All posts by traderscreek

Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup

Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup

Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup is a savory filling soup. The spices cumin and thyme are important to this recipe do not leave out

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
5 green onions – thinly sliced
1 bell pepper – chopped
3 cloves garlic – chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon thyme
2 cups black beans – rinsed and drained
2 cups pumpkin puree
2 cups of skinned & diced tomatoes
2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add white and light green parts of the green onions, bell pepper. Cook the mixture stirring occasionally until the pepper is soft – add the garlic at this point, do not allow the garlic to burn.

Add the cumin and thyme stirring for 1 minute to make sure the spices are fully incorporated into the soup. Add beans, pumpkin puree, tomatoes, vegetable broth and water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for 10 – 20 minutes.

Add the salt and taste to make sure you like the flavor. Add in the cayenne pepper and give a quick stir.

Top each serving with dark green onion tops. Have heavy cream on the side as a touch of style.

Look at other pumpkin recipes https://traderscreek.com/recipes/recipe-index/

Pumpkin Mac and Cheese Recipe

Pumpkin Mac and Cheese

Pumpkin Mac and Cheese is a basic mac-n-cheese jazzed up with a few different cheeses. Make a bunch and freeze any excess. It keeps well.

Ingredients

2 cups macaroni – Pick the kind you like
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1 cup Fontina cheese – shredded
1 cup of cheddar cheese
2 cups pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1/2 cupsoft bread crumbs
1/2 grated Parmesan cheese grated
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cook pasta in a large pot until al-dente then drain out the water. Leave the pasta in the pot used to cook them in – do not place over heat.

Make the cheese sauce – in a saucepan melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour slowly, add the salt and pepper. Add heavy cream and milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until slightly thick. Stir in the Fontina cheese, pumpkin puree and sage until the cheese is melted and all ‌ingredients are mixed thoroughly. Pour the cheese sauce over the pasta and stir. Pour the macaroni and cheese to an ungreased 2-quart rectangular baking dish.

In a small bowl combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, walnuts, and oil. Pour over pasta. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or top is golden.

Look at other pumpkin recipes https://traderscreek.com/recipes/recipe-index/

Pumpkin Bread Recipe

Pumpkin Bread

Pumpkin Bread just like all fruit breads is a great breakfast treat. Adding just 1 cup of pumpkin puree brings just enough flavor to the bread.

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus a chunk for the pan
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup of water
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 eggs

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch loaf pan.

Whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves in a small bowl.

Beat the butter, sugar, and oil with a mixer on high speed, scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl a few times, mix until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.

Add the pumpkin puree and mix until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until just incorporated. Mixing on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture and 2/3 cup water and mix until just combined. Spread the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and let cool completely.

Look at other pumpkin recipes https://traderscreek.com/recipes/recipe-index/

Pumpkin Gnocchi With Sage Butter Recipe

Pumpkin Gnocchi With Sage Butter

Pumpkin Gnocchi With Sage Butter is a savory pasta and does take time to make. The sage works perfectly with the pumpkin gnocchi

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups potatoes, peeled
1 cup pumpkin purée
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour (reserve an extra 1/2 cup if your gnocchi dough is to liquid)
6 ounces unsalted butter
3 tablespoons sage leaves – minced

Instructions

Boil the potatoes until tender then mash and allow them to cool. Once the potatoes have cooled, mix in the remaining ingredients except flour, butter and sage. After the ingredients are mixed, add the flour slowly until all has been added. Make sure that all the flour has been mixed in thoroughly.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Divide the dough into 6 pieces. On a floured surface – roll each piece until they are roughly 1/2″ wide. Cut into 1/2″ long pieces. Press the tines of a fork into each piece of cut dough making shallow grooves – you’ve made pumpkin gnocchi!! Set your gnocchi on a floured baking sheet. Boil the gnocchi in small batches. They should rise to the surface after a couple of minutes. Once they rise, boil for 2 to 3 minutes more. Make sure your gnocchi is cooked through. If still sticky, adjust your cooking time.

Place a large skillet on your stove over medium-high heat. Once hot, add butter. Place your gnocchi in the skillet and let them cook until their edges turn a light brown. Stir in the sage and cook for another minute. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the butter over the gnocchi and stir to coat.

You can use any fresh herb you like rather than the sage. Just remember there is a pumpkin taste so you will want to use an herb that compliments the flavor

Look at other pumpkin recipes https://traderscreek.com/recipes/recipe-index/

Pumpkin Puree Recipe

Pumpkin Puree

Homemade pumpkin purée is easy to make. There are many varieties of pumpkins that are offered. Many are grown for decoration (Halloween jack-o’-lanterns, etc.) others for food (pie pumpkins). I find that a good pie pumpkin will produce a better purée – leave decorative pumpkins as decorations. This last year I grew Burpee “early sweet sugar pie” pumpkin. It made an excellent Pumpkin Puree which we used for pies, breads and soups.

With that being said and done, many recipes for pumpkins start with a purée so here is a recipe for pureeing a pumpkin.

Ingredients

1 whole pie pumpkin

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Using a sharp knife, cut the pumpkin into several large pieces. I like to remove the seeds and “guts” but you don’t have to – baking makes it easy to cut the seeds out when cooled down (if you take the seeds now you have the choice to either keep them for next season’s planting stock or for roasting). Place the pieces on a baking sheet cut-side down. Bake for 30 minutes to an hour. You’ll know the pumpkin is ready when its flesh pierces – just like a baked potato.

Allow the pumpkin pieces to cool, at this time if you did not remove the seeds cut them out now (set them aside for roasting). Scrape the remaining flesh away from the rind. Purée the flesh in a blender, a food processor, a food mill or as I like a hand masher, add water if necessary to help it blend.

A 2 1/2-pound pumpkin yields about 2 cups of purée, or enough for one standard 9-inch pie.

You can freeze excess pumpkin purée for future use.

Look at other pumpkin recipes https://traderscreek.com/recipes/recipe-index/

Pesto and Grilled Yellow Squash

Pesto and Grilled Yellow Squash

Ingredients:

1/2 cup fresh basil – chopped
1 garlic clove – minced
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
2 teaspoons of lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium yellow squash sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 tablespoon parmesan cheese
canola oil

Equipment:

Grill
Mixing bowl

Directions:

Pesto – In the mixing bowl mix the basil, pine nuts, olive oil, parmesan cheese, garlic and lemon juice. After mixing add salt to taste.

Cooking – Lightly coat the yellow squash in canola oil and salt and pepper each side. Place on grill and cook under slightly crisp (grill marks) on both sides. When done take off and put a spoon full of pesto on each slice.

This is a great side dish for both pasta and meat.

Look at other squash recipes https://traderscreek.com/recipes/recipe-index/