Walking on the Wild Side with Pumpkin

Today's pumpkin foods are peanut butter pumpkin dip and pumpkin bread pudding. I did the dip as the kids' after school snack, serving it with the cinnamon sugar pita chips, pretzel sticks, and apple slices. It was pronounced a success by the kids and me, and it was incredibly easy to make. It would also be good with carrots and celery, graham crackers, that sort of thing. I was really impressed with the gusto with which my kids put away the dip and dippers! As for the pumpkin bread pudding.... A custard is a very old way of cooking a creamy sauce or dish based on eggs and milk, with recipes dating back to the 1300s. Many custards are sweet, but some are savory, with the most common savory use in the U.S. being quiche. Pumpkin pie is a sweet custard pie. The buckle I made on Wednesday night had a custard bottom. Bread pudding is usually custard with bread in it and served with a sauce often made from alcohol ("hard sauce") or maybe syrup. This pumpkin bread pudding is exactly that - a pumpkin custard laced liberally with a rich bread, in this case a brioche I had made that had some pumpkin in it. It is very good, and I can see it being a very nice holiday brunch dish.

Peanut Butter Pumpkin Dip and Cinnamon Sugar Pita Chips
Dip:
1/2 c. smooth peanut butter (not natural style)
3/4 c. canned pumpkin
1/8 c. honey
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until well blended - it will have a slightly whipped texture. A mixer will do well, too, but a food processor is better.
Pita Chips:
1 12-oz package pita bread (I used whole wheat pitas)
2 T sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Split pita bread in half so you have two rounds from each pita. Cut into triangles or rectangles with a pizza cutter or sharp knife.
3. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Lay pita pieces on a cookie sheet in one layer, rough side up, spray lightly with cooking spray, and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
4. Bake for 7-9 minutes until chips are browned and crisp. Watch carefully, as they will go from perfect to burned very quickly.
5. Remove from the oven, cool, and repeat with remaining pita pieces.
Store dip in the refrigerator and the pita chips in an airtight container.
Recipe from Recipezaar.

Pumpkin Bread Pudding
1 1/4 c. 2% milk (I used Silk regular soy milk)
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp ginger, 1/8 tsp allspice, 1/8 tsp nutmeg)
3 large eggs, lightly beaten (I used 3/4 c. Eggbeaters)
15 oz canned pumpkin
4 1/2 c. egg rich bread, such as brioche or challah, cut into 1/2" cubes - the egg rich bread gives a fuller flavor than white bread
nonstick cooking spray (I used margarine to grease the baking dish)
1/2 c. maple syrup
1/4 c. pecans, chopped and toasted
1. Combine the first 5 ingredients in a lage bowl, combining well with a whisk.
2. Add bread, tossing gently to coat.
3. Spoon mixture into an 8x8 baking dish coated with cooking spray. Cover with foil. Chill at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
5. Place the 8x8 baking dish in a 13x9 baking dish. Add hot water to the 13x9 baking dish to a depth of 1".
6. Bake, with the 8x8 dish covered with the foil, at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. **I baked covered for 25 minutes, then baked uncovered for 35 minutes, checking it every 10 minutes. After 10 minutes uncovered, it was still obviously wet, and a knife stuck in the center came out covered in the custard. Another 10 minutes, and it wasn't as bad but not done. Five more minutes, and the knife had only small amounts of custard clinging to it. The bread cubes around the edges were looking a little dry; in the future, I would bake covered for 35 minutes and uncovered 25 minutes.
7. Serve each serving of bread pudding warm with about 1 T maple syrup and 1 1/2 tsp pecans spooned over the top.
Recipe from Recipezaar.

Bean Beginnings

I've never had hummus before. Always intended to try it but never did. Story of my life some days. Friday I changed that. I made hummus!!! Since I've never eaten hummus, I'm not sure how it compares to really authentic hummus, but we liked what we made. The only problem was that it was slightly dry, so some more oil will be added on the next batch. Note that I said "next batch" - we will be making this again!

Hummus
1/3 c. toasted sesame seeds or 1/4 c. tahini
1/8 tsp crushed red chiles (I used red pepper flakes)
15 oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed or 2 c. cooked dry packaged garbanzo beans (chick peas)
1/8 c. lime or lemon juice
1/2 tsp minced garlic (I chunked a whole, large clove)
1/2 tsp salt (I used kosher salt)
2 T olive oil

If using sesame seeds: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, spread sesame seeds in a baking pan or sheet and toast for 8-12 minutes until golden brown, stirring frequently.
In a food processor, puree sesame seeds or tahini and chiles, add beans, and puree again. Add lime or lemon juice, garlic, and salt, puree until smooth. Finally add oil and process until well blended.
Spoon into a serving bowl, cover, and let stand at room temperature for one hour to blend flavors.
Recipe from the US Dry Bean Council.

Another bean appetizer that is simply as gorgeous as it is delicious is to add rinsed and drained black beans and corn to fresh pico de gallo. Heat tortilla chips in the oven, 10 minutes at 250 degrees, and wow!

Pico de Gallo
1 1/2 c. seeded, diced tomatoes
1/4 c. diced red onion
1 T diced jalapenos
1 T minced garlic
juice of 2 limes
2 T chopped fresh cilantro
salt and pepper to taste
Mix everything together in a bowl. Let it rest for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to marry.
Recipe from Emeril Lagasse on Food Network.
*I've made this so many times that I now estimate all ingredient measurements, usually chopping a couple nice sized tomatoes (and not removing the seeds and gel, which the gel packs much of the intense tomato flavor), half a medium onion white or red, a jalapeno, a few cloves of garlic, and 1/3 bunch of cilantro. For every 2 cups of pico de gallo, add 1 cup corn (thawed from the freezer or plain leftovers from the fridge) and 1 cup rinsed and drained black beans. Just imagine the colors - purple-black beans, red tomatoes, yellow corn, white onion, green cilantro and jalapenos. Wow! And the flavor bursts in your mouth just as much! As for nutrition.... It really doesn't get much better!