Pumpkin Pie Muffins

pumpkin pie muffins

I often forget how much I love cooking with pumpkin until fall arrives.  Well, fall is back and I have been using this vegetable with a vengeance.

These pumpkin pie muffins are, of course, a favorite of my younger son.  When he was little, he ate so much pumpkin and winter squash that he turned a slightly orange hue.  Luckily, he’s back to normal now.

Pumpkin Pie Muffins
1 ½ cups blanched almond flour
¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
½  teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
1 pinch ground cloves
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
½ cup agave nectar
2 large eggs
1 cup fresh baked pumpkin (or winter squash), well packed

  1. In a large bowl combine almond flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves
  2. In a blender puree oil, agave, eggs and pumpkin until smooth
  3. Stir wet ingredients into dry
  4. Place paper liners in muffin tins
  5. Scoop batter into paper liners
  6. Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes
  7. Cool for 2-3 hours
  8. Serve

Makes 8 muffins

These muffins are easy to make and will fill your kitchen with the wonderful smell of autumn.  They are very moist on the inside.  Beware of little children who gobble them up, leaving the wrappers strewn around your house!  Not such a bad problem to have considering how nourishing these treats are.

What is your favorite treat to make during pumpkin season?  Leave a comment and if you’re feeling adventurous, leave the recipe too!


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Posted on October 17, 2008 in desserts by Elana
you might also like: Pumpkin Custard or Pumpkin Cranberry Upside-Down Cake



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Halloween Candy

halloween pumpkins photo by Lauro Maia at flickr.com
Photo by Lauro Maia

Every year I receive countless emails requesting ideas for healthier Halloween candy.  Now there’s an oxymoron if I’ve ever heard one –”healthy candy.”  Does such a thing exist?  Well, probably not.

Now, with suggestions from many readers, I’ve gone ahead and compiled a list that is full of what I refer to as the “lesser of all evils” when it comes to candy.  Trust me, I will not be eating any of the items below.  That kind of sugary stuff –organic or not, doesn’t sit well in my body.

My children, on the other hand, are getting older (we’re pushing into the pre-teen years around here) and in an attempt not to be a total grinch I have compromised and chosen to give out decent (well, decent to them) treats that they themselves would actually want to consume.  When they were little (that would be the year before last) I gave out organic fruit leathers –back then they thought this was the greatest thing!  However, the times are a changin’ as the boys mature.

Thanks to your suggestions, this list is longer than I had anticipated and full of fun ideas for Halloween treats.

  1. Organic Milk Chocolate is what I will be handing out to my trick or treaters this year
  2. Yummy Earth Organic Lollipops were suggested by Elana, my doppelganger on the East Coast
  3. College Farm Organic Naturepops are a favorite of Jen’s
  4. Kind Bars are a delicious fruit and nut bar that Sandra likes
  5. Organic Gummi Bears -this idea was contributed by Kelly
  6. Organic Berry Patch Bunny Fruit Snacks -another gummy treat option

We’re all different, so see if anything on the list above meets your criteria.  If you have other ideas go ahead and leave a comment so others can hop on your Halloween bandwagon!

Posted on October 15, 2008 in desserts by Elana
you might also like: Orange Chocolate Coconut Clusters or Survey Says: Candy Bars



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Acorn Squash with Cranberry Apple Stuffing

Acorn Squash with Cranberry Apple Stuffing

Some days I need a little inspiration. I knew that I would be baking squash for our Shabbat dinner tonight. And I knew it would have some delicious dried cranberries in it. I just wasn’t entirely sure what form it would all take.

I looked around on the internet for a bit and saw this scrumptious looking recipe for a Southern style baked acorn squash and was on my way!

Acorn Squash with Cranberry Apple Stuffing
2 acorn squash
boiling water
2 apples, peeled, cored and chopped into ¼ inch pieces
½ cup dried cranberries
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil (though if you can do dairy, butter works just as well)

  1. Cut squash in half and with a spoon, remove pulp and seeds
  2. In a large pyrex baking dish place squash cut-side down
  3. Pour ¼-inch boiling water into pyrex dish (or use 1/4 inch room temperature apple juice for extra sweetness)
  4. Place dish in oven and bake squash for 30 minutes at 350°
  5. In a large bowl, combine apples, cranberries and cinnamon and grapeseed oil to make stuffing
  6. Remove squash from the oven after the 30 minutes
  7. Turn halves over and stuff center of each squash half with apple mixture
  8. Return to oven and bake for 30-35 minutes (or longer) until squash and apples are tender

Serves 4

On a separate note, I just want to thank everyone for their extensive and heart felt comments to my last post. It is nice to see how many people out there cherish food and hold it in such high regard.

In her review of my simple bread recipe, Alchemille points out something that I agree with and that unfortunately may only become increasingly true during these tough economic times: food is a luxury.

With nearly 1 billion people going hungry on our planet every day, only some of us are lucky enough to have food to eat. Still a smaller portion of that population gets actual real, nourishing food –as opposed to fake food chemicals and the “foodstuff” created by corporate America.

Those who are discerning and make the choice to eat high quality food are the truly fortunate. Still, there are challenges to be faced in making these choices, whether on an economic or social level. Hopefully as agriculture becomes more localized, food quality will improve and high quality food will become more accessible to all.

Again, many thanks to everyone for their astute comments and especially to Alchemille for engendering a timely and most important conversation.

Posted on October 10, 2008 in cooked veggies by Elana
you might also like: Squash “Pie” or Squash with Cherries



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