Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

What to do with the yummy "Pumpkin brains!!!" as we were calling them while we carved the pumpkins with the kids... Well, you can't waste them.  I had enough seeds to try 3 different flavors... its easy enough to do... the one thing I read about after that I didn't do was to soak them in salt water overnight.  Apparently it makes them a lot less tough, and I will definitely add that step next time.  Depending how often you want to check on the seeds, a variety of oven temps will work.  I used 325F and checked about every 5 mins. for a total of about 20-25 mins.  There was one recipe that called for balsamic vinegar that sounded good....maybe we need another pumpkin?

S&P:

2 teaspoons melted coconut oil OR olive oil OR clarified butter

Teaspoon coarse ground salt, about as much pepper...

-mix with 1 1/2 cups cleaned pumpkin seeds and roast until lightly brown and crunchy.  Stir every 5-10 mins.

Warm Spice:

2 teaspoons oil
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch of cloves
salt to taste
-mix with 1 1/2 cups cleaned pumpkin seeds and roast until lightly brown and crunchy.  Stir every 5-10 mins.

Hot Spice:

2 teaspoons oil
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
mix with 1 1/2 cups cleaned pumpkin seeds and roast until lightly brown and crunchy.  Stir every 5-10 mins.

I couldn't pick a favorite!

Pumpkin Joe

I wasn't sure what to call this... but it was just so scrumptious!  It almost ends up the consistency of mashed potatoes... I had it on lettuce, by itself, and here with a little avocado on top.

Pumpkin Joe:

1 lb ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 spoon chopped garlic from a jar...

brown all the above in a pan with your go-to oil...

add:

1 small can tomato paste
1 small can chopped green chili
1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
S&P if desired
1 1/2 cups of water.  (Yes, that much water!  Or beef broth, or more or less to your liking... but even with 1 1/2 cups its pretty thick.)

Simmer stirring pretty much constantly for 10 mins or so, adding water as needed to get the consistency you want.  That's it!  Enjoy.

Dairy-free lasagna, with zucchini...Lee-Zeehini?

One of my daughters insists on the name, lee-zeehini. (lee-zee-nee) I don't know why, but whatever works! (and I apologize for the bad lighting!)

I've tried the "substitute zucchini for pasta" route several times...and it usually works. But for some reason I had put off making lasagna for a looooong time. Not sure why, its easy and most love it. Oh wait! Now I remember--- my kids don't. I may have the only kids on the planet who didn't like lasagna, but they didn't...until now! (and I've always made really good lasagna!)

I've done this twice before with my usual lasagna ingredients. Well, except noodles! ha ha But my usual stuff included cheese, and I wanted to try without the cheese. And what's not to love about pumpkin? Yum!

K's LeeZeehini

2 zucchini, sliced thin (1/4 inch or less... a mandolin would be perfect here. Thinner is better, but there is no need to go vegetable-peel thin.)

1/2 of a small pumpkin-peel and slice to approx the same thickness as your zucchini

10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed and squeeze ALL the liquid out

1 lb. ground meat

1 small onion, chopped

few cloves garlic, minced

teaspoon or more of mixed italian herbs

about 3 cans of tomato sauce - or more depending how saucy you like it.

(if you have the time, salt the zucchini slices and let them sit to remove excess moisture - then rinse and pat dry)

Brown the meat, onions, and garlic, then add herbs and sauce. I like to simmer it for a while if I have the time, it just tastes better-but you don't really need to if you're in a hurry.

Spoon a little sauce in the bottom of your pan, then layer 1/3 the zucchini, 1/2 the pumpkin, 1/2 the spinach, and 1/3 the sauce. Repeat. Finish with the last of the zucchini and top with the remaining sauce.

Bake in a moderate oven approx. 45 minutes. Much better if it sits a bit... if you can wait.

***My pan was a little smaller than the usual 13x9 I would normally use. May be thin in a 13x9-- can always add more veggies, or make in two loaf pans. And pumpkins and zucchinis vary so much in size, this is why I'm not a fan of following recipes, there are always so many variables! Use as much of those (and tomato sauce) as you need or want. The amount of the rest should be fine.***

Pumpkin-Berry Muffins

Sunshine was up early this morning playfully "complaining" that she had a sweet tooth. Since she has taken such an interest in cooking lately (and because I was attempting to complete a work project on the computer), I told her she should make muffins. Her instructions were to get all the ingredients out that she wanted for the muffins then to come get me for help putting it all together. Not five minutes later, I was called into the kitchen and met with a grinning nine-year old pointing to a countertop with pumpkin, blueberries, walnuts, and a chocolate bar.

These monstrously delicious muffins are the result!

Yield: 18 muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 cup almond meal/flour
• 1/4 cup hazelnut meal (or almond meal/flour)
• 3/4 cup coconut flour
• 2 T flax meal
• 1 T flax seeds
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp powdered ginger
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 5 eggs
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup agave or honey (optional)
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1/3 dark chocolate bar (I prefer Green & Black's 85%), chopped (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease or line muffin trays.
3. In a large bowl, mix the meals/flours, flax seeds, baking soda, spices, and salt.
4. In a second bowl, mix the eggs, oil, and sweetner, if using.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until all the flour is moistened. The mixture will be thick and a bit crumbly.
6. Add the nuts, berries, and chocolate, if using. Stir gently until the extras are mixed in but being careful not to smash the blueberries.
7. Fill muffin cups with batter (all the way as this mixture doesn't rise much).
8. Bake for 25 minutes.

Note: I think you could easily turn these into cookies by shaping dough into small balls or discs and placing on cookie sheet.

Roasted Winter Squash Soup

I love soup. Anytime of year, but especially thick, warming soups in winter. Before moving to a paleo diet, my favorite soup ingredients often included pasta or beans. Since cold weather has set in, I've enjoyed experimenting with new recipes sans the ingredients I'm trying to avoid. I've had a couple delicious winter squash soups before, but some reason, have never attempted it at home. Now that I'm a serious squash lover, I just had to come up with an easy squash soup. And I am NOT complaining about the results!

For this soup, I wanted a sweet taste and smooth texture. I chose Blue Kuri squash with bright orange flesh. I also had a Delcata squash that needed eaten, so I added that as well. I think this soup base would work just fine for any winter squash. I'll be experimenting... and there's plenty more winter left in Alaska to do just that!

Ingredients:

• 1 blue kuri and 1 delcata squash (substitute as desired)
• olive oil
• fresh ground pepper
• 2 T coconut oil
• 1 sweet onion, finely chopped
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup coconut milk

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
2. Cut the squash and remove seeds.
3. Drizzle squash with olive oil and sprinkle generously with fresh ground pepper.
4. Bake for 45 minutes.
5. Let cool.
6. Heat coconut oil in a pan.
7. Fry onion on low-medium heat until golden brown and carmelized.
8. Scoop flesh from squash and place in blender with fried onion, chicken broth, and coconut milk.
9. Blend until smooth. Add water until desired consistency is reached.
10. Return to stovetop and heat.

Note: The squash can be baked a day ot two before making the soup. I cooked it the previous night while cooking dinner.

Kürbispastete (Pumpkin and Meat Pie)

I love pumpkin. And I love beef. Google those two ingredients and you'll find enough recipes to show lots of people like them together. And why not? Yum + yum = double yum, right? From Kaddo Bowrani (Afghani pumpkin) to Pumpkin Chili or Pumpkin sloppy joes... there are a lot of things to try. (My next experiment will be Sarah's meaty pumpkin soufflé in her book, "Everyday Paleo.") But my favorite pumpkin-beef recipe ever is kürbispastete. Kürbispastete is just German for deep dish pumpkin and meat pie. And the way I found this recipe was long ago, when Angie and I and several friends used to get together for dinner parties, we would always pick a theme. My husband swears that the best dinner we ever had was the night our dinner group picked german food, and I have to agree. For the occasion I bought a german cookbook off the bargain table at Border's. And paging thru that book is where I came across kürbispastete. Its not paleo on its own, but its not far off. First of all, it is a pie (crust) ...and the original recipe calls for grated cheese, cream, and butter... but just drop those 4 things and you still have a yummy dish. I frequently make my paleo version without a crust. I usually skip things like crusts instead of paloe-tizing them, but tonight I went for it.

Kürbispastete- Paleotized!

Crust:
1 cup almonds
1/2 cup coconut flour
6 tablespoons coconut oil (solid)
1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt
3 T icewater

Put almonds and coconut flour into food processor. Process until corn-mealy looking, but not so long that the almonds turn to butter. Add remaining ingredients. (3 T water is a good start-- no more than 4) and pulse until it all comes together in a ball... (almost) ... scrape out and put in a bowl or ziploc and put in the fridge until ready to use. Mine was still pretty crumbly but I didn't expect to be rolling out perfect dough circles so that is ok! Dump most of it in a deep pie pan and smush it into the bottom and up the sides. Save a little to crumble over the top.

Filling:
2 lbs. pumpkin
2 Tablespoons vinegar
1 & 1/2 pounds ground meat. (I use beef, but pork or any other would work too.)
S&P
Basil (I usually use dried, but this time used about 1/3 cup chopped fresh - highly recommend fresh!)
1/4 cup of thick coconut cream scooped off the top of a can that has NOT been shaken. (Save the rest of the can for something else. Actually, I got about 1/2 cup of cream...could use more, but its pretty rich, so I think 1/4 cup was plenty...ALSO, this dish is still good without it, or use dairy if you like.)

Peel and cube the pumpkin and put in a saucepan. Cover it with water and the vinegar and cook until tender, then drain well. Alternate layers of pumpkin and meat, seasoning each layer. (Yes, the meat is still raw at this point... crumble it into chunks as small as you can.) Dot with coconut cream and sprinkle any remaining crust crumbs over the top. Bake @ 350F for about an hour. (I covered it with foil for about 45 mins to keep it from over browning.)

Enjoy!