Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Pumpkins, Pumpkins Everywhere!

Since embracing a healthier lifestyle, I've signed up for a fortnightly fruit and veggie box from Green Bean Delivery. Last week I received my first ever pie pumpkin. I was way more excited than a person should be when faced with a pumpkin, but I'd been wanting to try cooking with fresh pumpkin since summer.

I cut my pumpkin in half, scooped out the insides and laid each half face-down in a 9x13 casserole dish. I added 1/4 inch of water and baked at 350 Fahrenheit for 45 minutes. Once done, I scooped out the yummy, pumpkinny flesh into a bowl and started creating!

Saturday night I made pumpkin risotto with a recipe adapted from my favorite healthy food blog, Skinny Taste. Sunday morning I made pumpkin spices pancakes with pumpkin butter (recipes also from Skinny Taste). Monday night I still had a cup of pumpkin puree left, so I doctored a recipe to make pumpkin and currant muffins. I made 12, but froze most of them by wrapping each one in cling film and putting them in a large Tupperware container. They can either defrost at room temperature, or in a low-temp oven until thawed.



Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins with Currants


1 cup pumpkin puree (use canned for quickness if you like)
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups currants, raisins, sultanas, or any other dried fruit
1 egg white
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp melted butter or margarine

Preheat oven to 325 (165 Celcius)

Mix flour, sugar, salt and baking soda together in a large bowl.

Combine pumpkin puree, egg white, butter and vanilla in a medium bowl and mix well.

Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture and stir until blended. Add currants and mix well.

Divide batter between 12 lined muffin tins and make for 25 minutes. You'll know the muffins are ready when a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean.

(Original recipe from Skinny Taste)

2 comments:

  1. Can you add your pumpkin butter recipe please?

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  2. The recipe is at http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/10/pumpkin-butter.html
    I used water instead of apple juice, and I used a mixture of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice in place of the pumpkin pie spice.

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