Pumpkin Oat Pancakes (Gluten Free)

Autumn is good for only a few things: crisp apples, no air conditioning, pretty landscapes, and the return of the Pumpkin Spice Latte. Otherwise, it really just portends the winter apocalypse, but you know, let's be positive about my toes being perpetually cold between now and April.

To cheer myself of the cold morning blues, I was craving something that tasted like fall, but preferably with slightly less sugar. Pancakes came to mind as a great carrier of pumpkin spice, and a quick scan for similar recipes landed me on Cookie + Kate's banana oat pancakes. Now, Kate is a pro - her photos are amazing, the measurements exacting. and the recipes make you drool. I adapted her recipe, adopting the oat flour so the pancakes would be more whole grain, but substituting pumpkin for the banana.

Pumpkin Oat Pancakes
1 dry cup oats
12 oz pumpkin puree
1 inch grated ginger
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 eggs
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt, and nutmeg
1/2 cup warm water

1. Make oat flour out of old-fashioned oats: Pour one cup of oats into a food processor and process until it is ground well. (I also added a handful of almonds to the food processor to make the pancakes nuttier.)
2. Beat the eggs in a mixing bowl.
3. Add the pumpkin puree, butter, ginger, and sugar to the eggs and mix.
4. In a larger mixing bowl, mix the oat flour, baking soda, salt, and spices
5. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Stir a few times to incorporate.
6. The batter should be the consistency of melted ice cream. If it is too thick, add water or milk to thin it. Let the batter sit for 5-10 minutes for the oats to soak up the liquid.
7. Heat up a skillet or non stick pan. Spray with cooking spray if you're not using a nonstick.
8. Pour 1/4 cup of batter into the pan (to make a regular sized pancake). I made mini's so these were about 2 tablespoons of batter.
9. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until the pancake is cooked at the edges and the pancake comes off the pan easily. The pan side should be golden brown.
10. Flip and cook for another 2 minutes
11. Serve with maple syrup and apples.

Almond Honey Nut Clusters

After my experiments with Snack Packs and working with raw nuts, I definitely learned a lot - about what I liked, about what tasted good, and what was practical for the kitchen. I wanted to tweak and keep trying. This last batch was sooooo tasty, it disappeared in under a week. This version is also made entirely on the stove top - no hot ovens! I will admit though - I eyeballed the entire recipe, so so made additions/substitutions.

Almond Honey Nut Clusters
Makes 8-10 snack servings

1 1/2 lb almonds
3/4 cups pumpkin seeds
1 cup sesame seeds
1 cup dried cranberries

1 cup honey
1 tbsp butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garam masala

1. Heat a large frying pan on medium until warm. Add the almonds and toast, stirring every few minutes. It should take 15-20 minutes to roast and become crunchy.
2. In a small pot, heat the honey and butter on medium to medium low heat. Make sure the pot is big enough to hold all the nuts. Stir every few minutes to create a thick caramel. If it starts getting bubbly, its a good sign, but if it gets really bubbly, turn the heat down a notch. Caramel should form in around 20 minutes.
3. At the 15 minute mark (when your caramel is almost done and your almonds need an extra 5 minutes) toss in the pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds in with the almonds. Roast for the 5 minutes. Since these seeds are smaller and thinner, they take much less time to become crunchy.
4. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Scatter the cranberries across the pan. 
5. When the caramel and the nuts are done, pour the nuts into the pot with the honey caramel. If one needs more time, you can set the heat to low on the other to give yourself enough time to get things to equal out. 
6. Stir the nut mix and honey thoroughly, making sure to coat the almonds well. I had too much caramel and ended up dumping in more almonds, but do what you like!
7. Pour the nut and honey mixture out on to the baking sheet, over the cranberries. Flatten out and try to separate into clusters. (But don't burn yourself!)
8. Allow the nut mix to cool at room temperature and for the caramel to harden to a nice glossy shine. 
9. When cool to the touch, separate into smaller clusters and store in an airtight bag or container. So far they've been good up to two weeks later. Keep in a cool place. If they get hot they'll stick together all over again!

Pear Cardamom Muffins (Low Fat)

I love love love pears. From happy Bosc to crunchy Korean, pears are a delicate and delicious fruit. I love them poached, in salads, the JellyBelly version - you name it, its delicious. So after making three batches of the Apple Cinnamon Muffins, I needed a little change and pears just happened to be on sale!

This version stays pretty true to the Apple Cinnamon recipe, incorporating applesauce (or in this case pear-sauce) rather than using oil. The pear sauce is cooked with cardamom, which is a fragrant Indian spice that is often used in chai tea, kheer (rice pudding), and other sweets. The cardamom lends an exotic feel to a rather homey muffin. I also added a bit of low fat yogurt to this recipe to add a bit more moisture and fluff. The yogurt has this way of making the muffins more cakey.

Yes,  its the same picture for the apple cinnamon muffins. Sue me, they look exactly the same!

Pear Cardamom MuffinsMakes 1 dozen regular muffins or 9 larger muffins

1 1/2 cup flour3/4 cup sugar1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder1 teaspoon cinnamon1/4 cup chopped almonds or walnuts
pinch of salt 1/2 cup milk1 1/2 cup pears, diced
4 cardamom pods, seeds only and chopped1 egg, beaten
3 tablespoons low fat yogurt

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Sift all dry ingredients together in a bowl. (Flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, nuts).
3. Make pear sauce. Place 1/2 cup diced pears in a microwave safe mug, then add a teaspoon of water and the cardamom seeds. Cover with a small plate. Microwave on high for two minutes. Mash with a fork and microwave until the pears have broken down to an applesauce texture. A little over or under cooked is fine. 
4. Add all wet ingredients: diced pear, pear sauce, egg, milk, and yogurt. Mix by hand to incorporate, but don't go crazy, since over mixing yields denser baked goods. Mix only as much as necessary.
5. Line a muffin tin with paper liners or a few sprays of Pam or canola oil. Spoon about a 1.5 tablespoons into a each liner. (Or two tablespoons for the larger muffins, which the batter will fill almost the whole cup.)
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool before eating.

Chocolate Almond Muffins (Low Fat)

On my never ending quest to make breakfast a priority rather than an after thought, I proudly present you with Chocolate Almond Muffins. Reminiscent of Cocoa Puffs and the cocoa dusted Diamond brand almonds, the muffin is chocolately, but not overly so, and chock full of nutty goodness. I modified the recipe from Sparkpeople (link) and used ingredients I had on hand. Unfortunately that meant the muffins would be low fat rather than fat free, but its not like I'm counting calories anyway.

Chocolate Almond Muffins
Makes 12, takes 20-30 min


1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa
2/3 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup slivered almonds

3/4 cup (6oz. container) low fat yogurt
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl, sifting to avoid large lumps. Include the almonds here.
3. In a different bowl, mix all the wet ingredients.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry bowl and fold. Be careful not to overmix the batter as this will make the muffins too dense. Its okay if there is still some dry powder here and there.
5. Bake for 12 minutes. 
6. Cool and enjoy.
    

Masala Honey Trail Mix

Kelly's recipe for Sweet Roasted Pecans inspired this trail mix, which became one of my Suli Snack Packs with the Rosemary Olive Oil Almonds I posted a few days back. The Snack Packs are 200-250 calorie snacks to tide my buddies to dinner or substitute a quick breakfast for those days you can't help but rush. Hopefully they will encourage better eating habits!


The Masala Mix got rave reviews because it had a subtle kick. The masala is fragrant, but not overpowering, and the candied ginger and mango are spicy and sweet!

Masala Honey Trail Mix


For the nuts:
6 tbs butter
7 tbs honey
3 tbs vanilla extract
2 pounds almonds
1 pound walnut halves
1.5 tbs garam masala
Kosher salt, to taste


For the trail mix:
1 pound dried mangoes, cut into 1.5 inch cubes

0.75 pounds candied ginger, cut into 1.5 inch cubes

1 pound dried cranberries

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large pot, melt butter over low heat.
3. Mix the honey and vanilla into the melted butter. (Hint: Use a silicone spatula, as this will get a bit sticky.)
4. Add the nuts to the pot and toss to coat thoroughly.
5. Sprinkle the spices over the nuts, then toss again to coat.
6. Spread the nuts in a single layer on a foil-lined sheet pan and place in oven for 7 - 10 minutes. **Don't walk away from them; check them often. You'll be able to smell when they're done.**
7. Remove the tray to a cooling rack and use the spatula to move the pecans around so they don't stick to the foil.
8. If the nuts are a little oily, place nuts in a clean paper bag and toss to draw away oil. You can use a little confectioner's sugar too.
9. When the nuts are cool, mix in the fruit. Scoop 1/4 cup into smaller bags. Enjoy!

Rosemary Olive Oil Roasted Almonds

As part of my holiday gift giving, I noticed an alarming trend among my friends: They had terrible snacking habits. They considered lunch eating three 100-calorie packs of Oreos, or skipping breakfast altogether. They would inhale a half bowl of fiber cereal but later gorge a 1200 calorie dinner as a reward.

Me, being the perpetual meddler and know-it-all, will scold and admonish for poor dietary practices, but regardless of my well-intentioned advice, it ceased to impact the metabolisms or waistlines of my amigos. So the best way to a man's heart (and waistline) is through his stomach, so Suli Snack Packs were born! Basically, healthy snacks make 200-250 calorie packs to tide my buddies to dinner or a quick breakfast substitute for those days you can't help but rush. They aren't a permanent solution, but hopefully one that encourages better habits and tastes better than vending machine food. I'm making the packs in several flavors, which I'll post as I continue to experiment.

Rosemary Olive Oil Roasted Almonds
Makes 30 snack packs (1/4 cup nuts each)
adapted from gourmande in the kitchen who has absolutely stunning photography!

6 cups raw almonds
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup dried rosemary, finely chopped (Prep note: to avoid it bouncing everywhere, mix in a tablespoon of olive oil, then use a mortar & pestle or bowl and a scraper to pulverize. Spice grinder would be fab too.)
3 teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle.
2. In a large pot, heat the olive oil, rosemary, cayenne, paprika, and garlic powder. When fragrant, add the almonds an stir to coat.
3. Place nuts on a parchment lined baking sheet. Spread out nuts in a single layer on the baking sheet.
4. Bake until nuts are lightly browned and toasted, stirring occasionally, about 10 to 15 minutes.
5. Let cool on the baking sheet.
6. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 months.

Sweet Roasted Pecans

I've been on a big pecan kick lately: Several weeks ago, our family in Oklahoma sent my mom several pounds of freshly picked nuts from a relative's pecan orchard. (Yum!) So my awesome mom passed along quite a large portion to me and I've been experimenting with them. I first made this recipe a few weeks ago, but it turned out so good that I've made it several times since.

** Note: The main flavor in this recipe comes from garam masala, which is an Indian spice blend. I found it in my local Indian supermarket, but you can also order it online or substitute cinnamon to taste. I found this site which does a good job of explaining both what garam masala is and how to use it.

Sweet Roasted Pecans

Ingredients:

• 2 tbs. butter
• 1.5 tbs. honey
• 1/2 tbs. vanilla extract
  
• 2 cups (approx.) pecans
• 1/2 tsp. garam masala
• Kosher salt, to taste (I think I used just a few heavy pinches.)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
   
2. Melt butter in a large, microwave-safe bowl.
3. Using a spatula, mix the honey and vanilla into the melted butter. (Hint: Use a silicone spatula, as this will get a bit sticky.)
4. Add the pecans to the bowl and toss to coat thoroughly.
5. Sprinkle the spices over the nuts, then toss again to coat.
6. Spread the nuts in a single layer on a foil-lined sheet pan and place in oven for 7 - 10 minutes. **Don't walk away from them; check them often. You'll be able to smell when they're done.**
7. Remove the tray to a cooling rack and use the spatula to move the pecans around so they don't stick to the foil.
8. Let them cool for a few minutes. You can eat them cold, but they're super-amazing when they're still warm!