DAY TWENTY SIX: Pumpkin granola

whoop whoop granola time.  Oh the excitement…! (time for a few explanation marks too, I just can’t help myself!!)

I had lots of pumpkin puree left after blending up this soup ‘bowl’ and I’ve been having fun using it up.  I froze it in silicone cupcake  trays and then popped them out once frozen for easy storage (and to save on using lots of freezer bags).

My go to granola recipe is usually this gingerbread granola or the fruity nutty variety, but you know what, I think I quite the autumnal spices going on here!  I baked the dried cranberries in with the mixture, which is ok but they do have a tendency to get a little burnt before the granola has crisped up since I like chunky granola clusters so it takes that bit longer to cook. You’d be fine if you went for a less chunky granola, otherwise maybe add them in afterwards.  There is not oil in this recipe which makes for a lovely chewy granola, feel free to add a couple of tablespoons of melted coconut oil if you fancy a little more bite.

My favourite way to serve this granola was as a breakfast bowl with soy yoghurt and fresh pear chunks. Sprinkle a little extra cinnamon or ginger over the top and you are good to go!

Recipe: pumpkin granola

Makes one large bowlful

Ingredients

½ cup pumpkin puree

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 tbs maple syrup and 1/6^th tsp stevia

1 ½ cup oats

½ cup pumpkin seeds

4 tbs flax or ground chia

¼ cup walnut pieces

¼ cups dates or dried cranberries –chopped

2 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp mixed spice

¼ tsp salt

Method:

Mix the pumpkin puree, vanilla, maple syrup and stevia together in a small bowl. Mix the remaining ingredients together in a large bowl and then add the wet mixing until everything is well coated. Spoon onto 2 lightly greased baking sheets making sure a thin even layer with some clumpy bits if preferred. Bake at 170C for 10-15 minutes until slightly golden. Allow to cool fully before storage. Stores in cupboard for a few weeks.

What Vegan MOFO means to me.

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.
For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

DAY TWENTY: 'Surprise me Saturday' pumpkin cider soup

Breaking away from my Vegan MoFo 'Oatober' for another surprise recipe!

This year I was determined to get in on the act…full throttle pumpkin recipes!  Starting with this soup…

I give full credit to Able and Cole for this recipe as it was they who tempted me to give it a try and enter it in their photography competition. I had to make a little vegan adjustment and modify the proportions of ingredients a bit as the pumpkin I bought must have been a lot smaller than intended by their recipe and so therefore the remaining ingredients needed reducing to match. Either way it was a simple, subtle, silky smooth and delicious soup; the perfect start for my winter soup quest.

One thing I really loved about this recipe was that it cooked in its own ‘bowl’,  mad a great centrepiece to serve at the table. I made sure nothing went to waste and once the bowl was empty of soup and had cooled, I peeled away the skin and pureed the flesh to freeze for future baking experiments.

As a ‘winter soup quest’ I've decided that I’m going to trial a lot of soups over the next few months and to go along wide these experiments I also want to have a go at making lots of different types of ‘breads’, I use that in the loosest possible sense to mean ‘something I can dip in a soup’. Most of my experiments in the bread department will also be gluten free so it will be an interesting challenge since its one area I have yet to gain much experience. My trusty simple flatbread is still my everyday go-to recipe and I need to break out of my bubble!

Recipe: pumpkin soup

Serves 2

Ingredients

Small/medium pumpkin (approx. 1kg weight)

1 tsp coconut oil/olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

200ml cider (I used pear and ginger cider)

Approx. 200ml hot vegetable stock

Pinch vanilla powder/paste

¼ tsp chilli powder

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

a swirl of vegan yoghurt or cream to serve (optional)

Method

Chop the top off the pumpkin. Remove the seeds. Carve/scoop out as much of the flesh as possible using a strong spoon and knife, I had around 3 packed cups full. Finely chop the flesh. Set aside. Preheat oven to 200C.

Place a lidded pan over medium heat. Add oil and when its hot add onion and a pinch of salt. Cook slowly for approx. 5 minutes until the onions are soft. Fold in the pumpkin. Cover. Let the pumpkin sweat down on low heat until it’s mushy approx. 20 minutes.

Remove lid. Stir in vanilla, cinnamon and chilli. Cook for a moment. Slowly stir in the cider. Add enough stock to get soup to ‘thick cream’ consistency.

Puree the mixture. Pour the soup into the scooped out pumpkin. Bake the pumpkin for approx. 30 mins, until the pumpkin is just tender and soup is bubbly.

Add more stock if the soup is too thick (mine was fine). Serve into bowls with Gluten free flatbread.

Note: the skin on the pumpkin should be pulling away from the flesh and can be ‘peeled’ very easily. The flesh from the pumpkin bowl can be pureed and frozen for future cooking/baking experiments!

What Vegan MOFO means to me.

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

Apple spiced coconut slice

Last weekend I went out for a friend’s birthday. We were outside for much of the evening and I had to take a coat…a full on winter coat to guard against the chill! The crossover from summer jacket to winter coat is a deal breaker for me, that signifies that winter is truly on its way.

Today at work I also tucked up in a little scarf to keep me cozy until I’d warmed through.  All this winter talk could get me down, particularly when I feel like summer passed us by a bit this year…the odd hot day here and there….hmmm.

But there are two good reasons to be happy with the changing seasons. The first being the fact we have seasons! That may sound odd but the one things I really love about the UK climate is the dramatic seasonal changes with the golden leaves now emerging and the edge of a fresh chill in the air on a sunny day. It’s such a beautiful time of year and a great excuse to cosy in up in scarves and woollies for an evening stroll.

The second reason…oh just the fact that I am off on holiday to Turkey in 3 days time for a bit of longed for sunshine. It certainly helps soften the edge of this chilly weather…it’s always nice to think it’s cold back home for everyone else when you are sunbathing by the pool!

So here is my first autumn themed recipe of the season; a simple apple and cinnamon spiced slice. Since we also have a generous helping of coconut here, this bridges the gap between summer and autumn just perfectly. (P.s I am not promising I’m all done with the summer theme just yet though). I am also looking forward to getting on board the pumpkin train this year since I’m so inspired by my fellow bloggers across the pond. So watch this space.

Recipe: Apple spiced coconut slice 

Ingredients 

½ cup coconut butter (I use homemade)
¼ cup rapadura or coconut sugar
¼ cup agave
1 chia egg (1tsp chia and 3tbs water
½ banana- mashed
1 cup dessicated coconut
½ cup buckwheat flour (or other mild GF flour)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 medium apples- grated
Large handful of chopped dates

Method

Melt the coconut butter in a medium bowl and stir in the sugar, agave, chia egg and mashed banana. Add the dry ingredients and mix through well. Add the grated apple and chopped dates last and mix through evenly.

Spoon into a 8x8” parchment lined pan and pack down well. Press  some extra coconut flakes and dates onto the top if desired.

Bake at 180C for approx. 20-25 minutes until just golden. Allow to cool before carefully lifting from the tray and slicing.

Store in an airtight container. I have not tried freezing these bars, but I imagine they would freeze well.

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.