Few will dare to tread the path of roasting and carving their own pumpkin to reap the delicious rewards when Libby will do it for us. Whoever Libby is, millions of pie-makers around the country must thank her every November. I certainly do every time I whip up a batch of pumpkin muffins or a pumpkin pie. But just opening a whole can of pure pumpkin feels like a commitment. You’re going to have leftovers unless you’re making a pie or a Pumpkin Pouffle.
Autumn means pumpkin season, and I’ve been all about that lately. Pumpkin muffins, Paleo pumpkin cookies, pumpkins to decorate my front porch, romping in pumpkin patches… Yet it’s also apple season, and apples need some love. After all, apples are my trusty go-to snack, available year round when other fruits go out of season, delicious eaten unadorned or with a few spoonfuls of peanut butter or a sprinkle of cinnamon. When you put the two together, what do you get? In my kitchen, you get yourself a Pumpkin Apple Spice Loaf, a true seasonal treat.
This Thursday, I’m thinking about lots of random things. Like my recent trip to California. I’m still so happy I got to run the Dumbo Double Dare with my cousin and good friend, and experience Disneyland for the first time. And eat lots of delicious food.
First things first – my initial thought I wanted to share with all of you this Thursday was one of thrills and thanks! (Yes, I like alliteration.) Yesterday’s WIAW post meant the first day of the month was also the first day my blog received over 500 reads. It’s not why I blog, but I’m so happy that people are interested in what I have to say, and I welcome any input on what you might like to read in future. More recipes, or ramblings on life, just post in the comments below!
Now, here’s what I was thinking about yesterday when I drafted this, when a friend of mine joked that I ate more oats than anyone she knew and I should have gone to her alma mater because then I would have been a Quaker. Now, I’ve shared a lot of oat-based recipes with you, but I’m going to let everyone in on a little secret – for the first 18 years of my life, I had a major aversion to oatmeal. Crazy, right? I just had this thing about any “lumpy” foods (I loved mashed potatoes, but refused to eat them if I found even a single lump, when the fork was put down for good). Neither the color nor texture of oatmeal was visually appealing. The first time I tasted it, I was five years old and had a bowl foisted upon me by my well-meaning grandmother, who is not known for her cooking. It was lukewarm and grayish and pretty much the opposite of appetizing, and that was it. I ate oatmeal cookies, especially because even before my wheat allergy was diagnosed I had bad reactions to a lot of other baked goods, but no oatmeal.
A bowl of oats
And then I arrived in Oxford for my first year at university. The food served up in my college dining hall was mostly unappealing, as it seemed to operate on the principle of maximum calories for minimum cash – good for starving students, but not so good for a student with a sensitive stomach and lots of allergies. To make matters worse, there was a small refrigerator in the hall of my dorm, but no kitchen, and we weren’t allowed to have cooking appliances in our rooms (because of the risk of burning down a beautiful 500-year-old building, to be fair!) There was a microwave on the floor above mine but I didn’t discover it until the spring. So for the first two terms, I pretty much subsisted on yogurt, salads, cheese, fruit and veggies, and other food eaten cold, and unfortunately, more junk food (chips and crisps and chocolate) which played a role in distorting my eating habits. The saving grace of this time was my electric tea kettle – the one appliance permitted in every room in Oxford, because it was always time for tea. I could boil water, so I could make anything to which you added hot water, which meant soup, and yes, oatmeal.
Matriculation at Oxford with my dear friend Elli
Choosing to roast and carve your own pumpkin is an undertaking. Few will dare to tread this path to reap the delicious rewards when Libby will do it for us (whoever Libby is, millions of pie-makers around the country must thank her every November.) But when you’re just making breakfast for yourself, or even for your family, even opening a can of pure pumpkin can feel like a commitment. Unless you’re making a pie or a Pumpkin Pouffle, you won’t use the whole can in one recipe. I’m always thinking of new ways to use up the rest, and it isn’t difficult – who doesn’t love a little pumpkin stirred into their oatmeal? By the end of winter, even that gets a little boring, though; so when I whipped up what may be my last batch of Pumpkin Puffins for the season, I decided to get creative with the remainder of the can. Instead of simply stirring it into regular oats, I made a little cake to test out my new ramekins (the PB&J round just wasn’t enough!) I bought them with the intention of making mini quiches for my dinner party, but they needed a test run. And the test was a round of miniature pumpkin spice oatmeal cake, passed with flying colors!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup gluten-free rolled oats
Before baking, it looks just like regular cold oats…
1/4 cup pure pumpkin
1/4 cup milk of choice (I used So Delicious Vanilla Coconut Milk)
1 Tbsp Greek yogurt (I go for Fage 2% for the creaminess)
1 egg white (substitute applesauce if desired)
1 Tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp flaxseed
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or cinnamon and nutmeg)
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch salt
For ramekin: 1 tsp butter (can substitute olive oil or cooking spray)
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Baked into a cake with a delicious buttery, pumpkin-y crust!
2. Combine all dry ingredients in a small bowl, then add in wet ingredients and mix well.
3. Melt butter in 1-cup (8 ounce) ramekin to coat inner surface. (You can also use olive oil or cooking spray, but I found that butter worked really well in this recipe to give the cake a yummy buttery crust).
4. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes, then set oven to high broil for an additional 5 minutes.
5. Use a knife to carefully pry the edges of the cake from the ramekin (easy as long as it was greased well!) and flip upside down into a dish.
6. Top with a little extra maple syrup and cinnamon, or a dollop of yogurt. Enjoy!
A warming winter treat to start the day off right – go ahead, take a bite!
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