blank canvas to make your own.  I've decided that my favorite way is to add bacon and sage to make it that much more fall-tasting. 

Pumpkin Pasta adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients

• 3 strips bacon
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons half and half
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon sage
• 1/2 lb shaped pasta suitable for catching sauce (orecchietti, radiatori, fusilli, farfalle, etc.)

Dice bacon slices.  Saute in a large skillet over medium high heat until cooked but not crisp  Add the onion, bell pepper and garlic, and saute until onion is translucent.  Add pumpkin, chicken broth, half and half, and spices.  Simmer over medium low heat while you cook the pasta (at least 10 minutes).  Once the pasta is al dente, reserve some of the cooking water and drain.  Add to the sauce and toss, adding pasta water to thin if needed.

More Pumpkin Love!

And the pumpkin kick continues...

This time, it's something I've been wanting to try for a while: Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls.  Ever since I spotted the first recipe on Food Gawker, I have wanted to make these.  I love cinnamon rolls.  I love pumpkin.  This *must* be the perfect baked good!  And like any other delicious dish, everyone has a different twist.  As I sifted through my recipe options, I finally found a winner: Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls from Miss in the Kitchen.  This recipe stood out for two reasons: 1) No rise time [yet they still puffed up beautifully!]; and 2) there is not only pumpkin in the bread, but it's also in the FILLING!  Double pumpkin = major win.  These were super simple and super tasty.  Definitely a keeper recipe!

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls from Miss in the Kitchen

Ingredients

for rolls:

Naked rolls - once they were iced, I dove right in before snapping a pic

• 1 cup warm water
• 2 tablespoons yeast
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour [I used 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, 2 cups all purpose]
• 1 teaspoon salt

for filling:

• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2/3 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar

for icing:

• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl add warm water, yeast, sugar, and oil and stir together.  Allow to set for 3 to 5 minutes or until bubbles start to form.  Stir in egg and pumpkin.  Add 2 cups of flour and combine.  Add salt and 1 cup of flour.  Stir until a soft dough forms and starts to pull away from sides of bowl.  Add additional flour if needed.

Pour dough onto a floured surface and knead for 5 minutes, adding flour as needed until dough is soft and smooth but no longer sticky.  Allow dough to rest about 5 minutes.  Roll out to a rectangle shape about 12 x 15 inches.

In a medium size bowl mix butter and pumpkin puree together until smooth.  Stir in cinnamon and nutmeg. Spoon filling over dough and spread into a thin, even layer.  Sprinkle brown and white sugars evenly over dough.  Starting from a long side, carefully roll up dough, pinching the edges to seal.  Using a sharp knife cut into 1 1/2 inch slices.  Place into a greased baking dish [note: clearly my 9x13 was too big; perhaps a 9x9 or 10" round would work better].  Bake for 25 minutes or until rolls are cooked through and lightly browned.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix cream cheese, butter and powdered sugar together.  Stir in vanilla and milk, mixing until smooth.  Pour over warm cinnamon rolls, gently spreading to cover the rolls.

Pumpkin Overtime!

So gray, rainy days = baking spree time for me.  And when said gray, rainy days occur in the fall, you can be assured there will be lots of warm, spicy, fall-like flavors involved.  Like pumpkin.  Lots of pumpkin.  As part of this particular baking spree, I made pumpkin granola bars, pumpkin pancakes (prior post), pumpkin cinnamon rolls (future post), and caramelized apple spice cake (another future post).  The only thing that stopped me from making pumpkin scones was the fact that I ran out of powdered sugar, and you cannot copycat the Starbucks' pumpkin scones without glaze.  Guess that will have to wait for a future spree....

Right now, lets talk about granola bars.  Super yummy.  I love granola bars (chewy, not crunchy).  It's like hand-held oatmeal that you can take with you.  They can come in whatever flavor combination can be imagined.  I have wanted to make my own for some time now, and today I finally decided it was a good time.  I found a recipe for Pumpkin Cranberry Chocolate Chip Granola Bars from Sweet Pea's Kitchen, which I decided to further tweak for my own preferences/ingredient availability.  They weren't quite right, but I think that may be due to the additional dry ingredients without addition wet ingredients to hold it together.  I'll tweak that for next time.

Pumpkin Granola Bars modified from Sweet Pea's Kitchen

Ingredients

• 3 1/4 cups old fashioned oats
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup chopped dates
• 1/2 cup chopped cinnamon roasted almonds

Preheat oven to 350. Spray the bottom and sides of a 8-by-8-inch baking pan. Put a long piece of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan, letting the parchment extend up two sides of the pan and overhang slightly on both ends.

In a large bowl, combine oats, spices, and salt together. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together brown sugar, pumpkin, applesauce, honey, and vanilla extract. Pour mixture over oats and stir well, until combined. Stir in chocolate chips, nuts and dates.

Place the mixture into the prepared pan. Press mixture evenly into pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, then cut into squares.

Or I suppose you could just eat it as one giant bar.

Pumpkin time!

One of the greatest things about fall is the abundance of pumpkin in EVERYTHING! I love it! Pumpkin has become a standard part of my grocery shopping list... Can never have too much at this time of year. And here are two amazing (and semi-healthy) pumpkin recipes I have recently discovered!

Pumpkin Pancakes

Yum, yum, yum...and another yum if you top it with a spiced apple compote.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter, melted
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup white flour
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix together wet ingredients in a large bowl. Mix dry ingredients in separate bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, stirring just to combine. Heat pan over medium heat, spray with non-stick cooking spray, and cook pancakes about 3 minutes per side (this batter is a bit more dense, and needs a little more cooking time than regular pancakes).

To make spiced apple compote, melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan over med-low heat. Add 2 chopped apples, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1/2 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice, and a dash of salt. Cook over med-low heat, until apples are soft. (Note: this only makes enough for half the pancakes).

Pumpkin Bread from Domestic Revolt

This delicious, moist loaf has no added fat and can easily be made with half whole wheat flour.  Also great with a sprinkling of chopped nuts over the top (I used hazelnuts).



Ingredients

1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1 15 ounce can pumpkin
2 eggs





Preheat oven to 325, and grease a 9x5 loaf pan.  In a large bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, pumpkin, and water. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated.

Pour into prepared pan and bake for 80 to 90 minutes or until it tests done with a toothpick.  Remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack. This bread tastes better the day after its baked once the spices have mingled a bit.