Spiced Pumpkin Bread

Happy halloweekend everyone! Hopefully, you whipped out your costumes that you're allowed to wear 1x a year and it be okay to be a cat, turtle, duck, shower curtain- whatever floats your boat! This year, I was just a kitty cat (would you expect anything else from me?!). But I like to celebrate differently- i was craving some sort of pumpkin and decided to make this pumpkin bread! At one of the culinary schools I visited, the chef prepared for us a pumpkin bread. I took similar measurements, and just did many substitutions. My first attempted bread seemed to be too dense, so I added a little more flour and got a better result! This bread is so delicious and the pumpkin definitely is the key note in this. Omnomnomnom

Spiced Pumpkin Bread

vegan~glutenfree

1-9x5" loaf pan

1 1/2 cups ap gluten free flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 flax eggs (or 2 servings ener-g egg replacer)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/4 cup almond milk

1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

a handful of walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and grease and flour your 9x5" pan

2. In the bowl of your stand mixer, add the flax eggs and brown sugar and beat on medium until the sugar is quite dissolved. Slowly incorporate your coconut oil while beating.

3. Add the rest of the wet ingredients- vanilla, pumpkin, and almond milk, and mix until fully incorporated.

4. Next, sift your dry ingredients into a medium mixing bowl (flour, baking soda and baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt). Once sifted, add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, while your mixer is running on low (do this in 3-4 batches, because you don't want all the flour to fly up in your face!). Let it beat for a few minutes, until fully incorporated.

5. Turn off your mixer, and scrape out your batter and place it into the loaf pan. If you want, before you put it in the loaf pan, you can incorporate the walnuts in the batter. I liked mine on top, so I didn't do this.

6. Once your batter is in the loaf pan, "drop" it 3 times-so there are no air bubbles in the loaf.

7. Sprinkle walnuts on top, and bake for 1 hour and 20-30 minutes. Allow it to cool for 30 minutes before you dig in!

Little iggy was sooo sleepy- he didn't want me doing my homework!

Spiced Pumpkin Soup

It's that time of year again, when the pumpkin madness begins! I know, this kinddaa looks like Applesauce, but it's actually pumpkin soup. Yup. Pumpkin Soup. Creamy, deliciousness. The secret ingredient to its thick density? Chickpeas. 

Spiced Pumpkin Pie Soup

gluten free~vegan 

Servings: 6

1 pumpkin (sugar pumpkin works)

8 cloves garlic

2 tablespoon EVOO

1/2 onion, diced

1-15 oz can chickpeas, with water

6 tablespoons soy/almond/any non-dairy milk

1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1) First, preheat your oven to 350 F

2) Stab your pumpkin 6 times around, so that it punctured through the inside. Drizzle 1 Tablespoon EVOO onto your pumpkin and rub it all in!

3) Put your pumpkin on a deep dish baking tray (like one you would use to make brownies) and roast it for 1 1/2 hours (Mine took a little less, so check after an hour- it depends on the oven, and my oven is small in my apartment). 

4) When pumpkin is tender and easy to put a knife through, take it out of the oven and let it rest for 30 minutes.

5) Cut your pumpkin in half, and take out the stringy stuff in the middle (save the pumpkin seeds to roast for later!). Spoon out the roasted pumpkin remaining that will be for your soup! (I began doing this part when I was ready to put it in the soup)

6) Next, begin making the soup! Add the remaining tablespoon to a 4 quart saucepot and add in your whole cloves of garlic and diced onion over medium-high heat. Cook for 3 minutes.

7) Add in the pumpkin as well as your can of chickpeas (with water), pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon. Bring to a boil. Once it is boiling, let it simmer for 15 minutes. 

8) Take it off the heat and either use an immersion blender or a blender to your desired consistency. 

9) When serving, add in 1 tablespoon of soy milk for each serving and swirl. Sprinkle cinnamon on top to serve!

Per Serving:

165 calories ~ 25g CHO ~ 5g FAT ~ 6g PRO

My mom made some corn muffins for the soup- followed the recipe from the back of the box of a corn muffin mixture, and substitute buttermilk for Soy + Apple Cider Vinegar, and ENER-G for Eggs :] such a sweetheart. And topped it with some vegan butter? Perfeecctttttt

My little Iggy try to catch some dreams :]<3