Pumpkin Obsession & Fall

So back in NY when the air started getting crisp and leaves started turning colors you knew it was time for fall. Welllll in Cali it's a little different lol, obviously. There are no leaves changing considering palm trees make up a huge majority of the green here, and the air isn't quite as crisp. It's still between 65-80 degrees during the day and usually doesn't dip below 55 or 60 at night. It's actually been even warmer with some of these heat waves recently and has hit the 90s a couple times. Since I've acclimatized to this new lovely weather I am freezing my butt off in the early morning and at night lol. Makes me wonder how I survived 21 years of harsh North Eastern winters in the negatives! Brrr I need to bring tons of leggings and socks for my trip in December this year :(

 

Anyways, even though the weather isn't the same as back east doesn't mean the yummy fall foods have to change. One of my absolute favorite foods shines during the fall and I use it as many ways as I can as often as I can. So much to the point that I think I annoy everyone in the house when I have a new recipe cooking, but the same main ingredient ;) That food being PUMPKIN! Yumm I loooove pumpkin. Pumpkin pie, tea, coffee, ice cream, pasta, seeds, carving them and so forth. I could eat it everyday. And lately, I have done just that :)

 

Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream

adapted from Oh, Ladycakes

 

 

 

• 1 3/4 cups full fat coconut milk
• 1 3/4 cups light coconut milk
• 1 cup pumpkin
• 2/3 maple syrup
• 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves

Add all ingredients into a blender and blend until completely smooth. Taste and adjust spices if needed. Next, churn in an ice cream maker as suggested by manufacturer's instructions. You can eat it as soft serve once it's done churning or wait and freeze it for a more scoopable ice cream. Either way delish!

 

*The original recipe requires you to cook the ingredients over the stove top to smooth everything out, but I decided to keep it as raw as I could and just blended it all together until smooth. The only mistake I made was trying to go low fat and used light coconut milk instead of full fat. DON'T use So Delicious coconut milk, it's too light, use canned or fresh milk. It came out delicious and tasted just like a slice of pie, however it wasn't thick and creamy enough. When I remake this I'll deff be using full fat coconut milk. Hey at least coconut fat is good for you lol. It also originally called for sucanat sugar, but I chose maple syrup instead because of the flavor combo and what I had on hand. You can swap brown sugar, sucanat, maple or agave for the sweeteners.*

Next is pumpkin carving! Halloween being my favorite holiday and pumpkin one of my fave foods, I obviously love to carve pumpkins. Last year I spent 3 hours carving Regan from 'The Exorcist' face into a pumpkin lol. However, it was fun and I enjoyed my pumpkin ale while doing so.

 

This year I wanted something a little easier so I could actually feel my hand afterwards lol. I went with the classic Freddy Kruger. Only took about an hour and a half :)

 

 

 

Everyone's pumpkins ;)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 When you carve pumpkins you must roast the seeds!!! So gooood ;)

 

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

 

 

 

• pumpkin seeds, rinsed and guts removed
• sea salt, garlic powder, chili, or any seasoning you'd like

 

Once you remove and clean the seeds. Lay them out on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet overnight to air dry. This is when I like to sprinkle them with salt or whatever seasoning you want so that it sticks better in the oven. You can always add more later when they're cooking. The next day, set the oven to 300 degrees and roast the seeds for 40-45 minutes. Stir them around every 10 minutes or so to make sure they don't burn and brown evenly. You can taste and adjust seasonings. Once they're golden brown and crispy they're done! :) 

 

Pumpkin Pie with Gluten-Free Pecan Crust

from Oh She Glows

 

 

 

 

 

Crust:

 
• 1 cup GF rolled oats, processed into a fine flour OR 1 cup GF oat flour
• 2 cups raw pecans
• 2 tbsp sucanat sugar
• 3 tbsp ground flax
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 cup brown rice syrup or honey
• 1 tbsp Earth Balance, melted

 

Filling:

 
• 2 & 1/4 cup canned or fresh pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 1/2 cup sucanat sugar
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1 tbsp Earth Balance, softened
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 3 tbsp arrowroot powder
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves

Grease a 9-inch pie dish very well and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a blender, process your oats into a very fine flour and set aside. In a food processor, add 2 cups pecans and process until it starts to clump and oils start to release. You should be able to make a ball with the dough.

Melt earth balance with brown rice syrup and stir. Transfer clumpy pecan mixture into a large bowl and mix with the rest of the ingredients. Using your hands, squeeze the dough over and over to combine very well. You should be able to form a ball with it. If it's too dry add a bit more oil.

Spoon the pecan dough into pie dish and smooth out evenly. Press down firmly with fingers to form a crust, bringing it up along the sides. Press as firmly as you can. Prick base with fork 12-13 times. Pre-bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, watching closely so it doesn't burn. Remove and cool for 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together the maple syrup and arrowroot powder. Now add all ingredients and whisk together, adjusting spices to taste. Add more sweetener if desired. Pour filling in the pie crust and cover crust with aluminum foil. Bake for 50-55 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool for at least an hour and then let sit overnight or at least 3 hours in the fridge to set.

 

When I started this post I was not thinking about how many pumpkin recipes I want to put up. Therefore, I'm splitting it into two posts. Or maybe three by the time the season is over lol. Anyways, here are some delicious pumpkin treasures I've tried and come across so far this fall season :)

 

 

Trader Joe's Pumpkin Spice Rooibos Tea. OMG everyone should go buy this! It's like having a warm slice of pie with NONE of the calories. My absolute faveeee! I'm planning on stocking up for the winter before they sell out :)

 

 

Here in Costa Mesa there's this little Ma & Pop ice cream shop called Han's. It's not dairy free by any means, but let me tell you. It's probably the best dairy ice cream I've ever eaten in my entire life. Especially the pumpkin flavor! So creamy, flavorful, and smooth. I will occasionally indulge just because it's THAT good!

 

I looove coconut milk. Almond is delicious too, but coconut is a whole other ball park. Plus, coconuts are super good for you for sooo many reasons! Well I discovered these little gems on So Delicious' website. After going to Mother's, Sprouts, and countless other stores, I finally ventured to Whole Foods and found these babies. The pumpkin one is amazingggg. Taste just like the ice cream above but dairy free! Perfect after dinner treat. The mint chocolate one is delish too. Taste like a Starbuck's peppermint mocha on ice. You could probably warm it up too and never know the difference! They also have a nog one that I'll try once it gets closer to Christmas. That's enough pumpkin for now, but try adding some more pumpkin into your diet this season, yummm ;)