VeganMoFo: Pumpkin (and Other Orange Delights) October 3, 2009
Posted by a-k in baking, beans and legumes, soup, veganmofo.trackback
Tonight I found myself alone for dinner at the start of a seldom-experienced three-day weekend with chilly damp temperatures outside and no money to spend. Luckily I was loaded up with CSA veggies, recently rehydrated cannellini beans, and a lot of baking ingredients. I got to bust out my newly acquired vintage holiday-themed Pyrex lidded casserole dish*, and stuff it with whole cloves of garlic, carrots, onions, jalapenos and olive oil. Once sufficiently roasted, I added it to a pot with the aforementioned beans, fresh rosemary and sage from my humble container garden, and some veggie stock. I pureed it with my immersion blender and topped it with more garden-fresh parsley and fresh pepper and warmed my belly:
But wait! There’s more to this dinner. For a few weeks I’ve been imagining how good it would be to have not just cornbread, but pumpkin cornbread, and not just pumpkin cornbread, but maple-glazed pumpkin cornbread. That’s like the triumvirate of delicious fall goodness, am I right? So I played around a little with a plain cornbread recipe and stuck it in the oven and later pulled out a lovely golden-orange pan of pumpkin cornbread, brushed a piece with maple syrup, and stuck it under the broiler for a few minutes. Behold:
I ate it with greens and a beet vinaigrette (made from the juices leftover from roasting beets in olive oil and some balsamic), and the cornbread was moist and fluffy and gloriously soft, and the maple had caramelized and smelled like marshmallows when I pulled it out from the broiler. I really want to give you this recipe, but the only problem was it didn’t taste sufficiently pumpkin-y to me. I’ve already talked up this idea to people at work, so I have to remake it until I get it right in order to share it with the coworkers I managed to impress with my enthusiasm. Which means then I will get it posted here. Oh, and did I mention it is maple-sweetened and relatively low-fat? Oh yes.
And, because I can’t leave well enough alone, I had to go and use the leftover canned pumpkin in a Vita-Mix ice cream concoction. Using frozen bananas as a base, I added the pumpkin, raisins (for sweetness), vanilla, cinnamon, and ginger. I suppose I could have used some nutmeg and gone for the whole pumpkin pie experience, but it was pretty darn tasty as is.
Don’t you just love fall? Orange makes me feel so warm and comfy, which is good considering it’s about 45 degrees outside and our radiators haven’t been turned on. The weather a week ago was, believe it or not, quite warm and t-shirt and shorts-worthy. In case you thought I was totally crazy, I ate the ice cream in front of a space heater wearing a sweater and my special ladyfriend’s big comfy slippers (I have no slippers of my own, sniff).
I’m already dreaming about using the leftover pumpkin cornbread for a delicious weekend brunch bread pudding. I love it when I already have magical new uses in mind for leftovers, instead of consuming them in a (sometimes) less ideal day-old state, or letting them become science experiments because I want something new and different the next day. Hooray for foresight!
*More on this casserole dish and other delicious vintage things later in the month…
I really want that pumpkin cornbread recipe, so get on that lady
!!!
yeah, i can’t wait for than cornbread recipe! i think i’ve used pumpkin as an oil sub in cornbread before, but it wasn’t enough to give it flavor.
your “ice cream” i very similar to one of my fav smoothies! pumpkin, banana, vanilla, spices, and sometimes some peanut or almond butter!!
That is an excellent idea for a smoothie! Yummy!
What a nice post
It made me feel all cozy and want some fall flavors (which I personally feel you can never have too much of). They haven’t turned on our radiators either (I’m in Minneapolis too). But that ice cream still sounds positively delicious and amazing!
OH. MAN. That ICE CREAM! Sounds so good, I love banana-based vegan ice cream.
Gorgeous looking autumn foods! After all the warm weather we’ve been having it’s actually chilly and raining today so a bowl of soup and a slice of that cornbread would be lovely right now.
And even though it’s cold, that ice cream looks delish!
And you’re welcome for the burger recipe review, I really love them and I look forward to lunch when I know I have one to eat
Banana pumpkin pie ice cream is swoon-worthy!
The ice cream looks amazing. I’ve still not tried frozen banana-based ice cream (i know, it’s been around forever. where have *i* been?), but that looks awesome!
This is one of my favorite posts ever. I really really want you to tell me the cornbread is gluten free taboot, but I don’t think it’s happening. Anyway, once you get the bread more pumpkiny, I think you should make some stuffing out of it! I mean c’mon, pumpkin maple cornbread stuffing with sauted onions, celery????? My mouth is in full water.
xo
kittee
You know what Kittee? I actually in my head have wanted to make this cornbread gluten-free as well, because I think with the pumpkin-y binder thing going on, it really could work without a lot of fuss, and I’m starting to get obsessed with gf-free vegan baking.
Also, that kind of stuffing is kind of what I made last year, only I served it IN acorn squash instead of having pumpkin as part of the cornbread.
Both of these things could happen.
banana pumpkin pie soft serve, such a great idea! i must make this, it looks amazing
xo
Eliza
Wow! That are some great uses of pumpkin.
Pumpkin overload! And that cornbread looks amazing!!
wow loving that soup! it looks amazing
Everything here is like my dream food. I love pumpkin season! (I refuse to call it fall/autumn because it’s still 90+ degrees here in Florida.)
Ick, yes, my former brief life in Florida was never very seasonal, except when people put up their tacky Christmas decorations and you could drive around being blinded by the light!
Pumpkin cornbread sounds amazing!! I love fall and I have definitely been enjoying lots of comfy warm foods!
I’m really loving all this pumpkin goodness! And can’t wait for the cornbread recipe. : I do love autumn, but sadly, it always leads to winter!!
I love all things pumpkin and cinnamon. I was jumping up and down at the corn bread, but then the ice cream came along! Gahhhhh! Brilliant!
i’m all excitedfaced about pumpkin yummies and the future vintage awesomeness post! doublehooray!
pumpkin cornbread already sounded so delicious, then ya go and add maple syrup – man, now it sounds gloriously good! i can’t believe i’ve never roasted up veggies for a soup – i usually saute them. now i’m totally going to follow your lead and try out a roasted veggie soup for a tasty soup ‘n bread night soon. yay! pumpkin + banana + ginger + vanilla = one heavenly ice cream, fo ’sho!
also – superw00t for fall. it’s my favorite season, too!
A 3-day weekend?! SCORE! Friday was the perfect day to have off and stay all warm and cozy at home with a nice hot cup of tea
Your food sounds delicious–especially that ice cream…
Courtney
This post is spilling over with all things Autumn and I LOVE it. Could there be any better time of the year? I think not!
ha! i wrote about my own little pumpkin today too! but your dinner kicks my dinner’s butt, for sure. all your talk of autumn weather makes me excited about fall and inspires me to want autumn-type foods, though the weather changes slightly here in honolulu. your postings about the change of seasons in minn make me miss my midwest childhood… aloha, andrea at bakerymanis.wordpress.com
I have a gluten free cornbread recipe that I love. I’m inserting some pumpkin into it and will report back.
xo
kittee
Looks freaking amazing, A.
These photos are so gorgeous!
oh my, A-K, this post is making my mouth water. Beet viniagrette? Pumpkin ice cream? White bean roasted vegetable soup? Oh my word. I think I’ll be making some kind of spiced squash mesquite coconut ice cream in my vitamix very soon. And yes, I think we NEED to get together and cook/bake sometime! Our combined brain power will be UNSTOPPABLE! By the way, did you use the jalepenos? : ) I did make a very very very modified version of your zucchini bread – delicious, it was a total hit!
[...] VeganMoFo: Pumpkin (and Other Orange Delights) [...]
Really creative and great looking food. Lovely pics too!
I am always so in awe of your photos. Beautiful!
I also just read your story about veganism, I loved it