Pumpkin Oatmeal Bread with Tropical Flavors

 Fall is here again and although we don't have this season in the tropics where I grew up, I do like pumpkin bread. I decided to come up with a recipe that would have a lively flavor of the tropics....all the flavors I grew up tasting. I also added some oatmeal to the recipe, and used Kefir to cut back on the amount of oil/fat in the recipe. Kefir is a fermented milk with almost no sugar and low fat content. 

Unlike most pumpkin bread recipes, I used Butternut squash (easier to handle) and did not use a pumpkin puree. I find that can make the bread "mushy" at times. If you opt to use pumpkin, I prefer to use the tropical variety or "Calabaza". The bread will also come out more "orange". The recipe does have a lot of ingredients but we have a lot of flavors in the tropics to use! It's very moist and will keep for a few days in an airtight container, or wrapped and frozen for longer storage. 

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

½ cup Old Fashioned, rolled oats

1 teaspoons cinnamon

½ teaspoon allspice

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger root

1 teaspoon grated orange or lemon zest

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup brown sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup Kefir (plain, unsweetened. You CAN also use ordinary yogurt (not Greek style) or even half and half depending on your need for "healthy")

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups coarsely shredded fresh pumpkin (not canned or pureed). Use the coarse shredder on your box grater or the coarse shredder disc on your food processor, not the fine grater.

Juice of 1 lime (you can also use lemon so that you can use the zest)

1/3 cup dried cranberries

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Coarsely shred the pumpkin or butternut squash. Add the lime juice, dried cranberries, and grated ginger, lemon or orange zest, and set aside.
3. Mix the flour, oats, allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk the sugar, vegetable oil, kefir, eggs, and vanilla, until pale in color. Fold in the shredded pumpkin, mix well, then gently fold in the dry ingredients all at once. Mix all until just combined. Do not take a lot of time with this step. Once the ingredients are all incorporated pour into a non- stick 9 by 5 by 3-inch loaf pan. If your pan is not non- stick coat it with butter and flour, and also line the bottom with a piece of parchment paper.
5. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. At this point a knife inserted into the middle of the loaf should come out clean. Cool for 15 minutes and turn out onto a cooling rack. Cool completely before slicing (as anxious as you will be to try it, do not try to slice before it is completely cooled). 

Toasted Overnight Oats with no added sugar

 

This is a very filling breakfast to make. It does need some preparation the night before but the result is well worth the effort. The oats have no added sugar. That's not the same as saying it's sugar free. Just that I have not added additional sugar other that what is found in the stewed fruit and cranberries. The Cardamom and ginger make up for the fact that this is not very sweet. Toasting the oats enhances its flavor. I use Kefir as the milk base and the juices from the stewed fruit make up the additional liquid required by the oats to soften them. You can add 1-2 teaspoons of seeds to the oats (hemp, chia, flax, sesame etc). If I'm using apples as the stewed fruit, I use 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon allspice as the spices. For Peaches, Plums and Nectarines, I use Cardamom and ginger, or cloves and ginger.

1/2 cup Old Fashioned or thick cut oats (not instant)

a fruit of your choosing (apple, peach, plum etc)

1/2 cup water

4 cardamom pods

1-2 thin slices ginger

2 tablespoons dried cranberries (raisins or other dried fruit e.g mangoes, blueberries, apricots, prunes etc may also be used)

1/2 cup of Kefir

Couple of pecan halves

 

1.       Spread the oats on a small cookie sheet and toast in an oven for about 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Toast the pecan halves for the last 8 minutes by sprinkling them over the oats. Remove and set aside.

2.       In a small saucepan, add the cranberries and thickly sliced or cubed fruit (I do not peel them), cardamom pods, ginger, and water. I also add a pinch of salt just to balance the flavor. Bring to a boil then simmer until fruit stewed to your liking. Remove from heat, and set aside (I put it in the fridge to get cold). Just before putting on top of the oats, I remove the ginger and cardamom pods (they are left in during the cooling process so that their flavors can be further extracted by the stewed juice).

3.       When the oats have cooled, mix in the Kefir and yogurt in a container of your choosing. Add the cold stewed fruit, using a spoon to make little “wells” in the oat mixture so that the liquid from the stewed fruit can soak into the oat mixture. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

4.       Just before you are ready to eat it the next morning, toast a couple of pecan halves (if you did not toast them with the oats as described above, I use a convection oven, 8 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit) and sprinkle the pecans over the top.

Spicy Lamb and Barley Lentil soup with Middle Eastern Spices

 

This is a very spicy thick lentil soup, made with lamb, mushrooms, barley, and kale. It is done in a slow cooker but I like to finish it up on the stove top in case I have to add more broth in order to get the consistency I like. It is rich, thick and hearty, and goes well with a nice piece of crusty bread. Some of the measurements are approximate and depend solely on taste. 

2 lbs lamb neck bones

1 tablespoon Baharat or 7 spice seasoning (Middle Eastern store or homemade)

1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

2 cups brown mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

3-4 cloves garlic

½ tsp salt

1-2 fresh mint leaves

1-2 sprigs fresh thyme

1 lb lentils, picked over and rinsed

½ cup pearl barley

1 10oz tin diced tomatoes with green chilis

Approximately 2 cups chopped kale

2 large carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

Approximately 4-6 cups chicken or vegetable broth 

A few leaves of Greek Basil (optional) really enhances the flavor

A small bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped

Juice of 1 Lemon

Directions

1.       Season the lamb with 1 tablespoon Baharat and 1-2 tablespoons Olive Oil. You can use this link to the recipe for my homemade version https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6944362553970076180/7054369139043424968

This is quite spicy so you may prefer to buy a less spicy version. Marinate the lamb in the refrigerator overnight

2.       Place the chopped onion, thyme and mushrooms in a baking dish and add about 2-3 tablespoons olive oil. Mix well. Place the seasoned lamb on top of this and bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until the lamb is browned on the outside.The lamb will add its own juices to the onions etc as it bakes.

3.       Beat the garlic cloves, mint and salt in a mortar and pestle. While the lamb is baking, add the lentils, barley, tinned tomatoes, thyme, and beaten garlic mixture to the slow cooker. Add the baked lamb, onions and mushrooms (and all the juice) to this and cover with enough broth to fill an 8-quart slow cooker about ¾ full. Cook on high for about 6-8 hours or until the lamb meat is falling off the bones.

4.       Remove the lamb bones from the broth and pick the meat off the bones, returning the meat to the broth. Transfer all to a large stockpot on top of the stove. Add the chopped kale and carrots and bring to a boil. Simmer until carrots are cooked, adding more broth to bring to the consistency you like. I bring mine to a thick consistency, somewhere between a soup and a stew. If it needs more seasoning to your taste, instead of adding salt, use chicken bouillon cubes to adjust to taste.Add the chopped cilantro, lemon juice, and Greek Basil (if available) at the end of cooking and just before serving.