Pumpkin Pie Granola

I recently had a very sweet new friend haul a big can (2 actually!) of pumpkin over in her luggage to give to me.  After 2 recipes I was dying to make, I still had just a little bit of the pumpkin left, and I wanted to use it nobly! 
The recipe that Lizzy had posted awhile back for Banana Bread Granola (which I have had lots of compliments on when given to people) came to mind, and I thought, mashed bananas and pumpkin puree are probably around the same consistency.  What if I just subbed pumpkin for the banana and tweaked the spices?!  (You can tell by my enthusiasm over this minor notion that I am not the creative genius in the mix here!)

Anyway, I basically did just that.  I considered also using maple syrup instead of the honey because I actually had some (people are good to me in their gifts!), and doesn't that sound yummy?  But, given that I was aiming to see whether it was worth reproducing HERE (where maple syrup isn't available), I decided to stick with the honey.

My tweaks are VERY minor, but to save you a smidge of effort, I've copied and pasted the recipe from Lizzy with the few adjustments I made.

3 cups oats (GF if you need it)
3/4 cup walnuts
1/2 cup almonds
3 T mineral sugar (I don't even know what to generally call this stuff, but we can find it here at times, and it is basically an unrefined, darker sugar, giving it some decent nutrients.  If you don't know or have this stuff, I would suggest using brown sugar, as I think a darker sugar goes well with pumpkin.)
1/2 teaspoon salt (I used the Himalayan pink salt and put in a generous 1/2 t.)
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 t cloves
1/4 t allspice
1/8 t nutmeg
1/4 cup coconut oil 
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (I was just a bit short on this, but with increasing the honey a bit and being generous with the oil, the consistency still was great, and the pumpkin flavor was still good, though I look forward to making it again with the full dose!)

In a large mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and stir until they are uniformly combined. In a small sauce pan over low heat, combine the coconut oil, honey, and vanilla just until the coconut oil and honey have melted to a liquid. Turn off the heat and add the pumpkin puree. Slowly pour the liquid over the dry ingredients, stirring with a wooden spoon until all the dry ingredients look moistened with the banana mixture. If it looks too dry, mix a little more or add a little more oil. Spread the granola over two baking sheets and place in an oven preheated to 170C/350F. Bake for 20 to 28 minutes, stirring once or twice halfway through baking to get even browning. In the last 10 minutes, watch carefully to ensure it doesn't burn. When it's done, allow to cool and then place in an airtight container. 

Master List for Meal Planning

Rachel here.  I am not as good as Lizzy at writing recipes!  But, I find that sometimes it can be helpful just to know some recipes that work here or that are easily adapted to life where the ingredients sets are a bit different than what you might be used to having in your home country.
So, I wrote up a post on my blog, sharing my "master list" for fall that helps form my base for meal planning.  Hope it might be useful to some, so feel free to pop over and read the original post to see the list with lots of links for recipes (many of them back here on this blog!).

Also, I have a pinterest board where I collect recipes that I know would work where we live here in Nepal (and probably much of Asia) and usually make some quick comments on my pins as to what I would need to change, if anything.

French Dip Subs

Only one meat dish in the past 12 posts! Can you see that I prefer the vegetarian diet? I think it's time for one though. I will apologize in advance for my hastily snapped photo. This is because I have made these twice and gobbled my food so quickly I forgot to take a picture. This time, mid-scarfing, I snapped a photo of my husband's plate. These are so good I have literally come home so excited to make dinner both times! The recipe is from a 2004 Country Woman magazine...is that really a real magazine?!

French Dip Subs
2 Tablespoons oil
1 large onion, sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon rosemary
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
500g tenderloin steaks or chuck roast, sliced thinly
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 chicken bouillon cube (or 1 1/2 cups stock)
Hoagie rolls, toasted

Begin by slicing the beef thinly. Partially frozen meat tends to slice thinly the easiest because it doesn't move around. Heat the oil in the bottom of an open pressure cooker over medium heat. Add the onions, sauteing until golden brown. Toss in the garlic and cook about 30 seconds until fragrant. Next, add the dried herbs, salt, and pepper, crushing them slightly in your hand. Add the sliced beef and brown in the bottom of the hot pressure cooker. Once browned, pour in the liquid and chicken bouillon. Stir, then clamp on the lid of the pressure cooker. Cook over high heat until it reaches pressure (first "whistle), turn the heat down to medium, and cook for about 30 minutes or 20 minutes more if you have a thick or tough cut of meet. Turn off the heat and allow the pressure to release naturally. Serve on toasted hoagie rolls with toppings of choice. Scoop the liquid from the pressure cooker into little dipping bowls to dip the subs as you eat.

Veggie Pancakes

I've been searching for more ways to incorporate vegetables in our diet. Sometimes I feel like I go through days where I hardly eat any vegetables other than tomatoes and legumes, which feels pretty ridiculous and bad for me. I had the thought, "I wonder if you could make a savory pancake out of vegetables?" Turns out that you can, and they taste pretty good. Since there is only a little flour in these, you could easily make them gluten free by substituting something like chickpea flour or another gluten free blend in place of the white flour. This recipe is a mishmash of a lot of ideas I find on the internet and can be customized with whatever vegetables you want. I used finely chopped cauliflower and leafy greens, but broccoli, cabbage, peppers, and even green beans would probably also work if you really chop them finely.

Sometimes white plates are good. Sometimes they're just not. Sorry!

Vegetable Pancakes
1/2 cup flour (white, wheat, chickpea, whatever)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 cup carrots, grated
1 cup mixed vegetables, finely

Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix the wet ingredients, including vegetables, in another bowl. Add the wet to the dry. Using a non-stick or well greased skillet, fry as you would normal pancakes, but using only a heaping tablespoons or so of batter at a time. Use the back of a spoon to flatten the batter some so the vegetables cook through. Cook over medium-low heat, flipping once the first side is browned and browning the other side.

You can eat these plain, with gravy, or with cheese sauce. We opted for a cheesy bechamel, and it was a fun savory twist on sweet pancakes.

Lunchbox Love: Pancakes or Waffles

This one is not so much a recipe as an idea. My kids love pancakes. We recently bought a waffle iron, and they love waffles equally as much. While I'm still experimenting to find the perfect waffle recipe, any waffle or pancake recipe will do for a kid's lunch. You can send 2 pancakes with syrup, peanut butter, hazelnut spread, applesauce, or anything you come up with. My daughter loves cinnamon-spiced waffles with applesauce for lunch.

Pancakes/Waffles
1 1/4 cups flour (I mix 50/50 white and wheat)
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons oil
1 cup milk + extra for thinning pancake batter
1 egg (2 for waffles)

Mix all the dry ingredients well. Add all the liquid ingredients. If making pancakes, add up to 1/2 cup extra milk to thin the batter. Then, stir just to combine (10-15 times around bowl) and leave it to rest 10 minutes. Cook pancakes on griddle or waffles in waffle iron.

For the lunchbox, freeze individual pancakes or waffles on a cookie sheet for 1-2 hours. Then package in a ziptop bag all together. Place in the lunchbox in the morning, and they will thaw by lunchtime.

Lunchbox Love: Corn Dog Bites

While making lunches in developed countries can still be a challenge or at least annoying, those challenges are much more complex in the undeveloped world because, unless you always want to fill a lunchbox with junk or spend a ton of money, you really have to work at it. My daughter recently started going to a school rather than homeschooling, and I knew she wasn't always going to like the options the cafeteria offered. These corn dog bites are a huge hit with her! They were inspired by the easier, packaged mix version at Renee's Kitchen Adventures.

Corn Dog Bites
1/2 package hot dogs/sausage, cut into smaller pieces
1 egg
1/3 to 1/2 cup milk
2/3 cup flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
3 Tablespoons honey
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tablespoons oil

Preheat oven to 200C/400F, and line a muffin tin with papers. In a mixing bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients, using only 1/3 cup of milk. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and stir just to combine. If the mixture looks too dry, add a little more milk. Fill each muffin tin just shy of 1/2 full. Top each muffin with several pieces of hot dog. Pop into the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes. Cool. Freeze on a cookie sheet for 2 hours, place in a ziptop bag in the freezer, and take out in the morning while you're packing lunch. It will thaw by lunchtime.

Note: If you omit the sausage, this is a recipe for 1 Jiffy corn muffin box mix. Substitute sugar for the honey and leave out the wet ingredients for long-term storage of the mix.

Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls

Let's face it--whole wheat anything here tends to be crumbly or tough or just not quite the same as at home. I think it's the absence of vital wheat gluten in baking supplies or something different in the milling. Well, these rolls are anything but. They are fluffy, soft, and delicious! I wanted a roll that reminded me of those soft buttery ones my school cafeteria made when I was a child, but I wanted a whole wheat alternative. I found this recipe on An Oregon Cottage, and it is a real winner. I only altered the mixing method and the option to use milk, as my take 2 using kefir was much fluffier than the first ones I made. Yes, this one takes a little time, but patience, Grasshopper. Your efforts will be rewarded!

The back ones have caramelized onion filling.

Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls
2 Tablespoons yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup (or 128g) butter, softened
1/4 cup honey
3 eggs
1 cup buttermilk, sour milk, or kefir
4 1/2 to 5 cups wholewheat flour (atta)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water with the honey. Set aside. Cream the butter in a bowl. Add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition to prevent separation. Next pour in the buttermilk and yeast. Add 1 cup of the flour to create a sponge and stir until relatively smooth. Add in the remaining flour and salt, kneading just until the dough begins to spring back when poked and is no longer tacky. Do not add too much flour, or you'll get a tough dough. Place in an oiled bowl, cover, and allow to rise in warm place for 1 hour or until doubled. Once doubled, knead on a lightly floured surface to release air and allow to rest several minutes. Shape into 24 equally sized balls (see tutorial) and place in a greased 9x13 baking dish. The pieces should be touching. Cover and allow to rise again for 1 hour.

Bake in a 170C/350F preheated oven for 15-30 minutes. Brush the tops with melted butter before serving and enjoy warm!

Note: These freeze really well. Just wrap in plastic then foil once cooled. To reheat, thaw, remove plastic, wrap in foil and bake 10 minutes. Also, yeast can be a bit problematic here as far as blooming/not blooming. I have found that buying smaller packets more often (check for expiration) alleviates this problem to some degree.