It was a pumpkin day…

Pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin! So, I finally found some canned pumpkin. I could not find any in the organic section and the normal baking aisle was almost sold out. Are people already baking pumpkin pies? I only allow myself to have pumpkin pie at thanksgiving only, and it’s so worth the wait. I wanted to make pumpkin oatmeal like http://foragingfoodbalance.wordpress.com/ (another great healthy food blog you should check out) suggested to me a while back. I’m really not in the ‘fall’ mood, but I’m trying to get there. So I had pumpkin steel-cut oatmeal yesterday for breakfast. It was good and the color was great, but it needed some more sweetness. So I did add more raisins, honey, cloves, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg. (along with almond milk, blue agave and walnuts) yum!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So later in the afternoon that huge can of pumpkin was staring at me I knew I wouldn’t finish in oatmeal all week. So I decided to make some pumpkin muffins. I’ve been craving carrot cake since I have carrots, but pumpkin muffins came first. I did modify several recipes I found to go with the ingredients I did have for healthier muffins, so this was a pretty good made up recipe of sorts.

Pumpkin Muffins

• 1 cup regular all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour ( I always 1/2 up my recipes flour to make them healthier. There is no need to make things with all white flour.)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 c brown sugar (brown sugar is healthier than white sugar)
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk ( I have always made my own from something my mom taught me. Who buys buttermilk? Not me? Just use regular milk and then add about a tablespoon of vinegar. It has always worked. The next time I make this I will use almond milk)
• 1/4 cup nuts for the crunch ( I had walnuts on hand)
• 1/4 cup raisins

I baked it on 400 for 20 minutes. But that was too high I think. They were a tad over done, but still good. So I would bake them on 375 next time for 20 minutes or 400 for 15 minutes.

Mix all wet ingredients together. (sugar, egg, oil) Mix all dry ingredients together and slowly mix into the wet batter along with the buttermilk. Then fold in the nuts and raisins at the end. I put a mix of oats, rye and sunflower seeds on top, but it wasn’t needed. I was also going to drizzle on a tad of icing, but it wasn’t needed. The raisins add so much sweetness and moisture. Next time I will probably add more raisins or a banana.

And, pumpkin beer was found at a local grocer that carries a huge array of beers, wines, cheeses and organic section. But…boooo, I didn’t really like it. First of all I never drink beer. The only kind I’ve ever fell in love with was the japanese beer Sapporo while dining out for sushi. So after that I started tasting them here and there. But evidently I’m really picky when it comes to beer. I think I like the pale ales and flavored ones. But this one didn’t really taste like pumpkin at all! It even boasted about its great pumpkin taste and mix of spices. Nope. There was kind of flavored spicy after taste, but that’s it. I’ll stick to wine and liquors here and there. Or, a better pumpkin one somewhere out there wherever you are.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nice packaging though!