Pumpkin Rut

I've made so many different soups, stews, breads, desserts, etc. with pumpkin. In autumn, I buy a large can of it nearly every week at the grocery store. I don't even think about it, but it's there in the cart at checkout time.

I sat for a good hour trying to think of something NEW to do with pumpkin. Well, that's not all I did during said hour, but you know how it goes when something's on your mind. You carry it with you.

I decided to ask Google for some help.

I searched "ways to use canned pumpkin" and it yielded some good links:

Bon Appetit's 11 Ways to Use Canned Pumpkin
TLC's 10 Ways to Use Canned Pumpkin (Besides in a Pie)
Self.com's 4 Tasty Ways to Use Canned Pumpkin
Food Network's Leftover Canned Pumpkin 5 Ways
Momadvice.com's 8 Ways to Use Canned or Fresh Pumpkin

If you add in my Food for Runners post with 18 pumpkin recipes, I entertained 56 creative, delicious ideas. But many of these recipes -- pumpkin butter, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bread, pumpkin smoothies, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin cookies, etc., etc., etc. -- are sort of been-there-done-that for me.

What to do?


rolled PUMPKIN LASAGNA 
in a SMOKY PUMPKIN CHEDDAR SAUCE

What you'll need for the pasta . . . 

• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1+ cup unbleached white flour
• Pinch salt
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree 
• 1 tablespoon flax meal + 3 tablespoons hot water (= flax egg)
• 3 tablespoons water

Method . . . 

1. In a food processor, pulse walnuts until they become meal. Then add the flours and salt. Pulse until combined.
2. Add in the pumpkin puree, the flax egg, and water. Mix until a dough ball is formed.
3. Take out of processor. If dough is sticky, knead in more flour until it isn't.
4. Let rest at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes. 
5. Then generously flour a work surface and roll out into a large rectangle. Cut into 8 smaller, longer lasagna rectangles (as shown below). 
6. Set aside until ready for use. 
7. Best part: There is no need to boil noodles before baking lasagna rolls.

What you'll need for the sauce . . .

• 2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1-1/2 cups pumpkin puree
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup almond milk (or regular milk)
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 to 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Method for sauce . . .

1. Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add in the garlic and let cook for a couple minutes.
2. Then add the cayenne and paprika. Mix until garlic is coated. 
3. Add the rest of the ingredients -- all but the cheese.
4. Once it sauce is well incorporated take off heat and stir in cheese.

What you'll need for the filling . . .

• 1 block extra firm tofu, drained well
• 15-ounce can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 small tomato, diced
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method . . . 

1. Simply crumble the tofu into a large bowl, toss with the black beans and diced tomato.
2. Season with the salt and pepper. 
3.  The key is making sure the tofu is as drained as possible. Otherwise you may have some soggy pasta (but it isn't terrible if that happens).

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spritz an 8" x 8" (9" x 9" works, too) pan with some olive oil. Then pour in 1/4 to 1/3 cup of the sauce into the bottom
2. Lay out your lasagna noodles. Spread each evenly with some sauce, making sure that you have a good 1/2 cup or more of sauce left over.
3. Then evenly distribute the filling mixture.
4. Starting at one end, roll the pasta and then place into your baking dish -- one right next to another.
5. When you have finished rolling the pasta, cover with the remaining sauce.
6. You may also choose to add a bit of shredded cheese on top. 
7. Cover dish with foil and place in oven to 45 minutes.
8. Then take off the foil and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes. 
9. We actually did this and then turned off the heat and left the dish in there for another 25 minutes while we gave Ada a bath and it turned out great.

My weakness as a food photographer?

Taking photos of cooked pasta dishes. I never, ever get a good shot! The finished pumpkin pasta tastes much better than this photo would lead you to believe.


Anyway, that's how I busted out of my pumpkin rut. And not only did we have a great dinner, we still have half the food left over for tomorrow's lunch. I'll be the first to say that this recipe SEEMS long and complicated, but I assure you -- it wasn't terribly difficult. Even for a weeknight.

Also, if you'd rather use ricotta in place of tofu, that would be delicious! Alternatively, if you'd like to make this recipe vegan, omit all cheese and consider adding in some nutritional yeast for the flavor.

Have you come across any new, fun pumpkin recipes lately? I'd like to make something sweet that I haven't tried before. Hmmm.

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Ring-O-Fire Garlic Knots

Hey! Happy Saturday. I wanted to hop on here to pass along my new favorite garlic knots recipe. They're based off the pumpkin garlic knots we love so much, but Stephen found a great way to make 'em even cheaper!

Then I found a way to make 'em even tastier . . .


RING-O-FIRE GARLIC KNOTS

What you'll need . . .

• 1 cup warm water
• 2-1/4 teaspoons dry active yeast
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup carrot puree (instructions below)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups (plus up to 1/2 cup) bread flour

Method . . .

1. Pour warm water into a small dish and add yeast. Mix with a fork and let sit until frothy. About five minutes.
2. In the meantime, drain and rinse canned carrots (the no-salt added kind is best) and mash them with a fork until they have an applesauce consistency. Alternatively, you can steam carrots and puree. Anything to get 1/4 cup.
3. In the small dish with your yeast mixture, pour in the carrot puree, maple syrup, and olive oil. Mix well.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together your bread flour (you may also use half bread flour, half whole wheat flour) and salt. Then use your fist to create an impression in the middle to pour your wet ingredients into.
5. Mix in the wet ingredients with a spatula . . . and then give up and just knead with your hands. You may need to add extra flour. Do so 1/4 cup at a time. Knead for 5 minutes until you form a nice, elastic ball.
6. Then wipe out that large bowl and lightly coat with olive oil. place the dough inside and cover it with plastic wrap or a damp paper towel. Let rise for at least two hours.
7. Dough should double in size. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F -- preferably with a pizza stone inside. If not, a regular pan should do just fine.
8. Punch the dough down and divide in half. You may freeze one half for up to a month (likely more, but I haven't tried it) or use it later in the week. Take the other half and divide into knots (you can make like 8 really big knots or 16 really small knots -- or anything in-between). More detailed instructions can be found here.
9. Bake for between 10 and 15 minutes -- depending on size -- until golden brown.

In that same large bowl (again, wiped out), pour in 1/3 cup oil -- we like avocado oil for this recipe -- with 3 to 5 cloves of minced garlic . . . as well as some salt, pepper, Parmesan cheese (to taste), 1/4 teaspoon (more if you're daring) cayenne pepper, and 1/2 to 1 teaspoon smoked paprika.

We enjoyed the knots so much, I made four batches of dough ahead of time last Sunday so we'd have a lot over the next month. Problem is, we ate most of them for dinners this week!


Have a great weekend. And if you missed it, I wrote about what I feel is a 9-month Double Shift (you know -- being pregnant and working 40 hours a week) over on (never home)maker, baby!

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12 Cookies of X-Mas: Mexican Hot Chocolate Chippers

Whenever I'm at a loss for foodspiration, I turn to the Post Punk Kitchen. If you're vegan/vegetarian/anythingatarian and unfamiliar with this site, you definitely should visit. The recipes are amazing. The last one we featured was for a vegan challah bread.

D.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s.

So, I found this cookie recipe in their archives. Who doesn't love chocolate with a little kick of cayenne pepper? Definitely a unique addition to any holiday party you'll find yourself at in the next couple weeks. That is, if they last long enough to transport to your office or grandma's house.

I enjoy them cold. Stephen drools for them right out of the oven. How will you like them best? Try this recipe and see!


MEXICAN HOT CHOCOLATE CHIPPERS
(Adapted from the PPK)
Print this recipe!

What you'll need . . .

• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 cup loosely packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 3 tablespoons almond milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cocoa extract
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup wheat flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (bittersweet)
• Topping: 1/3 cup sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Method . . .

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Cream together the oil, brown sugar, and maple syrup -- 5 minutes. Then add in the extracts (you can use all vanilla if that's what you've got) and almond milk. Another 3 minutes until well blended.
3. In another bowl, whisk together the flours, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cayenne. Then add the dry ingredients to the wet. Mix until just incorporated. Mix in the chocolate chips.
4. Scoop heaping tablespoons of dough and roll into balls. Then mix together the topping (1/3 cup sugar with 1 teaspoon cinnamon) and roll the ball in it. Set on the cookie sheet -- about 1 inch apart.
5. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool on cookie sheets then turn onto a wire rack.

Two recipes down, 10 to go in our celebration of holiday treats! Don't miss yesterday's recipe for a super awesome Salted Cornmeal Sugar Cookie. And we're not done baking up all the recipes yet -- so if you have requests, we'd love to hear 'em!

Just leave a comment or email us at neverhomemaker [at] gmail [dot] com.

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Portabellas with Peanut Sauce

My favorite Thai restaurant is in Ithaca, NY -- Thai Cuisine. It boasts the "best Thai food in New York State, including New York City," according to Getaways For Gourmets. Every Sunday, there's this amazing dim sum brunch. Basically, the staff members carry around a couple trays of freshly prepared items. Then, they allow you to choose what you'd like to munch on, leave you alone for a short while, and return again with yet another selection of small dishes.

The process goes on for as long as you'd like it to. The best part is the price -- each plate costs less than $5 (and typically less than that!).

Of all selections, I most enjoy the portabellas with peanut sauce. And now that we don't live in Ithaca, I often crave the mushrooms like crazy. So, last night I set out to create a similar dish in our own kitchen. Though I didn't have coconut milk, the results are remarkably similar to the real deal.


PORTABELLAS WITH PEANUT SAUCE (for 4)

What you'll need . . .

• 4 large portabella mushrooms, scrub and remove stems
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter (I used Justin's with honey)
• 1 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sunflower or canola oil
• 1 tablespoon almond milk (or more, depending on your preferred taste)
• Sesame seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder

Method . . .

1. Slice mushrooms into 1/4-ish inch slices.
2. In a large pan, spray with a bit of olive oil (or just lightly oil) and set over medium-high heat.
3. Lay out mushroom slices on the pan and reduce heat to medium. Cook and gently stir until both sides are lightly browned (mostly, the shrooms will get soft and juicy). Set aside.
4. In a small bowl, use a fork to whisk together the peanut butter, soy sauce, and oil. Then add the almond milk and whisk until smooth. Add the cayenne, ginger, and sesame seeds. Stir until well incorporated.
5. Lay out mushroom slices on a plate and drizzle/top with a generous helping of the peanut sauce. Garnish with basil for extra tastiness.

Truth time: We didn't eat ours displayed this beautifully. Nope. That's all for show. Instead, we dumped a ton of the sauce onto the mushrooms and dug in immediately.


We've been on a quest to recreate many of our beloved weekend meals at home (because we go out to eat far more than I'd like to admit). We're getting pretty good at it, too -- enough that we're starting to prefer our twist on the dishes to the real thing.

So, here's my question for you: Have you cooked up any of your restaurant favorites at home? Were you extremely satisfied or horribly unhappy with the results? Leave a comment or email us at neverhomemaker [at] gmail [dot] com.

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