Pumpkin Curry

So I did it. For the last post of pumpkin week I used a fresh pumpkin that I cooked. That was the goal of this whole week anyway... to use seasonal produce. Last time I checked, cans were not quite seasonal. The recipe that pushed me outside the can was a Thai pumpkin curry with asparagus. It is so good!  Besides the extra work of cutting the thing up, it was pretty easy also. The inspiration for this recipe came from two places. My sister makes a great thai coconut curry with whatever veggies and protein she has around and a few years ago was kind enough to teach me the base recipe. The second inspiration, and the idea to use pumpkin, came from a dinner I ate at Mango Thai a year ago. That night I got the seasonal special which was a red curry served inside a large pumpkin. It was tasty and the presentation was over-the-top awesome. 

Since I was going to serve my curry to 6 people, the pumpkin presentation idea was ditched. No thanks to scooping out all those pumpkin guts :) This recipe consists of cubed pumpkin, asparagus, chicken thighs, coconut milk, shallots, garlic, and various seasonings. Served over rice it is a great main dish that went over really well. Here is what the dish looked like, mind you here in Minnesota it is dark by 5 making dinner food pictures terrible, and the recipe follows below. Enjoy, friends!

Pumpkin Asparagus Curry 

Ingredients:

2 cans of coconut milk

2lbs of boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into pieces

1 pumpkin cut into bite-sized cubes

1 bunch of asparagus, trimmed to used the top half only

3 shallots, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 Tbs cooking oil, I used coconut

3 Tbs red curry paste

2 Tbs fish sauce

1 lime, juiced

3 tsp firmly packed brown sugar

4 Tbs basil, chopped and saved for garnish

steamed rice for serving

Directions:

1. Bring a larger pot of water to a boil.

2. Peel the skin off a smaller, sweeter cooking pumpkin using a vegetable peeler. Then chop off the stemmed top and cut in half. Scoop out the insides and discard or save the seeds if you are into baking yourself a little snack later. Cut the halves into bite-sized pieces.

3. Add the pumpkin to the pot of boiling water for 7 minutes. For the last 2 minutes add the asparagus. Drain the veggies from the water and set aside.

4. In a wok or large pan heat the oil and cook the chicken until brown on both sides. This took me 6 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

5. In the wok or pan you used for the chicken cook the shallots and garlic for 2 minutes until they begin to turn translucent. Add the curry paste stirring for 20 seconds to bring out the fragrance. Add the coconut milk and bring to a boil. 

6. Add the remaining ingredients, including the veggies and chicken, to the pot and simmer on low until the pumpkin is tender and the chicken is cooked throughout. This took me about 15 more minutes. Right before serving add the chopped basil and stir for a minute or so.

7. Serve hot over rice.

Serves 6

Pumpkin Pancakes

So remember that cup of pumpkin puree you have leftover from making pumpkin bread earlier this week? Well if I was you, this is how I would use it up. These were a wonderful start to a chilly morning. Plus I got to add another recipe to my pumpkin heavy collection.

Pumpkin Pancakes
serves (5)

1 cup pumpkin puree
1 3/4 cups milk
2 eggs
2 Tbs. oil (I used coconut)
2 Tbs. apple cider vinegar
2 cups flour
3 Tbs. brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. grated ginger
1/2 tsp. salt

How to:

1.Mix together the wet ingredients (first 5 ingredients) in large box. In separate bowl combine the dry ingredients and sift together. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ones until just mixed.
2. Heat a frying pan or griddle over medium high heat. Using a 1/4 cup measure, scoop the batter into the pan. Brown on both sides and you're done.

We ate ours with pumpkin butter (from Williams-Sonoma), and real maple syrup...YUM

The result... sorry for the picture quality

Pumpkin Week

As I was making a weekly menu plan a few days ago, I was attempting to incorporate more seasonally available ingredients into our meals. Sure I love my morning smoothie with frozen fruits, spinach, and greek yogurt, but I would love to start cooking with the fresh squash, asparagus, and pumpkins that I see in the produce section this time of year. Not only are certain produce items typically available for shorter buying periods but during that time they tend to taste better and are cheaper than their off-season. In order to challenge myself to buy more seasonal items, and to use them before they go bad, I thought I would pick one produce item a week to creates some meals around.

What food first you ask? If you know me, you probably know that I love pumpkins. Eating pumpkins, carving pumpkins, decorating with pumpkins, really you can't go wrong with any of these options in my opinion. Last fall, when my husband and I got married, we received many pumpkin themed gifts. Our relatives found out that one of Luke's pet names for me was pumpkin and now we are blessed with an abundance of sweet pumpkin decor. For one of my bridal showers a dear woman at church gifted me with a cookbook. On one page she covered the author's recipe with her own and I am so thankful she did because hers is now my very favorite quick bread recipe. This pumpkin bread is tasty and has been a hit with whatever group I have taken it to.

I was going to type this recipe out but how cute is the laminated card that she taped into my recipe book? She also changed the index to include her recipe. It makes me smile. Do yourself a favor and make this soon. This recipe makes 2 loaves or you could make half a recipe and save half the can of pumpkin for the next recipe in pumpkin week like I did...aren't you hooked now :) Ohh and I know I was supposed to be using new fresh produce but it was so much quicker to buy an organic can of pumpkin rather than roasting a fresh pumpkin, Maybe next year I will cook my own pumpkins rather than paint them.