Pumpkin Butter

At the Mount Pleasant Farmers' Market Jes picked up some Apple Butter, which is delectable- a little sweet, a little spicy, a little tart... At Trader Joe's I ran into pumpkin butter, which I've heard much about but never sampled. Since I had pumpkin at home already, I whipped some up with stellar results. Most recipes I found online called for traditional ground ginger, but I prefer the fresh flavor the grated root imparts. My new favorite breakfast is oatmeal with fresh chopped apple, a swirl of this tastiness on top, an extra dash of cinnamon and a few chopped almonds.

If you're using canned pumpkin, and want to use the whole can, go ahead and double the recipe.

Pumpkin Butter

1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup mashed, steamed pumpkin
1/4 cup water, apple juice, or apple cider
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt

Combine the maple syrup and the fresh ginger in a small saucepan over medium low heat. Simmer gently about 10 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients, and stir to combine, bringing the heat up to boil the butter. Once it boils, reduce the heat and simmer another 10 minutes, or until it reaches your favorite consistency.

Makes four 1/4 cup servings.

Nutrition Estimate per 1/4 cup serving: Calories 69. Total fat .1g. Total Carbohydrates 17.7g. Dietary Fiber 1g. Sugars 12.8g. Protein .5g.

Note to Grammy: See, I'm getting my cinnamon in :) Now if only I could find a way to integrate flax seed into this...

Rustic Pumpkin Hummus

Since my adventures with the jarrahdale from the Mt. Pleasant Farmers' Market has left me with a few extra cups of fleshy orange tastiness, I decided to engage the mounting autumn with some savory pumpkin hummus. Most people throw their garbanzos into a food processor to get a smooth, creamy hummus, but I like some lumps in my mashed potatoes and some texture to my bean dips. Instead of blending everything into a consistent paste, I used a potato masher to pulverize my beans and let the pumpkin puree play the 'creamy' role. Leaving a few semi-whole beans brings out the chickpeas' nuttiness, thus the "rustic" component of this recipe. If you like smooth hummus, by all means puree away.

To prep the pumpkin for this recipe, I peeled it, skinned it, and steamed for about 8 minutes (until it was fork tender), then dropped the chunks into a food processor until smooth. I haven't tried any of my pumpkin recipes with canned pumpkin puree, but I imagine they'd be equally tasty.

I use dried garbanzo beans, cooked on the stove rather than canned. If you're using canned, go ahead and double the recipe to use your whole can of chickpeas.

Rustic Pumpkin Hummus Recipe

1 cup garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon tahini
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
dash of ginger powder
salt to taste

Using a potato masher, or in the bowl of a food processor, mash the garbanzo beans to desired consistency. Add the pumpkin puree, tahini, and extra virgin olive oil, and mix well. Add seasoning and let stand a few hours to let the flavors blend. I topped mine with a bit of chopped parsley that I had on hand.

Makes about 6 servings (1/4 cup each).

Nutrition estimate per serving: Calories 76.6. Total fat 3g. Saturated fat .4g. Total carbohydrates 10.6g. Dietary fiber 2.2g. Protein 2.6g.