Pumpkin Red Thai Curry

I like my curry strong- like strong enough to punch you in the face just like they serve in Thailand. It needs to be super spicy and flavorful. None of that mild stuff. If you want something more gentle, try the recipe from Love and Lemons. My recipe is loosely based off of it. I also like to make about 10 servings at a time, so if you're not feeding lots of people, halve the recipe.

Also this is a picture of Rex eating a Turkey cake from the Dining Dog. It's the coolest pet store with food for animals and humans. I had a chai spiced yoghurt sample from there. So good.

Pumpkin Thai Curry

4 cups Kobocha + pumpkin squash purée

1 jar Red Curry paste

7 kefir lime leaves, sliced

5 cloves garlic

1 medium red onion

3 shallots

2 inch piece ginger, peeled

1 red thai chili, whole

1 can coconut milk

1/4 cup maple syrup

Splash fish sauce

4-5 cups water

Pumpkin Pie

No one in my family really likes pumpkin pie. I usually end up eating the entire pie by myself after thanksgiving, which I completely don't mind doing. This pie, however, I had to share. It was a hit with my cousins and even my mom who doesn't even like pumpkin. The recipe is from 101 Cookbooks. I knew it was going to be good since none of Heidi's recipes have failed me yet. Anyways, the recipe is unique since it calls for coconut milk and fresh spices to make the pie really special. If I had access to Penzey's spices, I would totally use their spices. Instead I used regular old pumpkin pie spice. Next time, I'll try to use the spice grinder. I also really like graham cracker crusts for pumpkin pie which you all can feel free to switch out. What really makes the recipe awesome is the fresh pumpkin purée.

Crust:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 tbsp honey
Pinch sea salt

Mix all of the above together and press firmly into a 9 inch pie pan. Then make the filling. No need to prebake the crust.

Filling:
1/2 cup real dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
1 1/2 cups of roasted pumpkin puree from pie pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 extra large eggs
1 cup coconut cream from can

Prejeat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk all ingredients together until smooth. Pour into pie crust and bake for 50 minutes until the center is just set. My sister, Tiffany, was in charge of taking the pie out of the oven and she pricked it with a fork, haha. So don't do that. Let pie cool before serving.

Coconut Cardamom Squash Soup

At the organic apple festival back in the fall, there was a farmstand complete with a mountain of squash. Literally all of the pumpkins and gourds. I picked out a couple I've never heard of before and decided to make soup with one pumpkin. I completely forget the name, so I've been calling it mystery squash. I saw this recipe on Love and Lemons and knew this is what the mystery squash was destined to become.

1 medium squash or pumpkin

2 cooking apples

3 leeks

1 medium yellow onion

1 head garlic

1 can coconut milk

1 inch piece ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

Vegetable broth, to thin

salt + pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Slice squash in half, remove seeds, and drizzle with olive oil. Roast, cut side up, for about 30 minutes until fork tender. Let cool, then scoop out all the squash meat.

At the same time, I roast all the veggies. Peel and quarter the onion. Slice the white parts of the leek into coins. Halve and core the apples. Peel ginger. Peel garlic. Place everything on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Roast for about 15-20 minutes until golden brown. I like to roast until the edges of the onions are black.

Once everything is cooked, place all vegetables and fruit into the blender. Add spices and thin a little with vegetable broth. Blend until completely smooth. Then add coconut milk and season with salt and pepper.

I ate my soup with some cheese ravioli with garden peach tomatoes and prosciutto on the side.

The mystery pumpkin:

Z

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

My family recently sent my younger sister a care package. It was Nick's idea really. Kelly and my mom contributed goodies from Sephora, my dad added chocolates from Germany, and I baked her cookies. Specifically pumpkin oatmeal chocolate butterscotch chip cookies. That's a mouthful! Anyways, she's living all the way out in sunny California and loved the package. We miss her lots and are so excited to have her back for Thanksgiving.

By the way, I was trying to get Rex out from under the table with the cookie though I didn't give it to him. He gets enough treats. My mom gave him a whole hot dog the other morning :) The recipe is from Taste of Home.

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup rolled oats

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup unsalted butter

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

I cup pumpkin

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup butterscotch chips

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Start with all room temperature ingredients! Cream the butter and sugars together in a large mixing bowl. Then add the egg, pumpkin, and vanilla and combine with a whisk. Combine the dry ingredients in a smaller bowl and stir with a fork. Then stir the dry ingredients into the wet in 3 parts. Then stir in the chips.

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls about 1-2 inches apart. Bake for 12-14 minutes until golden brown.

Pumpkin Spice Syrup

As soon as fall hits, I start making all things pumpkin. I like to go a little overboard. I've been seeing all different sorts of pumpkin spiced foods online - pumpkin peanut butter, yogurt, pasta, etc. I figure if you make this syrup you can basically turn anything pumpkin spiced. This is great for making pumpkin spice lattes (iced or hot), drizzled over pancakes or waffles, or even added to hot chocolate for some decadence. I found the recipe on The Messy Baker.

I made this for for my family right before we did an 8 mile corn maze in the dark. We had some little flashlights and the light of the moon to see. There was a food truck at the farm that served pumpkin funnel cake (topped with cinnamon sugar) and other treats. We made it through 2/3 of the maze before calling it a night so we finished up next to the bonfire with some hot chocolate. Rex decided to eat lots of corn during the adventure. We tried letting him lead us but he kept trying to go off the trail.

Pictured is the syrup plus two pumpkin spice steamers!

For the recipe you will need:

1 1/2 cups water

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

1 tbsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/3 cup pumpkin purée

1 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract 

Add the water and sugars to a saucepan over medium heat until mixture comes to a simmer. Add the pumpkin and spices and simmer for 8 minutes gently. Don't let the mixture boil.* Then strain the mixture using a thin tea towel. Once cool, add the vanilla extract and store in the fridge. Add about 1-2 tbsp per latte.

*I let the mixture boil and then didn't strain the syrup. It becomes really thick this way and difficult to strain. If you decide to do this, you just have to add the syrup to the milk in a blender since the syrup won't dissolve completely otherwise.

Pumpkin Buckwheat Pancakes

This week, we celebrated our friend Hiến's birthday (it was his first big birthday celebration, ever). I also learned how to do accents. And the squiggly Spanish one? We have that too!! I've been making some bulletin boards for the pharmacy. I know, glamorous work. I'm actually enjoying having an office job for once. Since I'm here and I'm basically extra labor, I might as well make the place look nice. Anyways, birthdays are not a big deal here! Since we're American, Nick and I decided to throw a birthday party complete with pizza and cake. Some friends threw in some fried rice and papaya salad so it had a nice Vietnamese touch. Oh and plenty of Saigon 333 beer (which you don't ever want to drink too much of). Not sure what's in that beer.... I rode on the back of a motorcycle for 3 miles clutching a large strawberry cake with one hand and praying I wouldn't drop it. It survived! Our friend, Trinh, got to try pizza for the first time too. She was not a fan, haha.
Valentine's day is also this week, which does exist here because- commercialization. Nick and I went to a French restaurant owned by a chef from Avignon. It was adorable. Provencal tablecloths and lots of olive oil. The chevre chaud salad was phenomenal.
For actual Valentine's day, we're going to go eat with a bunch of our cousins and possibly watch a Vietnamese horror movie. Movies here are $3.50, and that's for the weekend. Because of the low ticket price, we can splurge on kettle corn (my cousins love it) and butter popcorn (I ate the whole box by myself). They also have Vietnamese root beer here!!! The things we have in common. 
 My sisters and I made these pancakes from Food for Life for our Christmas morning breakfast. To tell you the truth, I actually mixed up the batter while yelling at my sisters and Nick to come help instead of watching Dr. Who. By the time they got up to help, the batter was mixed and ready to fry up. It was kind of a group effort. I upped the sugar content for my sisters.

Pumpkin Buckwheat Pancakes 
1 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Pinch of salt
1 1/3 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup pumpkin puree

Mix dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl with a wire whisk. Make a well. Add wet ingredients and mix thoroughly. Fry in a saucepan until golden brown. As pancakes are cooking, place the finished ones on a baking tray in 200 degree oven to keep warm. Serve with butter and some maple syrup. Maybe some cinnamon sugar too.

Pumpkin Gnocchi with Brown Butter Sage Sauce

This is probably one of my favorite gnocchi recipes. It's super simple to make. I first made the gnocchi with a bunch of friends during a gnocchi making party I hosted. We made a lot of gnocchi that night (ricotta, sweet potato, and russet potato) with various topping (tomato sauce, brown butter sage, and olive oil). The recipe is from The Skinny Fork.

1 cup pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 large egg
1/8 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 pinch salt

For the brown butter:
1/2 stick butter
7-9 fresh sage leaves
1 pinch salt

Pumpkin Doughnuts

I made these last week for no apparent reason. Just because the recipe looked so good and I had a lot of pumpkin to use (as usual). The recipe is from a blog called Tessa Domestic Diva.

1/4 cup almond meal
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons chia meal mixed w/ 2 tablespoons hot water or 1 egg
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Grease 2-3 baking pans and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a bowl, whisk together the flours, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, egg or chia, sugar, oil, and vanilla. Mix the flour into the wet ingredients until a sticky dough forms.
3. Place dough inside a large ziploc bag. Cut a hole in one corner of the bag and pipe some dough into a doughnut shape onto the greased baking pans. Slightly overlap the ends of the dough. I actually made my hole too small so I had to make like 3 circles on top of each other to get reasonably sized doughnuts.

4. If you want cinnamon sugar doughnuts, mix 1 tbsp cinnamon plus 3 tbsp raw cane sugar and sprinkle over doughnuts.
5. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes until firm. Let rest for a few minutes, the place on wire racks to cool. For chocolate drizzle, melt 1/3 cup chocolate chips and add 1 tsp coconut oil. For glaze mix 1/3 cup powdered sugar with 1 tsp coconut oil and 1-2 tsp almond milk.

Pumpkin Roll

Thanksgiving is not a huge deal for my family. We actually used to spend it in Mexico, but these last couple of years we've been sitting down to an actual Thanksgiving meal. The first time I turkey or stuffing was in high school when we would go to my friend Amanda's house after Thanksgiving and eat all of her mom's leftovers. Gradually my family is learning to make the staple American dishes with some Vietnamese food thrown in (this year we finished up our dinner with my aunt's pho) Pumpkin roll is one of our favorites. It's my job to make it every year, and my sisters also pitch in to help. We use the Libby's pumpkin roll recipe.

Cake

• powdered sugar (to sprinkle on towel)
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup raw cane sugar
• 2/3 cup pumpkin puree

Filling

• 1 package cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pumpkin Cheesecake

I just roasted my first pumpkin of the season, so it's time for endless pumpkin recipes!!! I made this for a perfectly fall dinner with our friends, Chris and Angela. We made some beef pho for them and Laura made an amazing ricotta, pear, and roasted garlic pizza. This recipe is from an old roommate (Colleen). This pie looks swirly since I forgot to add the cinnamon into the mix before pouring it into the crust. Instead, I sprinkled the cinnamon on top and used a spatula to swirl it into the batter.

The crust:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
pinch salt
1/2 cup coconut oil or butter, melted

Filling:
1 1/2 sticks cream cheese (2 if you want a creamier cheesecake)
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp vanilla

Pumpkin Chai Smoothie

Can you tell I've been roasting pumpkins by all the pumpkin recipes lately? Well here's another one.

1 large, ripe banana
1/3 cup pumpkin puree
1/3 cup almond milk
1/3 cup pumpkin chai tea mix (I picked up some Tazo chai)
3 ice cubes
1 tsp bee pollen

Place all ingredients in a blender and puree. Pour into glass and top with additional bee pollen.

Pumpkin Chili

This dish was made for a Halloween feast. I am so glad I made it for dinner since I spent the day at the pharmacy gorging on lots of sugar. The chili was the perfect end to the night along with the chicken and chickpea salads that Laura contributed. It was a rainy night for trick or treating but some cute neighborhood kids did make it out to our house. This recipe is from The Kitchn, and I chose it because it included some cornmeal in the recipe which I found intriguing. Turns out, it is delicious.

1 medium pie pumpkin (3 pounds!)

3 parsnips  

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/2 cup cornmeal

2 red bell peppers, chopped

1 large yellow onion, chopped

1 head garlic, minced

3-5 hot peppers, sliced

2 tablespoons tomato paste

3 cups vegetarian broth

1-28 ounce can diced tomatoes 

1 can garbanzo beans

1 can black beans

2 cups frozen corn

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice 

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp cumin

Several dashes Worcestershire sauce

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

It was freezing this last week, so naturally homemade cinnamon rolls had to be made. Specifically PUMPKIN CINNAMON ROLLS! The recipe I used was from Smitten Kitchen and I didn't change it much. Laura and I ate these watching a marathon of Pretty Little Liars all day. We only took minor breaks to make whatever food we were craving.

Dough
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup warm milk (or almond milk)
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling out
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
2/3 cups pumpkin puree
1 large egg

Sugar Filling
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup pumpkin butter
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Pumpkin Butter

Well instead of carving my pumpkin, I roasted it. I was never great at carving pumpkins anyway. My sisters always did the designing and actual carving. I probably just watched and ate lots of candy. I used a smaller pumpkin to make the pumpkin butter. Ideally you want to find a pie pumpkin which has more flesh and a higher sugar content. Normal pumpkins work too, though.

1/2 small pumpkin
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 cinnamon stick
5 cloves

To roast the pumpkin: Cut a ring around the stem and remove. Cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out all of the seeds and the stringy business. Place the pumpkin cut side down on a baking sheet. Bake for about 1/2 hour at 375 degrees. The pumpkin is done when you can pierce the flesh easily with a fork. Let the pumpkin cool. Then using a spoon, scoop out the flesh into a blender or food processor. Blend until it forms a smooth puree. I only used half a pumpkin since I only wanted about 1 pint of pumpkin butter. Feel free to use all of it! I used the other half to make the pumpkin snickerdoodles : )

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

Our friends Kate and Mark got married this weeked! My contribution to the Pittsburgh cookie table was pumpkin snickerdoodles from A BItchin' Kitchen! They went perfectly with the Weyerbacher pumpkin beer that was served! The wedding was full of gorgeous DIY decorations and lots of great homemade food. (Kate made dozens of cottage cheese pierogies from scratch!). My only advice is to make these as soon as possible! Halloween is tomorrow : )

Cookie Dough:

3 3/4 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup cane sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 slightly heaping cup pumpkin puree
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Cinnamon Sugar mixture (makes extra):

1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Pumpkin Ginger Cookies

Cookies! Plan ahead so you can let the dough chill in the fridge for an hour or overnight.

PUMPKIN GINGER COOKIES

From Eating for England (adapted from Two Peas in Their Pod)

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar, plus more for rolling the cookies

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1/4 cup molasses

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

We've already been making quite a few pumpkin recipes at our house, but so far pretty much all of them have been revisiting old favorites. This recipe is an old favorite, too, but not one that's already on the blog! 

PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

From Very Best Baking (aka Nestle)

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour 

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or big pinches of nutmeg, cloves, giver)

1/2 tsp salt

4 eggs, slightly beaten

2 cups sugar

15 oz pumpkin puree

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease or line 24-30 muffin cups.

2. Combine the flours, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and salt in a medium bowl. In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar. Add the pumpkin puree and oil and whisk again. Stir in the flour mixture until moistened. Add in the chocolate chips. 

3. Divide the batter into the muffin cups. Bake them for 20-25 minutes (unless you do mini-muffins, which will take about 15 minutes per pan). They are done when the tops spring back when poked. Cool in pans on wire racks for 5 minutes.

Vegan Pumpkin Peanut Soup

The first time I made this soup, I was living on a reservation in Warm Springs, Oregon. I was living with my friend, Chris, who is a wonderful vegan cook. He taught me so much about vegan cooking and definitely inspired me to try to live more compassionately through the vegan lifestyle. This recipe is from his cookbook, Color Me Vegan by Colleen Patrick Goudreau, which is a gorgeous recipe source. The unique flavor combination is what really stood out to me about this soup.

3 stalks celery, chopped

3 carrots, chopped

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

3 yellow potatoes, diced (keep the skin on)

1 large can garbanzo beans

2 bay leaves

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried ground sage

1 tbsp curry powder (my personal touch)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 3/4 heaping cups pumpkin puree

3/4 cup peanut butter

1 cup boiling water

fresh parsley and peanuts for garnish

Saute the celery, carrots, and onion until fragrant and translucent for about 10 minutes. Combine the boiling water with the peanut butter, whisk until smooth, and add to the vegetables. Add the potatoes, pumpkin, beans, and spices. Add about 3 cups of water depending on how thick you want the soup to be. Simmer for about 30 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Serve hot with the parsley and peanuts sprinkled on top.

Pumpkin Pie Bars

Did you think we were done with our vicious onslaught of pumpkin recipes? NO. I found a hubbard squash in my garage that I'd bought at Schramm's about a month ago and forgotten all about.

You can see on the squash where my mom and I had been trying to hack at it with every knife in the drawer. It wasn't working, so I looked up how to cut a hubbard squash online, thinking I'd find some sophisticated way to deal with the problem.

Instead, I found a video on YouTube of this guy dropping it out of a window, so that's what we did, too. It works really well! No more attempting to cut these things up with knives - it's dangerous!

Once my "pumpkin" (hubbard squash is close enough) puree was all ready, I decided to use some on these pumpkin pie bars.

They're really good - not too sweet, a good crispy bottom crust and smooth pumpkiny layer. I used way more pumpkin than the original recipe called for so that might explain why they aren't that sweet, but I like them this way.

Snow!

---

PUMPKIN PIE BARS

Adapted from Some the Wiser

1 1/3 cup unbleached white flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

8 tablespoons butter (cold & cut up a little)

3/4 cup chopped pecans (optional) 

8 oz cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup pumpkin puree

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon allspice

1 teaspoon vanilla 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a food processor, combine crust ingredients and pulse two or three times until mixture is crumbly. Reserve 2/3 cup of the mixture for topping.  Press remaining mixture evenly into the bottom of an 8x11 baking dish.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. Cool for about 15 minutes.

Wipe out the food processor and add in the filling ingredients. Blend until mixture is smooth.  Pour mixture over baked crust after it cools. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 10 minutes, until it looks like it's starting to set. Sprinkle with remaining crust topping and bake for about 30 minutes or until browned and a toothpick comes out clean.

Baby dog sleeping in my room while I have a pumpkin pie bar for breakfast.

Hearty Pumpkin Soup

I made this soup for the cookie exchange so we could have something other than pure sugar to eat for the night! It started out as a simple creamy potato soup, but I decided to go with a vegetable pumpkin soup instead since we had so many vegetables at the apartment. I was at the farm a couple of weeks ago and I picked some radishes that I included in this soup. The greens are separated since I used them in another recipe. They are sweet and delicious on top of a pizza! I wanted to include some pictures in the blog since I think they are pretty!

At last, the recipe!

Pumpkin Soup



1 large red onion, diced
1 small white onion, diced
1 leek, light green section sliced (dark green saved to make veggie stock)
4 large carrots, chopped
5 radishes, chopped
1/4 head of cabbage, thinly sliced
3 red potatoes, chopped
2-3 cups vegetable broth, depending on desired consistency of the soup
2-3 cups pumpkin puree
1 can chickpeas
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tabletspoon dried rosemary

Saute the leek and onions until softened.

Add the carrots, cabbage, and the radishes and cook until slightly softened. Add the broth, herbs, and potatoes and bring to a boil. Simmer on low until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Add the pumpkin puree and chickpeas and heat up the soup until it is hot enough to serve. Season with salt and pepper to your taste. I garnished the soup with some dried rosemary and served it with some delicious foccacia from Mancini's in the Strip District.