No bake pumpkin butter mousse

We were surprised with a crazy Noreaster snow storm that hit our state hard.  So when our friends lost their power for four days we had an impromptu family sleep over at my house, so we made the best of it and played with food, since her family is on the low oxalate diet too.  =)

This recipe was a total accident!  This is the kind of accident I would love to have more often!!  It turned out DIVINE.  This is reminiscent of a peanut butter pie and, if you have a good crust recipe (especially chocolate, although that is not low oxalate), it would make a great team.  We just filled custard bowls and topped with this easy whipped topping.  VERY rich and satisfying.  This would be a nice addition to Thanksgiving dinner.  Oh, and it's HEALTHY!

Ingredients
-1/4 C sunbutter
-1 C pumpkin puree
-1 banana
-1/2 C coconut nectar or honey
-1 Tbsp coconut flour (this is only necessary, if you don't have the gelatin mentioned below)
-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
-1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
-1 tsp vanilla extract

Note - If you would like a pumpkin pie consistency like the picture below, put two tablespoons of unflavored gelatin into a little sub milk, 1/4-1/2 a cup should be enough (we use camel milk) to soften for a few minutes before adding it to the above mixture.  You can literally flip this out of a mold onto a plate upside down to make a flan-like custard dessert!

Put all of the above ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth, then pour into custard cups and refrigerate.  I made a crust with ground flax seed, coconut flour, ghee, coconut oil and a bit of sweetener and it made an awesome pie!!

The coconut cream topping is SO easy and SO tasty.

Ingredients
-1 container of refrigerated (or put into the freezer for about 20 minutes) coconut cream
-1/4 C powdered coconut sugar or xylitol which keeps it white like the picture ("powder" it by grinding in a clean coffee grinder until it is a powder)
-1 tsp vanilla

Combine the above ingredients in a bowl and whip for a few minutes until light and fluffy.  I would recommend waiting until you are ready to serve the mouse, before making the whipped topping for best results.

Pumpkin pie latte...

...with FRESH pumpkin puree!  Beat that Starbucks! This is why it's nice to have some fresh pumpkin puree laying around...

This recipe is made with you caregivers in mind.  A good steamy cup of java to get you going so you can take care of those kiddos.  Why not spend a little extra time on you today, you deserve it?

I just put a few tablespoons of pumpkin puree into a small pot and heated it with a little pumpkin seed milk (use milk or substitute of your choice) to thin it slightly and then added:

• a good amount of pumpkin pie spice
• coconut sugar which tastes like brown sugar
• some xylitol to taste
• vanilla  

Blend with your cup of coffee (I used the magic bullet) and top with foamy "milk" of choice and a dash of pumpkin pie spice.

Not only is this tasty, preservative-free and sugar-free, but it offers a shot of real vitamin A, great for flu season!  Oh, and one bonus is that it doesn't cost $4.


Now, if you are a camel milk drinker (or even, if you are not), I MUST show you how fabulously it froths for a latte!!

Here you have the camel milk poured before frothing.  As you can see, it doesn't require much.

Check out that foam!!

And there you have it!!  HUGE frothy latte milk in seconds.

How to make fresh pumpkin puree

There is no better fall flavor than pumpkin, mmmmmmm!!

Having a little pumpkin around can add the warm fuzzies to many dishes including soups, cookies, cakes, waffles, pancakes, and even drinks like pumpkin pie latte and smoothies!

If you are like me, you know the risks of using canned foods and avoid it like the plague, which leaves you with no other pumpkin puree options.  Here you will learn how to make it so it comes out just like the canned stuff, thick and rich tasting.

The trick to the right consistency and flavor is roasting it!!  Be sure to buy pie pumpkins, also known as sugar pumpkins.  They are grown for eating, unlike carving pumpkins which are grown for size, not flavor.  I like to prepare a few at a time and freeze my puree in one-cup servings for easy defrosting.  In the recipe below, I bought four small pumpkins and it yielded 5 cups of puree.

If like me, you rarely find time to work out, cut up a few pumpkins!!  It's seriously labor-intensive, but well worth the effort!  Try not to chop a finger off in the process....

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, then wash the pumpkins, cut them down the middle, scoop out seeds and cut into chunks, leaving the skin on

Place the chunks into a baking dish, skin down

Bake for about an hour

Scoop out the meat and puree until smooth

This process can take a little time and some repositioning, because roasting the pumpkin dries it out, be patient and work the puree in the processor until it's smooth

When finished, you can use it immediately, store it in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer in freezer safe containers (glass is safest) leaving room for expansion.

Recipe - low oxalate pumpkin blueberry muffins

I have been experimenting with flour mixes to make a tasty blend that works for muffins, since this is always something I can sneak veggie puree into!  Going low oxalate turned my world upside down and took my kitchen by storm, literally!!  I am in experiment mode which is always messy, my poor husband!

So I took a bunch of different recipe ideas and created this one tasty muffin with my own flour mix...I'm sure it's not the first time this mix has been formulated, so when I say that I created it, I mean that I am just using our needs to tailor the flour mix so that it works for us.  I am not a fan of using too much white rice so this flour mix was created with that in mind, although no low oxalate, GFCF flour mix is complete without some rice flour, lol.  I also think that garbanzo bean flour (moderate oxalate) is a bit strong.  So I blended it's competitor, the lower oxalate black eyed pea, into a flour using my baby, uh, I mean...my blendtec!  Talk about an appliance that does it all!

Ok, back to the muffins, here is a picture and you will find the recipe below it.  It is light and fluffy and doesn't have that I'm-not-made-with-wheat taste! 

In a large bowl, whisk together:

1 cup eyed pea flour (I used my blendtec to make this flour from dried beans)
1 cup tapioca starch

1/3 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup white rice flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon guar gum

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Put the following into a blender and whip for a few seconds until nice and fluffy:

1 cup sweetener of choice (I chose 1/2 cup coconut nectar and 1/2 xylitol)
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/3 cup grapeseed oil
2 eggs 

1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
 
Mix the ingredients together and if it requires more liquid, add up to 1/2 cup of coconut milk.

 

Fold in 1/2 cup of your choice of blueberries, banana chunks, apple chunks or dried cherries.

 

Fill 12 lined cupcake tins almost full and bake for about 20-25 minutes until golden brown or until a toothpick comes out of the center of the muffin clean.