in praise of pumpkin

i love pumpkin.  it's creamy, sweet, colorful, satisfying.  it's distinctive flavor always reminds me of the holidays, making it an instant comfort food despite its crazy amount of health benefits.  this stuff is awesome.  it's rich in vitamin c, vitamin e, high in fiber and in just a single one cup serving of pumpkin, you're fueling your body with over 245% of your RDA of the antioxidant vitamin a and you're doing it in under 50 calories.  pretty neat, huh?  pumpkin is a staple item on my grocery list each week and for one really good reason.  i mean, yeah all this health stuff is great and all, but first and foremost...it's just plain super tasty.  and um, versatile?

crunchy spicy

warm and be-streuseled

rich and creamy

as you can see, i generally tend to stay on the sweeter side with a lot of my pumpkin eats, but pumpkin definitely isn't limited to those of us with a sweet tooth.  pumpkin can be used to make all kinds of awesome soups, sauces, stews, breads, roasts, and more in addition to all the yummy puddings, pies, pastries, and desserty treats.  but, for the sake of consistency (and because this is what i actually ate this morning) i'm going to keep this post light and sweet and let you know all about the delight that is this microwave (yes, really) pumpkin cakebread:

oh so dreamy...

it beckons!!

this was nothing short of amazing.  the consistency is moist and dense like a holiday dessert bread with just enough sweetness to make you think of a little cake, but not overwhelm you like eating a whole one probably would.  it's incredibly satisfying.  i was full for hours after eating this little guy.  also, super healthy, gluten free (if that's a concern of yours), and has the option of being vegan as well.  plus, it's absurdly easy.  just 10 minutes or so buys you a friggin cake.  for breakfast.  just for you.  sweet, right?
so, having made and loved ashley's incredible microwave cocoa buckwheat bakes several times in the past, i was really inspired to create my own version of these with a slightly different flavor.  enter the pumpkin.


breakfast pumpkin cakebread


makes one cakebread serving (how personal!)



wet ingredients:

• about 1/4 cup unsweetened 100% pumpkin puree
• 3 T soy (or any) milk
• 1 T agave or honey
• 1 egg white (or you can sub a flaxegg for a vegan cake: 1 T flaxmeal mixed with 2 1/2 T water and allowed to sit for 5 minutes)
• 1 1/2 t vanilla extract 

dry ingredients:

• 1/4 cup ground raw buckwheat flour (i just grind my raw, untoasted groats in my coffee grinder till powdery)
• 1 T raw buckwheat groats
• 2 ts flaxmeal
• 1 T rolled oats or quick oats
• 1/2 to 3/4 ts cinnamon 
• dash of nutmeg
• dash of fenugreek (optional)
• 1/4 ts baking powder
• 1/4 ts stevia
• around 1 T raisins (more or less if you'd like)
• crushed walnuts (optional)

mix all the wet ingredients together in a bowl with a fork. once combined, start adding each dry ingredient one at a time to ensure thorough mixing. scrape the batter into a greased microwave safe bowl/dish/container (i just used a little cooking spray on a 2 1/2 cup tupperware container) and cover with a paper towel. microwave for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes. eat it right out of the dish you cooked it in, or for fun, you can flip it over into a plate for a free standing cake. i love being able to make different shapes this way. sure, they're usually just squares or circles since my tupperware is all boring, but the kid in me is still impressed every time i manage to flip a perfectly tupperware-shaped-cake onto my breakfast plate in no time at all.

for this round, i kept it simple and just smoothed a little bit of low fat cream cheese on my cake with a little drizzle of agave, some cinnamon and strawberries, but this would also be amazing with melty peanut butter, cashew cream, maple syrup, or one of my current fav creations: peanut butter yogurt icing (1/4 banana mashed up with 1 ts or so of peanut butter, melted in the microwave and mashed in with a T or so of greek yogurt with a little cinnamon and/or stevia if you'd like. mmm warm and creamy fluff). play around with it and see what you like! cake for breakfast! for real! martha stewart doesn't even KNOW how good a thing this is. bam!

sasquash sighting!

Alright, kids!  first official post on what's kind of just been a phantom idea of mine for the past several weeks.  i finally decided to just up and get this baby started.  less talk, more...uh..talk...in blog form.  so anyway, seeing as this had become such a figment of sorts for so long, i figured it might be appropriate to kick things off with a culinary cryptozoological sighting.  ladies and gentlemen, i give you, mandarin spaghetti sasquash stew!

so, originally i had planned on a much lighter, less stew-y version of this meal, but this things was kind of a beast from the start...and the end result was still pretty darn tasty, so i'm completely satisfied to take my gains with my losses.  this was my first time cooking a spaghetti squash and i was hoping for something a little more strand-like in consistency rather than the creamy mash i ended up with.  i may have roasted mine a bit too long or stirred it in with the sauce a bit too...enthusiastically.  but in any event, this became a really nice, hearty soup instead that satisfied both a sweet and savory craving and really hit the spot.  left overs, too!  bonus!

you will need:
1 spaghetti squash
2 mandarin oranges
1 small to medium onion cut into chunks
3 smallish plum tomatoes cut into large chunks
2 handfuls of spinach
2 ts garlic powder
1/4 ts nutmeg
1 3/4 ts cinnamon
1 ts basil
3 TS nutritional yeast (optional)
salt to taste

preheat your oven to 375.  cut your squash in half lengthwise with a trustworthy, large knife.  these suckers are tough and kind of awkward, so be extra careful and take your time.  i had to wrestle with mine for a bit...just keep reminding yourself that it's as afraid of you as you are of it.  after muscling it to submission, scoop out all the seeds and stringy middle bits with a spoon and discard.  lightly coat or spray the cut/fleshy side with cooking oil or spray and place it face down on a foil lined bake sheet or tray with about 1/4-1/2 cup of water to keep it from drying out.  cook on the middle rack for about 20 minutes.  in the mean time, peel your mandarins and cut them into wheel slices like so:

once squash hits the 20 minute mark, pull it out of the oven, flip that puppy over, and cover the flat fleshy side with the orange slices.  pop it back in the oven for about 15 minutes or until the flesh easily peels away from the skin with a fork.  pull the squash out of the oven and let it sit while you get the rest of the stew cooking.

heat up a little olive oil in a pot and throw in the onion.  cook until starting to turn translucent and add tomato and spices.  cook until tomatoes start to soften and add the spinach and the spaghetti squash strings along with the mandarin slices.  stir it until it's combined and let it all kind of simmer together until the temp and flavor is consistent.  you can adjust the spices how you'd like them, but i found the sweet spice and simple but distinctive savory blend in this really appealing.  the nutritional yeast adds a nice little bit of nutty/cheesy flavor, too....if you're into that.
i topped mine with fresh basil, walnuts and cranberries and that was pretty swell, but feta and raisins or a little cheddar with a side of brown rice or quinoa would all be really good with this, too.  i also made mine vegan just cause, but you could easily throw some turkey or chicken in with this for a heartier, meatier meal.  enjoy!  and thanks for reading my first post!  lots more fun stuff to come :)