fresh pumpkin...

 Organic Pie Pumpkins were on sale last week so I roasted two of them.  If you've never roasted pumpkins there is a HOW TO here, but in a nutshell...

cut into halves and clean out

 place face down in a baking dish with 1/2 inch water

 roast at 400 degrees for 45 minutes

 scrape out and puree in blender.

 

I miss the heat already, but healthy, comforting food, a fire in the fireplace and snuggling into a cozy blanket with a great book are making fall a close second!

Usually this time of year I start craving my Mom's Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread.  After a slight binge on Halloween candy, however, it is not what my body needs at the moment.  Searching for an alternative I found a recipe for Pumpkin Bars.  This version is just as good as the bread, grain-free and sweetened with honey.  It could be doubled and baked as a quick bread...I'd double the baking time as well.  I've made it twice this week and have been brewing my new pukka cleanse tea, adding a teaspoon or so of coconut oil to go with it...mmmm.

My two pumpkins yielded about 5 Cups of puree...anyone for Pumpkin Pie?

I experimented with a recipe from Cooking With Coconut Four.  Being gluten-free, the crust was a little tricky-may have been easier had I followed directions...  We ended up piecing it together, but it tastes great!

*Pumpkin Pie-GF

crust:
1/2 Cup Coconut Flour
1/2 Cup Almond Flour/Meal
2 Eggs
1/2 Tbsp. Raw Honey
1/4 Cup Organic Butter, melted
1/4 tsp Himalayan Salt

Mix all ingredients.  Roll between two pieces of wax paper.  Peel one side off and place crust face down in pie plate before peeling away the second layer (I didn't do this-oops).  This crust will burn more than a wheat crust so it's best to use a pie guard (I didn't do this either...obviously!).  Then make filling:

filling:
2 Cups Organic Pumpkin Puree
3/4 Cup Sucanat or Coconut Sugar (sub with 1/2 Cup honey for GAPS)
3/4 tsp Himalayan Salt
1 tsp ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground Ginger
1/4 tsp ground Nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground Cloves
(or 2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice)
4 Eggs
1/4 Cup Organic Coconut Milk or Organic Heavy Cream (optional)

Mix together and pour into pie shell.  Bake at 400 degrees for 45-50 min or until knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Cool.  Top with raw whipped cream.

I whipped Organic Pastures Raw Heavy Cream in my Vitamix and added a little maple syrup-it is so thick, rich, and delicious-the best whipped cream I've ever tasted!

basic coconut flour recipes...

We were already eating a lot of coconut before going mostly grain-free, but relied heavily on coconut flour after changing my son's diet to rid him of seasonal allergies.  Coconut flour contains the highest percentage of dietary fiber in comparison to other fibers.   It is also high in protein, low in digestible carbohydrates and is gluten free.  Because coconut flour is highly absorbent, recipes call for a large number of eggs in order to bind together.  It's possible to replace up to 1/3 of the total amount of flour in recipes with coconut flour and add a bit more water to the recipe, but if you're cooking solely with coconut flour it's best to follow a specific recipe.  I like Cooking With Coconut Flour by Bruce Fife.  Here are some of our favorite basic recipes...

*click here to order coconut flour and receive a free coconut oil book with your first purchase!

 COCONUT FLOUR PANCAKES

2 Eggs

2 Tbsp Coconut Oil or Butter (Ghee)

2 Tbsp Coconut Milk or Whole Milk

2 Tbsp Coconut Flour

1/8 tsp Sea Salt

1/8 tsp Aluminum-Free Baking Powder (optional)

Blend eggs, oil or butter, milk and salt. Combine coconut flour and baking powder and mix into batter. Heat 1 T coconut oil or butter in skillet and spoon batter onto hot skillet. Makes about 6 pancakes. Drizzle with honey or make honey syrup with lemon juice and vanilla.  Spread almond or peanut butter on leftovers for snacks!

COCONUT FLOUR CRACKERS

½ C Almond Flour or other nut meal

2 Eggs

¼ C Butter, Melted

¼ tsp Sea Salt

½ C Coconut Flour

3 C Cheddar Cheese, shredded (optional)

herbs & spices (optional)

Blend together almond flour, eggs, butter. sea salt, cheese and any herbs you prefer. Add coconut flour and knead the dough in your hands for 2-3 minutes. Form dough into 1 inch balls, place on and ungreased cookie sheet and flatten to a diameter of 2-2 ½ inches. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Makes 16 crackers.

These crackers taste best straight from the oven and slightly crisp. You can reheat them at 400 degrees for about 4 minutes.

BASIC COCONUT FLOUR BREAD

6 Eggs

½ C Butter

2 Tbsp Honey (optional)

½ tsp Sea Salt

¾ C Coconut Flour

1 tsp Aluminum-Free Baking Powder (optional)

Blend together eggs, butter, honey and salt. Combine coconut flour with baking powder and whisk thoroughly into batter until there are not lumps. Pour into greased 9x5x3 or smaller loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on racks. Recipe can be doubled to make a larger loaf.

COCONUT FLOUR BANANA MUFFINS

3 Eggs

2 Tbsp Butter or Coconut Oil, melted

1 Banana, ripe and mashed

2-3 Tbsp Honey

¼ tsp Sea Salt

½ tsp Vanilla

¼ C Coconut Flour

¼ tsp Aluminum-Free Baking Powder (optoinal)

¼ C chopped Walnuts or Pecans (optional)

Blend together eggs, butter, banana, honey, salt and vanilla. Combine coconut flour with baking powder and whisk into batter until there are no lumps. Fold in nuts. Pour into greased muffin tins. Bake at 400 degrees for 18 minutes or 12-15 min for mini muffins. Makes about 6 large or 24 mini.

COCONUT FLOUR MACAROONS

½ C Butter

½ C Honey

4 Eggs

½ tsp Vanilla

½ C Coconut Flour

2 C Grated or Flaked Coconut

Mix together butter, honey, eggs and vanilla. Stir in coconut flour and coconut. Drop spoon-sized mounds 1 inch apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment. Bake at 375 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Makes about 2 dozen cookies.