Pumpkin recipes: Pumpkin spice treats, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin soup recipes for fall

I am a pumpkin fanatic. Every fall and through the winter, pumpkin appears in dozens of foods from my house. Pumpkins are brimming with Vitamin A and beta-carotene. Pumpkin is perfect for vegan and vegetarians delicious and nutritious. Here are some of my very best pumpkin recipes.

For these recipes, you will not use a jack-o-lantern pumpkin (the variety you carve). Select the smaller pumpkin known colloquially in supermarkets as the 'pie pumpkin'. These have richer flesh, thicker rinds and better flavor. You can cook down and can or freeze pumpkin. The other option which is just as delicious and nutritious is canned packed pumpkin. I admit to cheating and using canned pumpkin. If you choose the canned pumpkin option, but sure to buy plain pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling is sweetened and has spices added. I don't even buy pumpkin pie filling for my pies.

Pumpkin Soup: Perfect power packed nutrition for chilly fall days. In a large, deep skillet melt two sticks of butter or margarine (olive oil if you are a vegan). saute one medium chopped onion, one small stalk of cleaned, pared and sliced celery, five chopped sage leaves (or 1 teaspoon of ground sage) and one half teaspoon cracked pepper. Pour contents of saute pan in soup pot. Add one 29 oz. can of pumpkin and a carton of Progresso chicken broth (vegans and vegetarians, replace chicken broth with vegetable broth). Fill the pumpkin can with milk (vegans, use water) and add that to the pot. Simmer until blended and heated through. Just before serving, add chopped cucumbers and butter croutons. Send a jar to an elderly neighbor, a family with a new baby or a sick friend.

Pumpkin Upside-Down Custard: In a large bowl, blend 1 29oz. can of pumpkin, one teaspoon of cinnamon, one half teaspoon of nutmeg and ginger, one quarter teaspoon of cloves, one teaspoon of salt, four large eggs, one cup of packed brown sugar, one tablespoon of flour Refill pumpkin can with milk and add to ingredients. Blend until smooth and fold in one cup of peeled, chopped apples (optional). Placed in 9x13 glass baking dish coated with non-stick pan spray. Bake at 400 degrees about 40 minutes until set. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

For topping: blend 1 cup finely chopped pecans with 1 stick melted butter and one quarter cup brown sugar. Mixture will be crumbly. Sprinkle over surface and bake for five to ten minutes to set. Vegans can replace eggs and milk with two packages of silken soft tofu also.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Custard: Using the same ingredients as above, cut milk down to 10 oz and add two 8 oz packages of softened cream cheese. You will need to use blender or electric mixer to blend. Using two cartons of whipped cream cheese will be easier to blend also.

Pumpkin is one of my favorite comfort foods.

Baked Bean Soup with Holiday Leftovers

 Is your leftover holiday ham glaring at you, saying "eat me!" Are the sweet potatoes threatening to go sour? Are you sick of eating them but out of recipe ideas? Well before those leftovers go bad, stage a refrigerator coup and take the other food hostage, here's a healthy, lowfat, high protein and fiber recipe to use them up. Great for dieters. Vegetarian options, too. 

Baked Bean Soup

 

Place in large kettle, ham bone and any leftover ham meat or fat you want to use up. You can even use spiral honey baked ham. It will give the bean soup that sweet-smoky baked bean flavor. You could use bacon or sausage, too. Had a vegetarian holiday? No matter. It's just as good meatless. Skip to step two. 

 

Rinse, sort and add one package dried beans. Navy, pinto, kidney, garbanzo, turtle or any combination (about two cups total) My favorite is Hambeens 15-bean soup mix. Simmer in lots of water.

 

Season with bay leaves, celery seed, black or red pepper (or pepper blend).

 

Dice up leftover or fresh sweet potatoes, carrots, yams or pumpkin.

 

When beans are about half cooked, add mirepoix: chopped onions, celery, green peppers (any combination).

 

If desired, add pineapple toward the end for that Hawaiian baked beans taste.

 

 I made mine with sweet potato and green pepper. It was a lovely yellow color and it's chock full of vitamin A.

 

This soup is great for dieters. Just let it chill and remove surface fat--about 150 calories a one-cup 

Vegan, vegetarian and Pescetarian Recipes for Thanksgiving Dinner

I originally wrote this article for Labor Day but these vegan, vegetarian and pescatarian recipes work great for any holiday or celebration with vegetarian diners. Here are meatless grill recipes using your broiler. Use these vegetarian fish recipes for

Lent. The Catholic Church observes a Lenten fast in the dead winter to follow Jesus to the cross and

Easter. For 40 days, Catholic families eat simpler. For some, a Lenten fast means avoiding meat, dairy

and sweets. And it also means a LOT of hungry people if you have a big family. 

So proactive Catholic moms develop an arsenal of meatless, vegetarian Lenten Kitchen recipes. Vegetarian and pescatarian is how most of the world eats, so these meatless grill recipes for Lent a Catholic in solidarity with the poor.

Lenten Kitchen Veggie Bean-y Burgers. Meatless grill recipes must include veggie burgers but they

don't have to be store bought. Save money and make your own recipes for Lent. Donate saved

money to those who always go hungry. This practices the Lenten virtue of almsgiving. Mash any

kind of canned beans (adzuki, garbanzo, white, kidney, lentils) and add a little flaxseed, chia seed and

avocado (for binder, fatty acids and fiber). Chop any of your favorite veggies--peppers, onions, celery,

carrots, squash or yams.

Lenten Kitchen Fish Haters Fish Recipes for Lent. The best fish for meatless grill recipes are marlin,

tuna or swordfish steaks. Season with lemon juice, dill, rosemary, garlic, light olive oil butter and

cracked pepper. These fish recipes will fool picky eaters into thinking they're eating chicken, beef or

pork. If you're eating kosher, you can have blue marlin and tuna but not the swordfish.

Lenten Kitchen Pescetarian Platter. If you like fish, try meatless grill recipes with trout, whitefish or

salmon. These medium-bodied lake fish grill beautifully on a lower flame. Wrap in foil and spray with

cooking spray or olive oil. These delicate saltwater fishes can be served baked or or broiled. Baste

with fresh lime, rosemary, dill and butter sauce. Pan fry delicate lake fish like perch, whitefish, smelt,

blue gill, sunfish and bass. For lovers of breaded fish, use cod, pollock or catfish (avoid tilapia and

swai as they're very fishy tasting). Try Cajun fried fish--wash fish fillets and leave wet. Make breading of corn meal, cracker crumbs, lemon juice powder, red pepper, crushed bay leaves, oregano, file, garlic, dill and onion powder. . Fry in high heat avocado or olive oil on medium. 

Lenten Kitchen Seafood Kebabs. All grill recipes are better on a stick! Baste fish chunks, crab, shrimp

or scallops or with olive oil or melted butter. Season with Parmesan cheese, minced garlic, pepper

and paprika. Add mushrooms, green or orange pepper chunks and grape tomatoes to kebabs. Spray

with cooking oil. Good luck getting at any of these recipes for Lent. You'll have to fight the hungry

mob off with a skewer!

Lenten Kitchen Quesadillas. Make seafood kebabs as you did above, but season with cumin and

cilantro. Wrap in toasted corn tortillas and add cheddar and Monterray Jack cheese, chopped onions

and tomatoes and baby spinach. Serve with fresh fruit and non-alcoholic Mojitos (limeade, mint

leaves, sliced limes and crushed ice). Perfect for a winter fiesta. These vegetarian fish recipes will feel

more like feasting than a Lenten fast!

Lenten Kitchen Very Vegetarian Fish Recipes. To grill, wrap fish aluminum foil coated with olive oil.

Add asparagus spears. Or, for a greener wrap, place fish in large grape leaf or romaine lettuce leaf.

You can place the skewers and heavier bodied fish directly on the grill, but watch them carefully.

Keep cooked and raw foods separate on your grill. Don't dribble juices from raw meats or fish onto

cooked foods to avoid contamination. Don't cook on a high flame; fish cooks quickly. Fish is done

when the flesh turns from translucent to opaque and separates or flakes away from bone.