The Messy Organic Mum: Pumpkin Puree Galore (Part 1)

Recently we had two casualties. Two of our homegrown pumpkins got a bad spots on them so we had to roast them up. You can view L1 and my roasting experience at Zak Designs Blog. Now we are faced with the challenge of using that delicious and nutritious puree.

I started first thing yesterday morning with my version of pumpkin nut waffles.

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup white flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

pinch of nutmeg

dash of almond meal (I used about 1/8 cup-1/4 cup)

1 egg

1/2 fresh pumpkin puree (not drained)

healthy amount of maple syrup, depending on how sweet you want it

milk

First let me say that I never just make it up as I go. I try to follow recipes as closely as possible and usually don't just guess on the amounts. This time though I started with a recipe I have been making for about 15 months - 1 c. flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt, 1 egg and 2/3 cup of milk (more if you like them a little less dense). It is a great baby led weaning recipe because the pancakes are soft and moist but firm enough for little hands. In the past I have added various additions - molasses, chopped apricots, ground up nuts, etc. So I was a little more confident with altering the ingredients. The trick with this recipe is to add the wet ingredients slowly so you don't make it too runny.

First I mixed the flours, baking powder, seasonings, and almond meal. Next I added the pumpkin puree and the egg. I used a whisk to mix it. It formed a sort of paste. Then I dumped in a good splash of maple syrup (the pumpkin puree wasn't super sweet). After I mixed it in, I added milk, a little at a time, until the recipe was the consistency of cake mix.

Heat a small pan with a little butter - too much and it will be greasy. Then pour your batter into the heated pan. Cook until bubbles surface, wait another minute and then flip. Allow to cook thoroughly. Serve plain or with maple syrup, butter, jam, or whatever makes you smile.

They were delicious. I even saved the extras, poured some maple syrup over them so they were soft. This morning I threw them on a plate and into the broiler and heated both sides. The edges were crispy and the inside was moist and warm. Yum!

We also have been on a smoothie kick here. L1 wanted some pumpkin juice so I mixed in about 1/4 cup of orange juice with 3/4 cup of pumpkin puree (not drained) and served it in our Sili Squeeze.

We are also looking forward to trying the following recipes:

Pumpkin Brownies

Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Curried Pumpkin and Coconut Soup

Pumpkin Steel Cut Oats

Spiced Pumpkin Buttermilk Biscuits

Pumpkin Spiced Corn Bread (you must scroll past the chili recipe)

What do you do with pumpkin puree?