Sugar and Nice and Everything Pumpkin Spice

Fall would not be fall without a barrage of pumpkin themed everything. Last night I was at the home of a dear friend of mine for her 50th birthday party. She and her husband and many of our group of friends wait all year long for the Great Pumpkin season to come. While we don't wait in the pumpkin patch for his ornageness to show up, we do anticipate with glee the arrival of winter squash and the Dali Lama of fall food season: the pumpkin.

During the party, my lovely friend Daph and I got to chatting about restaurants, food and cooking. She shares my great passion for trying new places and recipes. It has been far too long time since my foodie spirit went into hybernation. After our conversation, I felt it begin to awaken from it's deep slumber. That and the fact that by the end of next month, I will have a beautiful newly remodeled kitchen made me want to get cooking and blogging again.

At such party, my honey mentioned not so casually that he thought it would be a great idea for me to make him his favorite Banana-Pecan Pancakes for breakfast in the morning. I knew there were no bananas to be found in the house and after a late night of wine tasting, a trip to the grocery store was not sounding at all appealing. As fate would have it, I had some pumpkin puree in the pantry and these pumpkiny nutty pancakes were born.

I want to share this profound pearl of wisdom from Linus Van Pelt of the Peanuts with you: "There are three things I've learned never to discuss with people: religion, politics and the Great Pumpkin." Linus, thank you for sharing your wisdom, as a token of my gratitude I share this Great Pumpkin inspired recipe.

The Great Pumpkin Spiced Pancakes

Makes 12 pancakes

1 1/2 cups almond milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 Cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon melted coconut oil, cooled if heated or 1 tablespoon mild oil such as grapes
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, if you prefer toasted walnuts, feel free to toast and cool completely

In a two cup measuring cup (to save yourself an extra dirty bowl) or bowl, combine almond milk and vinegar and set aside to let curdle slightly. In another small bowl combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices and make a well in the center.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, maple syrup, oil, vanilla extract and almond milk mixture until well combined and smooth. Pour the liquid mixture into the well in your dry ingredient and whisk with a fork. Be careful not to over mix. It's OK to have a few lumps. Fold in walnuts.

Spray a large iron skillet (or non stick skillet) with coconut oil or other neutral tasting oil. Heat over medium high heat until skillet is hot, being careful not to let it smoke. Using a 1/4 cup measure (I like to use an ice cream scoop). Drop batter onto hot pan and spread slightly using a circular motion to maintain the round shape. Cook on first side until batter starts to bubble and cakes are nicely browned. Top with a pat of Earth Balance and maple syrup. Serve immediately.

These actually freeze well. You can reheat them in the oven for 5-7 minutes at 350.

Weekend Sunny Breakfast (or brunch if you like to sleep in)

When I go to the farmers market or the grocery store, I always go overboard buying fresh organic produce. I always have things on the edge (and sometimes over the edge) of going bad. I hate to waste produce. Last weekend was another one of those days. So I decided to make a very vegiful healthy breakfast.

I had a rainbow of fresh veggies. The heat is starting to stress my fresh herbs so I cut a bunch of them to sue as well. This colorful scramble is full of antioxidants and nutrients. Most of all it is full of fresh herb flavor. I recommend slicing, dicing and chopping before you get started cooking to make things go easy peasy. So if you wake up tomorrow morning and want the sun to shine in your mouth, this might just be the recipe for you! Feel free to sub veggies you need to use up in your fridge.

Sunny Day Rainbow Scramble

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup thinly sliced cremini mushrooms
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 small zucchini, quartered and thinly sliced
1 medium tomato, diced
2 cups kale, stems removed torn into bite sized pieces
1 tablespoon minced fresh sage leaves*
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary*
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme*
1/2 teaspoon tumeric
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 1/2 teaspoon Braggs liquide aminos or low sodium tamari
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
1-12 oz package extra firm tofu, water squeezed out

In a 12 inch iron skillet or non stick pan over medium heat add olive oil. Let warm for about 30 seconds. Add onion and garlic and sauté until onions are slightly softened, about 2-3 minutes. Add mushrooms and yellow bell pepper and sauté for about 3-4 more minutes until mushrooms start to release their liquid. Add zucchini, tomato and kale. Saute until kale is wilted, about 3-5 minutes. Add sage, rosemary and thyme. Saute until herbs start to become fragrant, about 30 seconds. Crumble tofu into vegetable mixture. Sprinkle with turmeric, nutritional yeast, Braggs, salt and pepper. Gently stir until well combined. Cook, stirring occasionally to make sure nothing burns to the bottom, until tofu is heated through, about 3 minutes. Serve immediately. This also reheats well.

*measured after mincing