Oof. We had a whirlwind of tying up a few loose ends for our cookbook (out this coming spring, so crazy!) and I sort of abandoned this space. While this is a place I want to share good food illustrated by Hugh's gorgeous photos, it is also a place I come to write. In an inevitably vain way, I suppose a blogger mostly has his or her own life story to draw from, and my reality as of late has been about rearranging our work, marriage, schedule, chores, social life, alone time etcetera with Curran in the picture. Most definitely for the better (not to be confused with easier), the day to day looks different now and my story is currently about figuring out who I am now in all of these things. It sounds dramatic and woeful, but honestly, as any big change goes, it just takes a little time to create a new normal. Both my thoughts and iphone pictures used to be all food all the time and now I have a mini person who hijacked all that. Our little baby bug is tall and thin as babies go, so says the pediatrician. He has a big gummy smile, is a little stingy with giggles despite his mom and dad being completely hilarious, rolls and always wants to be grabbing something to put in his mouth. At night, he lays his head between my chin and chest and rhythmically coos as I sing songs from church and/or Beyonce and rock him to sleep... I'm not sure there is any sweeter feeling in the universe. It is all so wonderful and yet so very hard. Many parts of being a new mom are really tough. I didn't anticipate the high highs met with low lows but I can see balance on the horizon. I worry by nature, so 'choosing optimism' is my mantra for this fall. Everything will be OK. It is always OK.

Don't roll your eyes. Another pumpkin loaf! Just what you needed right? I have a good handful of things bookmarked in Amy Chaplin's gorgeous new book, At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen but I was in need of a fresh start, to ring in a new season, and a hearty, fall loaf seemed just the thing. This loaf is dense, barely sweet, is just the thing fresh out of the toaster with a swipe of good butter or coconut butter. It doesn't taste like dessert - it tastes like a breakfast loaf and that is the side of the loaf-preferences-fence I sit on. Hugh sits on the other side of said fence but nothing a little cinnamon sugar can't fix. Amy's cookbook is so comprehensive, beautifully designed and jammed full of recipes for the vegetarian, gluten free, dairy free and generally health nutty folks. There are a grip of fabulous cookbooks coming out this fall and next spring and I'm so anxious to try things and share them here.

PUMPKIN BREAD WITH TOASTED WALNUT CINNAMON SWIRL // One 9-inch loaf

Recipe adapted from At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen by Amy Chaplin

The recipe is great as is, and as mentioned above, it is not super sweet as most breakfast loaves can be. I added a bit more spice and a little turbinado sugar on top for crunch. Amy suggests roasting a squash yourself and using the puree for the bread but canned pumpkin will work as well.

// cinnamon swirl //
1 cup toasted walnuts
2 Tbsp. maple syrup
2 Tbsp. muscavado, brown or maple sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
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2 cups whole spelt flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/4 cups pumpkin or squash puree
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. almond or soy milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup turbinado sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 350' and lightly oil a loaf pan, lining it with parchment for a cleaner removal.

Steam your squash for 10-12 minutes if making a puree by hand.

To make the swirl, mix the walnuts, maple, sugar and cinnamon together and set aside.

Into a large mixing bowl, sift the spelt flour, baking powder and salt. Add the nutmeg and cinnamon. Whisk together the squash puree, olive oil, almond milk, vanilla, egg and maple syrup. Fold the flour mixture into the squash mixture until just combined. Spread half the batter over the bottom of the loaf pan. Layer cinnamon walnut mixture evenly over batter and top with the remaining batter. To create a swirl, run a knife in a zig zag through the batter. Sprinkle the turbinado sugar on top. Bake for 45-50 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow it to sit for 10 minutes before removing the loaf.

The slice is served best warmed with a generous spread of coconut butter or real butter.

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Snack, Breakfast, Bread, Winter, Fall

YEASTED PUMPKIN BREAD

Sara Forte · October 31, 2013

"Our first objective has been to peel off the fluff and commercial layers that complicate entertaining. Next we have tried to put the social reasons for inviting friends into our homes - the relationships, traditions, community and conversations- in the foreground and let the superficial details like fancy recipes and table decorations recede into the background...this book represents an effort to take the same communal neighborhood approach by welcoming you into the homes of our Kinfolk team, along with a diverse group of friends, family, contributing writers, artists and other makers." - Nathan Williams, Kinfolk

I think this book is special because it is not your modern day cookbook. The pages do not go between recipe and food photo with an expected rhythm. There are people and stories and a number of super simple or clearly personal recipes, but I like it because it is different. Hugh and I are flattered to be included. We contributed a pancake, as well as a scrambled leek & egg recipe to the book. While they are not mind-blowing by way of ingredients or preparation, they are foods that go through our kitchen routinely, not recipes written for the sake of writing recipes. The breakfast we make together often, and that is where the book hits the mark on its thesis. You'd have to read the entire introduction to put all the pieces together, but it was refreshing to see such a collection of personal, everyday food in a cookbook. Think 50/50 coffee table book to cookbook for a realistic expectation. Kinfolk catches a lot of flack for the curated niche they snuggle into, but the book is different and inspired and gorgeous. I'm not just saying that because there is a full page picture of my babe of a husband.

I made this recipe even though it wasn't paired with a photo, so that's big. Love me a visual. The only swap I made was a bit of spelt flour for some of the bread flour. The recipe in the book is printed with a maple pecan glaze option. I am going to include it here for more a monkey bread/sweet roll-esque deal, which totally has it's time and place. The bread has a decent amount of sugar in it, so I will scale that back to maybe 1/2 or 2/3 a cup if I do the glaze. I will make it for the next loaf, wouldn't mind the extra moisture here. We wanted a sweet bread, but the sort to lightly toast in the morning, so we forfeited the glaze this loaf.

YEASTED PUMPKIN BREAD

Recipe from The Kinfolk Table: Recipes for Small Gatherings

I used a natural cane sugar as called for, but next time I will swap in some dark muscavado to lend a little of that caramely goodness that pairs well with pumpkin. The one cup of sugar that gets layered in the bread makes it on the sweeter side, scale back if you prefer it less so. Note this is not a slicing bread, it breaks in chunks for a free form breakfast treat.

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/2 cup milk
2 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
1 1/4 cups natural cane sugar, divided
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp. sea salt
1 1/3 cup unbleached bread flour or all purpose
1 cup spelt flour
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. fresh grated nutmeg

In a small saucepan over medium heat, cook 2 Tbsp. of the butter, without stirring, until brown bits form, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in the milk and get the mixture to 110' (too hot and it'll kill the yeast). Transfer the mixture to a large bowl, stir in the yeast and 1/4 cup sugar. Let it stand for 10 minutes.

Stir in the pumpkin puree, salt and 1 cup of the bread/all purpose flour. When combined, add the rest of the flour in several additions, kneading between additions. Knead the dough until it is elastic and slightly sticky, 6-8 minutes.

Brush a large bowl with olive oil, place the dough ball inside and turn it over several times until it is well greased. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise in a warm, draft free place until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

Meanwhile, combine the remaining 1 cup sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and remaining 2 Tbsp. butter and stir well. After the dough has doubled in size, knead it for two minutes. Roll it out into a 12x9 inch rectangle. Sprinkle the sugar mixture on top, gently pressing it into the dough. Slice the dough lengthwise into six strips, and stack them on top of the other. Cut the strips into 6 squares and stack them into a 9x5 inch loaf pan. Cover with a clean dishtowel and allow it to rise for 30 minutes to an hour, until it doubles in size again.

Preheat the oven to 350'. Line a loaf pan with parchment for an easy exit. Bake the loaf on the middle rack for 30 minutes until edges are golden. Set the pan on a rack to cool.

Optional glaze:

3/4 cup confectioners sugar
2 1/2 Tbsp. real maple syrup
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1-2 Tbsp. milk
3/4 cup roasted and salted pecans, chopped

In a medium bowl, whisk together the confectioners sugar, syrup, butter and 1 Tbsp. of the milk. Whisk in more milk for a thinner consistency if desired. Drizzle the glaze over the bread and sprinke with pecans. Serve warm.

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Entrée, Gluten Free, Fall, Winter

PUMPKIN BLACK BEAN PATTIES

Sara Forte · November 28, 2012

I have fallen into the black hole that is Instagram. While this space is pretty intentional, I like being able to share snapshots of everyday food and life. The people on there, they are hungry. Hungry for recipes. And while I just want that to be for fun, not for recipe sharing, a few eager voices requesting the recipe from the day I was experimenting with black beans and pumpkin in vegetarian burger form, seemed desperate. I didn't need too hard of a push to make them again. So here we are with a gluten free, dairy free, fiber packed, super easy meal idea.

A veggie burger salad is my go-to lunch, so it seemed appropriate to share a version here. I love food in bowls - my entire meal made easy to eat in one vessel with one utensil. Primarily greens, something crunchy, avocado if there is a ripe one or a bit of cheese if not (both if I can't help myself), with hints of a dried or fresh fruit, a protein and maybe a bit of a grain if both aren't going to be present in veggie burger form. There is a science to this bowl-food habit. While against all things theme-y to post a recipe with pumpkin AFTER Thanksgiving, as we usher in December, I figured now is as good a time as any to give you a fiber packed meal idea. Treats will follow either way, no? Yes.

If you want to peek over to our Facebook page, we are giving away a holiday box from Crustic Bread! Madelaine is a super sweet, hard working, small business owner and she is offering one of her holiday gift boxes (which you can order until Dec. 10th!) to a lucky reader on our Facebook page!

PUMPKIN BLACK BEAN PATTIES // Makes 4

I use canned pumpkin here because it has less water content then when you make it fresh, and I needed that for these to stay together. If you prefer to use fresh, you may need to add another tablespoon of oat flour or breadcrumbs to compensate. The salad is not a "recipe". I just chop the greens pretty small and add oil and vinegar to lighty dress. Nothing fussy, but I listed the components below in case you were interested.

2 cloves garlic
3 scallions, white and green parts, chopped
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. chili powder
3/4 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. cumin
1 cup cooked and cooled brown rice
15 oz. can (about 2 cups) black beans
2 Tbsp. flaxmeal
scant 1/3 cup panko or coarse oat flour (can be made by blending whole oats)
coconut oil for cooking

// salad //

lacinato kale, stemmed and well chopped
romaine
bit of grated parmesan
extra virgin olive oil (I used the lemon one from Nudo;- very subtle)
rice vinegar
pinch of salt + pepper

In a food processor, combine the garlic, scallions, pumpkin, olive oil, chili powder, salt and cumin. Run to combine. Add the rice and half of the beans and pulse ONLY a few times to just mix (we want minimal mixing here so it doesn't become a paste). Add the flaxmeal, oat flour and pulse them in. Add the rest of the beans and give it one or two more pulses (I add the beans in parts because I like the flecks of them in the patties). The mixture should be pretty tacky with texture to it. Not smooth. The mixture can be made in advance and kept covered in the fridge until ready to use.

Form the dough into four patties, about 1/2'' thick. Heat a thin layer of coconut oil over medium high heat in a large (non stick preferable) pan, working in batches if you need to. Once the oil is hot, gently add the patties to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes until you get a golden crust, flip and cook another 2 minutes.

Prepare your salad or bun, top with you patty and garnish with cilantro and avocado if you wish.

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