Pumpkin Pie Pancakes

In case you haven't noticed, fall is my favorite time of the year. It inspires all kinds of baking sprees and soup recipes to freeze for the upcoming cold of winter. Though San Francisco can hardly boast much in the way of cold winters...

We've had some pumpkin puree sitting in our cabinet for a little while, just itching to be used. This morning, Katy called out to me from her bedroom, "PUMPKIN PANCAKES!"

You don't have to ask me twice to make ANYTHING with pumpkin!

We found a recipe from AllRecipes.com for a tasty sounding pumpkin pancake but used some tips from one reviewer for a more pumpkin pie-like taste. We went with this reviewers tips. Of course, our recipe utilized whole wheat flour and lactaid milk (we're sadly out of almond milk).

Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 ½ c. milk
• 1 1/3 c. pumpkin puree
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1tbsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• ½ tsp ground cloves
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 c. whole wheat flour

Directions

1. In medium sized bowl, beat the egg. Add remaining wet ingredients and mix well.
2. Add all but the flour and mix well. Add flour half a cup at a time just until mixed. Ours came out quite thick because I misread how much milk to use. Whoops! So I ended up adding more milk anyway. ;)
3. Heat a large skillet at medium-high heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
4. Pour the batter into the skillet to your desired sized.
5. Plate and scarf. :D

It would have been lovely to top with powdered sugar, but we didn't have any. Instead, we buttered them up and drizzled a bit of honey on top. Just as delicious! The batter came out very thick, so the insides were still deliciously gooey pumpkin pie filling taste. Absolutely amazing. We also served with some freshly made juice. Mmmm...

Glazed Pumpkin Donuts

Have any leftover pumpkin puree in your pantry from Thanksgiving like we did? Still craving sweets? We were, and we wanted something SUPER TASTY! We decided to try a bizarro combo of King Arthur Flour's pumpkin donut recipe and this glazed pumpkin donut recipe while not having exactly enough ingredients.

The results were still perfection! We managed to get 16 donuts out of it!

Ingredients

Donut batter

• 1/2 c. vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs
• 1 c. granulated sugar
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1 can pumpkin puree
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• just shy of 2 c. whole wheat flour

Glaze

• brown sugar
• butter
• water

Directions

1. Set oven to 350 degrees and grease your donut baking pan.
2. Whisk all but the flour in a large bowl, until well mixed.
3. Add flour and mix just until clumps disappear.
4. Add batter to donut pan.
5. Bake 15-20 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.
6. While baking, sprinkle enough brown sugar to cover the bottom of a small sauce pan. Add a couple pats of butter (I recently learned what "pat of butter" means!) and half a tablespoon of water. We only wanted to make enough for a few of our donuts, just to test.
7. Melt together on low heat, whisking until thick and smooth.
8. Remove the donuts from the over. Cool slightly and then transfer from the baking pan to a cooling rack.
9. Dip the tops of the donuts into the prepared glaze.
10. Scarf.

These donuts are surprisingly delicate while warm, but oh so moist and tasty! The brown sugar glaze is also a beautiful touch!

Vegan Oatmeal Juice Pulp Muffins

We decided to go back on that juice pulp thing and see what else we could make. Turns out, you can! We adjusted this oatmeal pulp muffin recipe.

Makes about 12-15 muffins, depending on how big you like your muffins. :)

Ingredients

• 2/3 c. juice pulp
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 c. honey
• 2 c. steel cut oats
• 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp cloves
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/3 c. almond milk
• Any extras (I used a trail mix with almonds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, and dried cranberries)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prep a muffin tin. We have silicon cupcake cups, but greasing the tins works just as well.
2. Mix pulp, vanilla, and honey in a large bowl.
3. Add oats, flour, spices, baking powder, and salt. Mix well.
4. Add in your extras.
5. Fill the tins as high as you would like. It won't expand when you bake.
6. Bake 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Cool.

Now, we like to separate these into batches of 4 and pop them into freezer bags once they're cool. This makes for super easy breakfasts on-the-go! We just pull out the next bag to thaw when we finish one. Certainly packed full of nutritious and filling goodies!

Leftovers Bread

Moving to the San Francisco Bay Area has its perks. Easier access to healthy, organic options has made for some excellent meals.

Katy and I have become a part of the juice craze! Yes, juicing, and it is amazing. Not only are we feeling happier and healthier, we can manage to use all parts of the fruit and vegetables we use.

Many juicers feel guilty about throwing away so much pulp, but it's really very simple to save them in a freezer bag for soups, muffins, breads, all kinds of things! This time we decided to made bread. You know, like zucchini or banana bread - except you use leftover juice pulp!

There are all kinds of options, and everything that goes into a delicious juice can be used for a sweet bread.

In our case, it was a mix of carrot, celery, orange, and apple. Yum! It's also a beautiful fall day and we were looking for something autumnal. ;)

Our beautiful fall view.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ c. pulp
• ¼ c. oil
• ½ c. honey
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 ½ c. whole wheat flour
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 ½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• ¼ tsp cloves

Directions

1. Beat honey and oil in a mixing bowl; then add eggs and vanilla.
2. Sift together the dry ingredients and add to the wet mix.
3. Bake in a greased bread loaf pan on 350 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes. This will depend on how wet your pulp mix is.
4. Allow to cool slightly before removing from pan and consuming. (We're always too impatient and don't wait as long as we really should - we want to eat it while it's still warm!!) 

This recipe is really great because you can use whatever pulp you have and tweak the recipe according to any other ingredients you'd like to add: oatmeal, nuts, dried berries, chocolate chips. It all depends on what you've juiced for the week!

Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts

We have lost the D and R of our DARK meals, so I'm afraid we're down to AK meals! KA Meals? We're working on the new name...

But what better way to bring back our blog than the mouth-watering homey goodness of apple cider doughnuts? 

K and I have moved cross country to the beautiful San Francisco: home of the 49ers, Golden Gate Bridge, hippies, foodies, and multicultural beauty. We may now have access to all the cheap avocados one can consume! But oh! the heart-wrenching sadness of a Midwesterner and East Coaster when we discovered that the closest apple cider mill was three hours away. Well if we can't get to the apple orchard, we're going to being the cider mill to us!

When we got the idea in our head, we tried to find a way to make a healthier version than the delicious deep-fried variety. Searching online, we found we could BAKE doughnuts, but couldn't figure out how to do it! Then we discovered the most exciting kitchen bakeware ever: doughnut baking pans. Just like the cupcake pan. The most exciting purchase of my adult life thus far. Pumped to hit the kitchen, we searched for the best recipe.

We adapted this recipe from Spoonful of Flavor to only make half a dozen and use whole wheat flour and soy milk. 

Ingredients:

Yield: 6 doughnuts

Doughnut Batter:
1 cup whole wheat all-purpose flour
3/8 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup apple cider
1/8 cup soy milk
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. butter, melted

Cinnamon-Sugar Topping:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tbsp. butter, melted (for coating)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix:

Mix together all dry ingredients. Then add the wet stuff. If your mix seems a little dry, add a splash more of the cider.

The next step was a little tricky since we don't have a pastry bag. After greasing the baking sheet, I was able to use spoons to drop the dough into the doughnut cups and carefully spread them around. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until the doughnut is springy when poked.

While the doughnuts cool, mix together the dry parts for the cinnamon-sugar topping into a ziplock bag and melt the butter for dipping. We dipped each of the doughnuts [lightly] into the melted butter and then dropped into the ziplock bag. Shake the bag around for an even coating.

Place on the cooling wrack to cool, or om nom while still warm. We chose to wait for dessert and consume with warm cider while watching some collegiate football. Nothing screams autumn in America quite like warm apple anything with football. These actually came out much denser than we had hoped. Next time, we're going to try using apple sauce and a little less flour.

Enjoy!

Veggie Pot Pie!!!

What can be more delicious than veggie pot pie? Pretty much nothing. What a lovely and warming comfort food it is. And guess what? IT'S SO EASY TO MAKE - not to mention quick to bake!

Ingredients:
assorted frozen veggies (we like corn and green beans)
potatoes
carrots
onions
veggie stock
premade pie crust (from the refrigerated section)

Oven: Set to the temperature according to the directions for the pie crust. Ours was 420 for 15-20 minutes.

Directions:
Chop up your veggies and saute them a little bit. You don't want them completely cooked because they'll be going in the oven for a bit. So just until the potatoes start to get soft. We added some Italian spices for taste and just a pinch of salt because the veggie stock will add more salty flavor later.


Add enough veggie stock to cover most of the veggies. Then add the frozen veggies to warm them up. Let them simmer for about 5-7 minutes. You may need to add a tablespoon or two of flour or cornstarch to thicken the veggie stock.

Lay out one pie crust on the bottom of your baking pan or pie pan. We like our pot pie stuffed full, so we used a deep, square brownie pan. Pour in the veggie mixture! Mmmm. Put the second pie crust on top and tuck the edges in as best you can to keep the gooey stuff from seeping out while baking. Cut some decorative slits in the top to keep everything from exploding in the oven. We also put tin foil around the edges to keep the edges of the crust from burning.

Put it in the oven according to the baking directions for your pie crust. Ours was 15 minutes at 420 degrees. We removed the tin foil from the edges about 5 minutes before pulling it out of the oven.

There you have it! A lovely comfort food for any season, but best appreciated on a wet and rainy day to warm the soul. Hmmm....

Eggplant Lasagna!!

Ingredients:

Eggplant

Mushrooms

Tomato sauce

Lasagna noodles

Parmesan cheese

Mozzarella cheese

Breadcrumbs

Oven: 350 for about 15 minutes

Directions:

Cup up the eggplant however you wish (we just did slices) and sauté in a pan to get them a little soft. We also put the mushrooms in for a little too. We just seasoned with some salt.

While doing this, R cooked up the lasagna noodles. It’s difficult to tell how many noodles you will need, but it also depends on your preference: whether you like lots of noodles or just enough. We only have 8 noodles left in our box, so we didn’t have a choice. Haha. The hard part is pooling the noodles out after they’re cooked without ripping them or burning your hand. We set them out for a bit to let the water dry off a bit. Not sure if that makes a significant difference or not, but we didn’t want slimy lasagna.

We put some tomato sauce on the bottom before adding anything so make it easier to slide the lasagna out. Now, we had a little bit of jarred tomato sauce, so we supplemented with some canned tomato sauce and added a little bit of Italian seasonings.

Layer your lasagna however you wish. If I can remember correctly, we layered this way: noodles, eggplant/mushrooms, sauce, mozzarella, parmesan, noodles, eggplant/mushrooms, sauce. As it turned out, we had some tiny pieces of noodles left over because they didn’t fit in the pan and we used them to help decorate. Top with breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese. We added extra mozzarella slices and topped with the last of our tomato sauce.

Bake in the oven until breadcrumbs are toasty, or about 15 minutes. Yum!! Don’t forget your lactaid and antacid tablets!!! HA!