I Love All Things Pumpkin

Pumpkin seeds, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie. You name it - I love it.  Halloween weekend I got into full pumpkin cooking mode and utilized my sugar pie pumpkins in some fun and really yummy ways.  While 99% of pumpkins sold in the US are for carving (and rather stringy to eat, if I may be honest), sugar pie pumpkins are smaller, sweeter and less stringy.  Pumpkins are rich in carotenoids (alpha and beta) which are powerhouse antioxidants, protecting against free radical damage. Pumpkins are rich in lutein - it gives the pumpkin that extra dark orange color - which is important for prostate and heart health.  Here’s to the pumpkin!

Spicy Pumpkin Soup Recipe

Adapted from Heidi Swanson’s recipe from 101 Cookbooks

I started my pumpkin day off with making a pumpkin soup. 101 Cookbooks is one of my favorite recipe resources, and there are lots of fun foodie pictures, too!  This is an adaptation.

  2 sugar pie pumpkins
  3 tablespoons organic butter, room temp
  1 14-ounce canned coconut milk
  3-6 teaspoons red Thai curry paste
  Vegetable or Chicken Broth
  Sea salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut pumpkin in half, discard seeds, and roast in oven for about an hour.  Cool and then scoop pumpkin flesh into a blender or food processor. Add coconut milk, curry paste and 1-2 cups vegetable or chicken broth. Blend or process, adding more broth as needed.  Transfer to a pot and bring to a simmer. Add sea salt to taste. 

Admittedly, pumpkin makes a tough main course, but pumpkin seeds are a great way to add crunch to a salad or main dish. Check out my recipes for how to prepare and enjoy pumpkin seeds.

And Now for Dessert . . . Pumpkin Pie!

Preheat oven to 375.

Crust:
2 cups pecans
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup agave nectar or honey or grade B maple syrup
4 teaspoons vanilla extract

Chop nuts in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Avoid over chopping. Put soft/melted butter, agave and vanilla in a blender. Blend for about 30 seconds until ingredients are whipped.  Transfer mixture to a bowl containing the chopped nuts and mix well together with your hands (this is about the point where I want to eat the entire bowl of this stuff…). Take a pie plate and smear coconut oil on the bottom or butter so nothing sticks.  Press the mixture into the pie plate firmly so you create a cohesive packed-in crust.

Filling:
3 eggs
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup agave nectar or honey or grade B maple syrup
2 cups sugar pie pumpkin
4 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves)

In a mixing bowl, blender or food processor mix all ingredients.  Pour into pie pan (I had a little bit extra filling that I poured into a separate small baking dish for a pumpkin souffle).

Bake pie at 375 for about 30-40 minutes (this may vary with your oven).

Basically when the top of the crust starts turning golden brown, take it out.  Let it sit on the counter and it will continue to bake a bit longer. Finally, refrigerate it for 1-2 hours while it sets.

Delicious!! No longer is the pumpkin just for Halloween and carving!

Check out the other great blogs and tips this week.

Catherine, a Holistic Health Counselor, trained at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in association with Columbia University and is a certified Nutrition Educator from Bauman College. She works on health goals in areas such as natural weight equilibrium, food cravings, sleep, energy and digestion.

If you are interested in personalized nutrition consultations for vibrant health, Catherine offers a free initial health history session for both local and distant clients - her furthest client, so far, lives in Spain! Please .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Also, check out her other blog.