Pantry Clean-Out Week = Bring on the Pumpkin

 

My Christmas gift/ yearly supply of Pumpkin

There are really 3 reasons we have "Pantry-clean-out" weeks in this house:    

1) I spent a ridiculous amount of money on groceries that month and I'm determined to use up what we have before buying more. (These usually occur at the end of the month)

2) I'm trying to rid the pantry of JUNK that has accumulated due to either a) having an especially busy month and therefore buying stuff I wouldn't normally buy; or b) Chris has laid the guilt on THICK and somehow we end up with ice cream, golden Oreos, Nutella, and other unidentifiable processed goods. 

3) Or- and this is the fun reason: Summer is fading and I'm getting ready for Pumpkin Season!!- I mean, Fall. In case you weren't aware, I do have about 28 lbs of pumpkin remaining from the previous year. And it's been waiting oh-so patiently to make it's debut. I only hope there isn't a pumpkin drought this year or I'm really going to have be wise about how I ration these 28 lbs!

So, here is my pantry and fridge at the end of this week: 

 

 

More than enough condiments, coffee, 1.5 measly carrots and cream soda (<--the Mr's)

And here it is now- after some minor redecorating :)

12 lbs minimum in pantry at all times. Just kidding. Kind of.

And I was so excited to make my yearly batch of pumpkin spice mix. This year I went with the recipe from Pumpkin Nook's Cookbook. 

Now, lest you think I've gone too far, let me tell you about a REAL issue. Chris and I had a semi-legitimate "tiff"- not an argument- about when the Christmas tree should go up. It's August 31st people!! My dear sweet hubby wants to put up the Christmas tree on Halloween. (!!). Yes, you read that right, Halloween. I mean, that is in the prime of Pumpkin Season, and he's trying to overshadow all the Thanksgiving delightfulness by putting up our 2.5 foot tree. Eyebrows were raised and threatening remarks may or may not have been made... but alas, I will probably give in. After his 28 years on earth, the man has mastered the puppy dog eyes and I gotta be honest, he's darn cute.  Those same puppy dog eyes are how we end up with "ice cream, golden Oreos, Nutella and other unidentifiable processed goods" in the house.

 

Pumpkin Collage:

Pumpkin Cupcakes- Birthday 2010



Pumpkin Cookbook Christmas 2011

The gift that gives all year.
 

P.S. Did anyone notice how I used both "lest" and "alas"? I've been reading too many 18th century novels.

You know it's true love when...

...your husband buys you 36 lbs of canned pumpkin for Christmas (and you as the recipient also happen to really love pumpkin). AND he gives you a guide on how to use it (see picture below). AND he does all this with the understanding and willingness that he himself will also have to eat a whole lot of pumpkin in the coming months. We have approximately 18 months left in Italy. I have 10 additional pounds of pumpkin in my pantry. So, based on our calculations: 18 months left in Italy divided by 46 lbs of pumpkin = we will need to consume an average of 2.5 lbs of pumpkin per month. I can commit to that! Especially with the awesome cookbook he bought me to go along with the gift.

Who needs jewelry when you can have the gift that gives all year?
(half serious)

First on the list? BBQ chicken thighs. Pumpkin is used in the BBQ sauce to enhance the sweetness of the molasses and brown sugar, as well as the tangy-ness of the vinegar, juice and mustard. See? There is a great big world out there beyond pumpkin pie. Here's the sauce recipe:

Spicy Pumpkin BBQ Sauce
(makes about 2 cups)

3/4 cup cider vinegar

1/2 cup canned unsweetened pumpkin

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup orange juice

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbs molasses*

1/2 tsp hot sauce

Whisk all ingredients together. If using right away, brush both sides of 8 chicken thighs with sauce and cover and marinate at room temperature for 30 mins, before grilling, baking, or pan-frying. With remaining sauce, bring to a boil in a small saucepan. reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Sauce will keep for up to a month in a covered jar in the refrigerator.

*Molasses is one of those ingredients which previously caused me to avoid recipes that called for it; thinking "I'll buy a whole bottle of it, use 2 Tbs, and then never touch it again." WRONG! I have used it so many times this past fall/winter for marinades, cookies and, my personal fave: gingerbread waffles. Yum!  Besides, it stays good forever practically.

Pumpkin in the morning, Pumpkin in the Evening, Pumpkin at Supper-time

All the pumpkin in this house called for some drastic creativity! Luckily, one of my BFF's sent me an e-article from SHAPE magazine on 10 different ways to cook pumpkin. Right away I knew had to make the lasagna. What a perfect twist to a usually strong & heavy dish. The natural savory flavor of pumpkin added a new "light" element to this meal, so much so that it needed very little cheese. I was a little worried, though, that the "unique-ness factor" would be a little too much for the hubby to handle. All day I kept telling him to "keep an open mind about dinner" without telling him what he'd be eating. Turns out- my worries were for nothing! I think he liked it even more than I did! The recipe left out a few important details, and as usual the commissary here left me without a few key ingredients, so I had to improvise a bit. But I'm getting ahead of myself..let's start  with breakfast :)

First, pumpkin oatmeal to warm me up! It was cold outside and nothing sounded better than warm, creamy, pumpkin-y oatmeal.

• 1/3 c oats
• 2/3 cups water
• 1/3 c pumpkin puree
• 1/4  tsp pumpkin pie spice + extra cinnamon
• 2 tsp maple syrup
• 1/2 banana, halved and sliced
• 1/2 Tbs ground flax or 1 Tbs walnuts

1. Cook oatmeal in water according to instructions. When about 80% done (or after 4 mins for 5-minute oats), add in pumpkin, spices and maple syrup.

2. Cook an additional 1-2 mins. Remove from heat and stir in banana and nuts or flax.
 

No pumpkin at lunch, but dinner time = pumpkin lasagna! The light-ness of the pumpkin went perfectly with the mild veggies and ground turkey. I used oven-ready noodles and ended up cooking longer than the recipe said to.

Pumpkin "ricotta" layer. Store was out of ricotta (xgxasjifjrixx!) so I had to use cottage cheese.
Not quite the same, but it did the job.

Turkey-Veggie layer, on top of pumpkin-ricotta layer

I always forget to take the "after" picture because I'm so excited to eat. Oops!
Next time :)

And the final pumpkin "meal" was actually the following day, but same 24 hours- so that counts right? I met my chef-friend Sherry for a lesson in pumpkin-spice doughnuts! Mmmm mmmm.

First, in order to prepare for my indulgence, I started with a low-cal breakfast:
Egg beater & Veggie "open-face" omelet-yum!

Shaping the donuts- so cute!

Fryin' 'em up!

Finishing touch: cinnamon sugar coating

Even brought a few home for Chris, who I thought would be pumpkined-out by now. But alas, he still had room for some sweets :)

How Much Pumpkin is Too Much Pumpkin??

 Trick question- you can never have too much pumpkin! Contrary to what you may think, pumpkin is extremely versatile. We hear "pumpkin" and think of sweet treats like pumpkin bread and pumpkin pie (and pumpkin cheesecake and pumpkin cupcakes and...), but plain 'ole pumpkin by itself can be groomed for sweet or savory dishes. One of my faves is a very simple pumpkin soup, which I'll post soon. And while reading some of my favorite food blogs..I see I'm not the only one who is slightly obsessed with the wonderful orange vegetable! (See link: http://www.katheats.com/she-done-it)

I was sad to hear of the pumpkin shortage in the States this year..because on a military base that means we have a pumpkin DRAUGHT! So when I spotted a display at our commissary..I stocked up. And the only reason I didn't take more was because I didn't want to come across as a hoarder...that, and my husband is already fearful I'm planning to make pumpkin hamburgers (I'm not, but he knows it's likely to pop up anywhere!). 

I've gone through a large can already. So far I've made a pumpkin cream cheese spread for a brunch event I attended, and pumpkin yogurt (one of my favorite snacks!) Here's what I do:

Pumpkin Pie Yogurt

1/3 cup canned pure pumpkin
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp maple syrup
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice (I make a large batch myself which I found here)
1/2 tbs milled flax seed, optional (I like the added nutti-ness)
*Other crunchy topping options: 1 Tbs walnuts, crunched up cinnamon graham cracker, or granola

Some fall favorites: Pumpkin Oatmeal

We are in the midst of autumn and although the blogging has been slow, the cooking has not! I've been trying to fully embrace all of the wonderful fall flavors and seasonal foods, and I keep finding myself wondering why I don't eat some of this stuff all year round. I now could package and sell my pumpkin oatmeal, which I humbly feel I have perfected; and I am also on a personal mission to convince my Resident Expert/roommate about the wonderful-ness of soups. She is not a soup lover and I'm committed to making one new soup recipe per week (so naturally I've renamed our kitchen The Soup Kitchen). I've done this for the past 3 weeks, and each recipe is better and better! Last week I made a creamy cauliflower soup which required me to pull my food processor out of the garage and get it in working order! I received the creamy cauliflower soup recipe as a part of an online recipe exchange, and am so glad I made it. I will share in a separate post, and below is my pumpkin oatmeal recipe.

As I am writing, I am making a simple carrot dill soup, courtesy of the Food Network which has a 50 Simple Soups section on their website. I'm overwhelmed with options! I am making #34 carrot dill soup because I happened to have all the ingredients on hand, and figured if I'm going to make some of these then I need to get started. (This particular one happens to be Gluten Free as long as GF broth is used!) Here's the link: www.foodnetwork.com/recipes-and-cooking/50-easy-soups-1--10/index.html.

Pumpkin Oatmeal a-la-Heather
(Makes 4 servings)

• 1 cup steel cut oats
• 4 cups water
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1/4-1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup golden raisins
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• dash of ground cloves
• pumpkin pie spice (be generous!)

Bring water to a boil and add oats. Immediately reduce to a simmer, stir for a minute or two (I recommend a non-stick pot). Add vanilla extract and spices. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 15-20 minutes. Add raisins and maple syrup cook for an additional 5-10 minutes. I stir in canned pumpkin during the last 5 minutes, but it can be added at any time. Let cool before serving or refrigerating.
This will stay good for several days! Just add a few tablespoons of water or milk before re-heating in microwave. I also top mine with 1 tbs of ground flaxseed and 1 tbs chopped walnuts.
*Side note: spice measurements are estimated- I probably use double by the time I'm done shakin' and playin'!
Can you see why breakfast is my favorite meal of the day?? It is my favorite meal of the day...until lunch :)