Pumpkin Walnut Bread

'Tis the season... for baking...

A lot of standard soups and stews and casseroles and breads and rolls come about this time of the year, with not many new recipes to share. I resort to comfort foods and sail through the winters without much fanfare. Except around the holidays in December, when quite a bit of baked goodies come about just to make the kids happy.

This Pumpkin Bread, much like the Zucchini bread and Apple Walnut bread and Rhubarb Banana bread and Sweet Potato bread and others that I've shared here already, is a simple no-fuss bread.

For the most part, it is a fairly standard recipe, only, I am not into adding a lot of sugar and butter. However, without the right amount of fats and sugars, baking can fail miserably... unless, I manage to substitute with the right kind of ingredients that work and that I can feel comfortable incorporating in copious amounts that is required to make it work.

Ingredients
1 can (15 ounces) pureed pumpkin (not the pumpkin pie mix)
1 cup brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup combination of flax meal and wheat bran
½ cup coarsely chopped walnuts
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For Icing:
1 cup confectioner's sugar
a few teaspoons of water as needed (or maple syrup, if preferred)

Some raw green hulled pumpkin seeds for topping

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350° F; grease the bottoms of two standard loaf pans
2. Beat together the wet ingredients: pumpkin puree, sugar, oil, vanilla, and eggs
3. Mix the dry ingredients: flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, walnuts
4. Fold in the dry ingredients mix to the wet ingredients to form a thick batter
5. Pour into the greased loaf pans and bake in the 350°F oven for about an hour, checking for doneness when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
6. Cool on a wire rack and add on the icing and sprinkle some pumpkin seeds on top
7. Icing (optional): Stir a few drops of water to the icing sugar and stir till desired consistency, spread over the bread

Pumpkin Seed Chard Pesto with Carmen Pepper and Alma Paprika

Growing up with a variety of chutneys made with fresh seasonal ingredients, where most chutneys had coconut and herbal notes, I took a great interest in Pesto when I first encountered it at a friend's place ages ago.

Since then, I've tried quite a few pesto and chutney variations that have turned out anything from out-of-this-world to eww-get-it-away-from-me.

There are but a few staple indigenous ingredients in each region that lend themselves to umpteen combinations -- some good, some not-so -- subject to individual taste preference. So, mixing it up a bit seems natural and unavoidable for variety.

Anyway, getting back to this recipe, which came about because I had an unexpected set of ingredients handy,  begging to be used, the Pumpkin Seed  Beet and Chard Greens Pesto got a boost from home garden Alma Paprika and Carmen Pepper.

The Alma paprika are plump tomato-esque ones rather than the traditional corno di toro type elongated chili variety. The tiny plant was weighed down with two of these and I was waiting patiently for them to ripen to a brilliant red. Seeing as how the plant was falling down, I decided to harvest one of them while still yellow and sporting a healthy blush.

The Carmen pepper was getting big and strong and long, so I was sure I can wait till it turns sweet and juicy red. But, before I got around to taking a picture of it on the plant, the pepper fell off the plant. 

A bunch of chard and beet greens, Alma paprika, green Carmen pepper were ready to be made into something interesting. I thought of the protein-packed Indian staple of Dal, or maybe, South Indian Masiyal, perhaps even Chard-and-Peppers gratin or Creamy soup.

And then I noticed this unassuming jar of pumpkin seeds. It is lightly toasted and salted but unhulled retaining the highly valuable insoluble fiber. 

The mood called for a simple pesto using Chard and Beet greens, Pumpkin seeds, fresh garlic, Alma paprika, and Carmen pepper. 

I didn't quite measure the condiments, just eyeballed some apple cider vinegar and lemon juice, and olive oil, plus grated Parmesan for this pesto. The pumpkin seeds brought in the coarse texture I like in pesto.

Stirred in with rotini pasta and tossed with sauteed onions and bell peppers, this was quite the simple yet satisfying meal.

Bitter Gourd Scallion Cutlets with Cilantro Kale Pumpkin Seed Pesto

Cold, wet winter days are here. Soups, dampers, casseroles, cutlets, fritters, fresh off the oven or pan, seem to be the remedy to beat the chill.

Salting and sweating the bitter melon, then sautéing the finely chopped bitter melons until well done and slightly mushy, helped remove much of the bitterness for these savory cutlets. Optionally, mash in cooked potatoes, carrots, peas to mask the bitterness.

Cooking on a hot cast iron skillet crisped up the outsides a bit more than I was aiming for, but, it turned out just fine anyway.

I went with raw green pumpkin seeds this time, but, toasted pumpkin seeds work just as well for the pesto. A combination of Cilantro, Kale, Parsley makes a fantastic pesto.


Bitter Gourd Cutlets/Patties
½ large bitter melon, salted, drained, rinsed and chopped finely
¼ red onions finely diced
1 jalapeño or serrano chili diced finely
spring onions chopped
¼ cup chickpea flour
¼ cup rice flour
¼ cup buckwheat flour
¼ cup cream of wheat
¼ cup quick cooking oats
a few teaspoons of water as needed to make dough
salt to taste

Preparation

1. Finely chop the salted, drained, rinsed bitter melon, chili, and red onions
2. Heat oil in a pan and sauté the veggies till cooked through and a bit mushy, adding a bit of water as needed
3. Off heat, stir in the flours, cream of wheat, oats, salt to make a dough that can be shaped into patties, adding a bit of water if needed
4. Heat a few teaspoons of oil in a cast iron skillet to medium high heat
5. Cook the cutlets/patties till cooked through on the inside
6. Serve warm with Cilantro Kale Pumpkin Seed Pesto

Cilantro Kale Pumpkin Seed Pesto
½ cup chopped packed cilantro
½ cup finely chopped kale
¼ cup raw pumpkin seeds
2 Tbsp roasted sunflower seeds
1 jalapeño, chopped
salt to taste
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
1 Tbsp lemon juice (adjust to taste)

Combine the ingredients and grind to a fine paste. Adjust salt to taste.