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The Leaves

Fall is such a gorgeous time of year – especially in New York.  There is something magical about wandering through Central Park, admiring the bright colors in front of  the bright blue backdrop of sky.  With the crunch of leaves under our feet as we circled around the Reservoir, artist Borbay and I enjoyed a truly wonderful autumn day.

But the walk was just the beginning….

The Seeds

Pumpkins are everywhere in the fall, and what a wonderful tradition we’ve made out of them: carve them up for art, scoop out the middle for roasted pumpkin seeds, and use the fleshy inside for baking!  It is no-waste, creative and delicious.

The first step is getting all the stringy insides scooped out and the slimy seeds detached from the fibers (this is heaven for someone who likes getting their hands dirty).  Then, rinse the seeds to clear away any remaining pumpkin meat – don’t worry if its not perfect.  Lay the seeds out evenly on a baking sheet and generously coat them in olive oil, salt and pepper.  Bake at 400 Degrees, stirring every ten minutes, until they are golden brown.  Depending on the nature of the seeds and your oven, cooking time will vary (but in general will take anywhere from 20 -40 minutes).  Keep an eye on these guys!  They have a tendency to go from “almost there” to “black” very quickly.  Not only are pumpkin seeds easy to make and taste delicious, but they are good for you.  Loaded with fiber and iron, they are the perfect snack or salad addition.

The Pumpkins

The seeds are in the oven, and there is a perfectly cleaned pumpkin (or two) on the counter.  So, Jason and I got right down to it.  Sharpie design first, then carefully cut-out shapes, candle in the center and voila! -we had jack-o-lanterns.  Every year it is so fun to see what we come up with, and no matter what sort of creative disaster may happen (ie: cutting the wrong line and losing the entire face of the pumpkin…) it is always a good time.

If I were Betty Crocker or Martha Stewart, I would probably have used some of the pumpkin insides to bake up something delicious.  I savored the idea but reduced the effort and made some pumpkin mini-muffins using store-bought canned pumpkin.  I’ve heard horror stories about baking up the fresh pumpkin meat only to find it has no flavor and strange consistency.  Watery, stringy, bland pumpkin pie – yuck.  And that in order to have delicious home-made pumpkin, to not use the jack-o-lantern variety – which changes our scene all together.  Besides, canned pumpkin (pure, with no sugar or spices) gives the cook creative freedom to spice-it-up and always comes out with perfect consistency – sometimes it is just better to not mess with a good thing.

The following recipe was inspired by the Smitten Kitchen Pumpkin Muffins, but as usual, takes a slightly Erin twist.  The image below is the following recipe baked in my mini-bundt-pan, and the shot was taken before the little guys were frosted.

1 1/2 c Flour        

1 tsp Baking Powder

1 can Pure Pumpkin (15 oz)

1/3 c Smart Balance Vegetable Oil

2 Eggs

2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

1 cup Sugar

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Salt

1 1/2 cup Powdered Sugar

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Vanilla

1-2 Tbsp water

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Mix the pumpkin, eggs, pie-spice, oil, baking soda, salt & sugar until smooth. Combine the flour & baking powder, and whisk into the pumpkin mixture until combined.

Pour/scoop batter into muffin tins (mini or regular-sized), loaf or bundt cake pan – whatever form you decide to make this bread in, fill it only 2/3 full.  Bake until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean in the center, about 30 min (but will be more or less depending on the form you bake them in).

Remove from baking tin and cool on a wire rack.

Once cooled, mix together powdered sugar, cinnamon, vanilla & water until desired consistency (not too watery, but not to thick).  Drizzle the frosting over the muffins or loaf, making sure to reach the sides and the top of the baked good.    Enjoy!

….And if you are feeling really saucy…

Enjoy these muffins alongside a Pumpkin Ale with cinnamon-sugar on the rim.  Yum.