Spiced Squash Pancakes

I was filling time looking at recipes last night and a pumpkin pancake one caught my eye. It was an American recipe using pumpkin puree, which seems to be hitting our shops in tins at the moment.  Yet it’s really easy to make up fresh and with my bumper squash harvest this year, I’ve got plenty to play with. Mixed with the right spices it becomes a delicious sweetly spiced puree that is crying out to be used in sweet recipes.

So here is my take on the pumpkin puree and pumpkin pancake craze.

The Puree

Pumpkins and squashes I think are pretty much interchangeable.  I’ve been using crown prince squash in place of pumpkin, and butternut squash can be used as well. To make a sweet puree I cut the squash into big chunks  (like big watermelon slices) take out the seeds but keep the skin on. Then put the chunks into a roasting tin, add some small dollops of coconut oil and roast for around 20-30 mins until really tender. The use of coconut oil keeps the sweet theme, you could use olive oil, but I would avoid vegetable oil or any other more savoury flavoured oil.

Once cool, slice the flesh off the skin and put into a food processor.  Blend for around 20 seconds into a soft puree.

You can add the spices here as well – roughly 1 teaspoon of mixed spice to every 100g of skinned squash – just blend it in for 1-2 seconds then the puree is ready spiced to use. The puree will keep in the fridge for a few days.

spiced-squash-pancakesSpiced Squash Pancakes (serves 2 – makes 4 -5 pancakes)

  • 60g spelt flour (or wholemeal)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 40g oats
  • Pinch salt
  • 125ml milk
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup (more for drizzling over the cooked pancakes)
  • 8g melted butter (more to grease the frying pan)
  • 100g squash puree with 1 teaspoon mixed spice

Method

  • Mix the flour, baking powder, oats and salt into a bowl.
  • In a separate bowl whisk the milk, egg, maple syrup, butter, puree and spice, until well combined. Add this mix to the flour mix and whisk to combine.
  • In a small frying pan, add a small knob of butter and melt this to coat the pan. Once melted add a ladle of the pancake mixture. Cook for around 2-3 minutes per side.

Enjoy with some raisins or sultanas, yoghurt and more maple syrup.

 

Vanilla Latte Porridge

This mornings dog walk was freezing and I got home needing coffee and hot food. So why not combine the two?  Hence my new favourite porridge – vanilla latte style. I tried to keep as close as possible to the style of latte I would usually order – which is a skinny latte. Personally I prefer cows milk in coffee, but whatever milk you normally have should work just as well.

I did prefer the porridge with some sugar (which I don’t normally have in coffee) – I think it needs something to give it a sweet hint and I do believe that the best match is brown sugar – can’t beat a bit of demerara.

Vanilla Latte Porridge

vanilla-latte-porridge

  • 50g oats
  • 250 ml milk
  • 50ml espresso ( I used an espresso shot from my coffee maker which is a perfect 50ml,  but you could use 50ml of strong black instant coffee.)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
  • Brown sugar – depending on taste. I used 2 teaspoons in the porridge and then an extra sprinkle on top.
  • Some crushed almonds to top. (I used 4)

Put the oats and milk in a pan and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and add the vanilla essence and the espresso.  Simmer for 5 minutes or so until the porridge reaches your preferred consistency.  Add sugar and mix in whilst still on the heat.

Serve with some sugar sprinkled on top and some crushed almonds.

Pronto Pumpkin Pie Oats

I’ve harvested all my squashes from the allotment and now have the lovely task of finding different ways to eat them.  You can’t beat the taste of pumpkin pie, that gorgeous aroma of spices with the sweetness of maple syrup and I love the addition of pecans.

This is a quick way of getting that pumpkin pie taste for brekkie – takes about 15 minutes from start to finish.  The texture is softer than granola (I’m working on a granola version!) but with all the taste.  You can use pumpkins or squashes for this – I used Crown Prince Squash, butternut works well too.

Delicious on its own or with yoghurt.  If you can wait a few extra minutes before eating it, it starts to stick together and smell even better.  Still good the following day too.

Pronto Pumpkin Pie Oats (enough for two portions)

pronto-pumpkin-pie-oats

  • 100g fresh pumpkin or squash peeled and diced into small cubes
  • 3 teaspoons coconut oil
  • 60g oats
  • 1 teaspoon mixed spice
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 30g pecan  nuts roughly chopped

Heat 2 teaspoons coconut oil in a frying pan, add the cubed pumpkin and stir fry for 8-10 minutes, you want the cubes to get really soft but not falling apart.  Keep tossing it to ensure none of the pieces brown too much.  Tip out of the pan and keep to one side.

Add another teaspoon of coconut oil to the pan and add the oats stir fry for 4-5 minutes. Then add in the spices and the cooked pumpkin and toss well together over the heat for another minute.  Turn off the heat and add the maple syrup and mix everything together. Finally add the pecans.  Ready!

Wait a few minutes or eat warm – or keep for later if you can.

 

 

 

 

Oaty Coaty Strawberries

Strawberries always remind me of the heat of summer and for some reason I rarely fancy them once the weather turns. But this morning I found a punnet in the fridge and didn’t fancy them cold so made this very quick oaty brekkie to give a bit of warmth.

I’ve been frying up my oats a lot recently, it’s such a quick and easy way to have some hot oats when you don’t fancy porridge.

Oaty Coaty Strawberries (serves one)

oaty-coaty-strawberries

  • 1 teaspoon coconut oil
  • 1 teaspoon of honey
  • Handful of oats (around 30g)
  • Handful of strawberries – sliced in half
  • 1/2 teaspoon cardamom or cinnamon

Heat the coconut oil in a small pan, add the oats and fry for 2-3 minutes.  Add the honey, spice of choice and strawberries and fry for another couple of minutes. Toss to coat the strawberries with the oats.

Lovely served on top of yoghurt.

Cinnamon Milk

Sometimes you just want something really simple. I woke up this morning just wanting something warm and simple and light. I discovered the delights of cinnamon milk during a recent holiday to Cornwall.  After a bracing cliff walk to a favourite cove, the beach café was offering this milk.  It tasted like heaven and I drank it whilst sitting on the beach watching the tide come in.  So back at home this morning, I wanted to capture the magic of Cornwall – simple pleasures.

Cinnamon Milk

cinnamon-milk

  • A mug (around 250ml) of milk – I do prefer semi skimmed cows milk for this, but almond milk would work as well.
  • 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons of honey

Add the milk, cinnamon and honey to a small saucepan and heat gently until just near boiling.  Pour into your favourite mug and sprinkle with cinnamon. Dream of happy days.

chapel-porth-milk

Orange spice chia bowl

Autumn means warm spices, I love the aroma of cloves and nutmeg and of course cinnamon at this time of year (0r indeed any time of year to be honest).  The blend with oranges is lovely and the addition of some honey spice nuts definitely gets into the autumn spirit.

I made the chia mix first thing in the morning before I went out with the dog and then fried the nuts at the last minute before serving so they were warm and sticky. Seriously good when eaten with a tired dog at your feet.

Orange spice chia bowl

orange-spice-chia

  • 1 orange – peeled
  • 1 tablespoon natural yoghurt
  • 1 teaspoon mixed spice
  • 2 tablespoons chia seeds
  • Mix of almonds and walnuts (or other nuts) – I used around 5 almonds and 2 walnuts for one portion)
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • More mixed spice
  • More natural yoghurt to serve

In a blender blitz the orange, tablespoon of yoghurt and a teaspoon of mixed spice (or add more if you want more of a spice hit).

Put the orange blend in a bowl and add the chia seeds.  Leave for at least an hour or overnight to allow the chia seeds to soak up the juice.

For the nut topping – chop the nuts and dry fry them for a couple of minutes in a small pan. Add the honey and spice and stir fry for another minute or two.

Layer up your bowl with the orange chia mix, natural yoghurt and the spiced nuts.

 

Beetroot and Coconut Bircher

The beetroot season is in full swing and with our summer continuing I still prefer my oats to be cold.  This is a lovely rich bircher in both taste and colour.  The recipe makes enough for around 3 portions.  Do play around with the additions of nuts and extras, but the beetroot, coconut water and maple syrup with the oats are the core essentials of this dish.

beet-and-coconut-bircher

Beetroot & Coconut Bircher

  • 2ooml coconut water
  • 100g raw beetroot (about one medium beetroot)
  • 100g oats
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons shredded coconut
  • 50g Hazelnuts – slightly bashed
  • 50g sultanas
  • 2 tablespoons cacao nibs

Blend the beetroot and coconut water in a blender and put the mixture into a bowl.  Add the oats and maple syrup and mix in.  Add the other ingredients and leave in the fridge overnight.

 

Zoats

It’s taken me a while to try this, I was intrigued with the thought of adding courgette to porridge.  The term Zoats comes from the alternative name of Zucchini (I guess calling it Coats doesn’t really work)

I have no excuse for not trying it sooner, it’s not like I’ve been short of courgettes. Now I wish I hadn’t waited so long because it’s another great way to incorporate veg into breakfast.

Grating the courgettes is key, it means they nicely soften and blend with the oats without really adding any taste, to be honest I couldn’t taste that I had courgettes in my porridge, I could just see them!

I added pumpkin seeds and flaked almonds and sweetened the porridge with maple syrup but there are loads of different combinations to play with, I’m hooked.

Zoats

zoats

  • 40g Oats
  • 200ml Almond Milk
  • 100g grated courgette (skin on)
  • 1 tablespoon flaked almonds
  • 1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup

Put the oats, courgette and milk in a pan, bring to the boil and simmer for a 3 – 4 minutes (you may want to adjust the milk depending on how you like your porridge).

Stir through the seeds and almonds and then drizzle over the maple syrup.

Quick Pear Crunch

I’ve been staring at my bowl of pears all week and they are still as solid as a rock, despite being moved next to the bananas. So instead of prodding them in hopeful anticipation each morning, I decided this morning to take control and soften them by heat.

It was lovely, soft pear that still held it’s shape and was coated in lovely oaty bits.  So if you have some pears that are waiting to ripen, don’t wait – do this!

quick-pear-crunch-1

Quick Pear Crunch (serves one)

  • 1 unripe pear – cored and diced (keep the skin on)
  • 1 teaspoon coconut oil
  • 2 tablespoons of oats
  • 1 tablespoon of dried cranberries
  • 1 tablespoon of flaked almonds
  • 1 tablespoon of maple syrup

Method

  • Heat the oil in a small frying pan and then add the diced pear.  Cook gently for 3-4 minutes until the pear feels softer.
  • Add the oats and toss well to coat the pears.  Keep cooking and tossing for another 3 minutes or so, until the oats start to brown.
  • Add the cranberries and almonds and toss a couple of times. Then turn the heat off.
  • Add the maple syrup and toss everything together.
  • Leave it to cool.  I prefer mine quite cool, it gives the oats and syrup time to stick everything together a little bit. But I did nibble some bits whilst it was still hot and it was lovely.

Nice served with yoghurt and even a little more maple syrup if you’re feeling decadent.

quick-pear-crunch-2

Tropical Courgette Smoothie

I will admit it was with quiet desperation that I first added some courgette to a smoothie – my supply of this veg is fast outweighing my ability to eat them.  However I was surprised to find that it tasted ok, in fact the courgette added a little creaminess without too much taste (in a good way).

So after a few more experiments I think that this courgette smoothie is pretty good.

I’m still using my crop of yellow courgettes, but they taste the same as green so either goes.

courgette smoothie

Tropical Courgette Smoothie (serves one)

  • 150g fresh pineapple
  • 100g courgette (skin on)
  • 150ml coconut milk (from a carton not a tin)
  • A handful of mint leaves
  • 1 tablespoon of Tahini
  • 1 medjool date

Blend it all together.