Egg Free Soy Free Sourdough English Muffins

Why haven't I ever made English muffins before?? And also important, why aren't you making them right now? Sometimes bad things in life (my son's egg and soy allergy) bring about fantastic things, like these muffins. I don't know that it will make up for a lifetime without Chinese food.....but it's a start. Not only do they avoid all of our collective allergens, but they are wicked tasty, and cook on a griddle. So unlike biscuits, there is no need to heat the whole house.

I modified the recipe from the "Sourdough English Muffin" recipe in this book.....I love this book. Not only are there tons of recipes for bread machines, there are tips on what to do with stale, leftover bread.

Unfortunately, since I got the recipe from a book....and....you know.... copyright laws and stuff, I didn't feel like it would be a good idea to post it on the interwebs. However, I will tell you the modifications I made, and you can either buy the book.....or modify another recipe that you already have.

All I did was use 1/4 cup canned pumpkin and 1tbs oil to replace the egg. Also I replaced half of the flour with whole wheat flour. These smelled great, tasted great, and went fast! They will be on our breakfast table this holiday season.

Curried Pumpkin Soup

This recipe is so simple and tasty. It only has four ingredients........well, plus the two pantry staples (oil and salt)...so really six. But you know, who's here for math? You want a recipe right?

The other great thing about this soup is that it's a hit with every single member of our family. The kids each ate two bowls garnished with spicy fried chickpeas (recipe will be posted soon).

You don't have to use pumpkin, any butternut squash would also work nicely I think. But we covered this, I'm in love with pumpkin....as in love with a squash as someone can be within the boundaries of sanity of course.


oil to coat pot
1-3 tbs Indian curry paste (like Patak's)
1 can of pumpkin
1 can of coconut milk
2 cups of broth
Salt to taste

Coat the bottom of a large pot with oil and heat over medium heat.

Add the curry paste and cook until fragrant. I used 2tbs of mild curry paste. I could have done with another tbs, but I ran out. If you have a hotter variety of curry paste than it might be wise to use less. I guess what I'm saying is that I don't know how universal flavor/heat is when it comes to curry paste......so use your own taste buds as a guide, you can always add some cayenne to spice things up if there isn't enough flavor in the end product.

Add the pumpkin and stir well. Slowly stir in the coconut milk, and the stock. Heat until warmed throughout.

That's it, simple, delicious, warm. Enjoy!

Egg Free Pumpkin Pie Bars

I love autumn with the same passion and intensity that I hate the summer. The weather cools, the humidity dies down, and I can finally venture outside and breath simultaneously. One of the things I love most about fall is pumpkin! I am a pumpkin fanatic, I love EVERYTHING pumpkin. Sweet dishes, savory dishes, candles, soap, serving platters, pumpkin patches...if it has to do with pumpkin I am all over it. So you will be seeing a number of pumpkin dishes in the near future.

The challenge this year being that little man has an egg allergy. I figured if I wanted time to perfect an egg free, soy free pumpkin pie filling I better start now. I didn't go to the trouble of making a pie crust because I wasn't sure it was going to work. I just crushed up some organic graham crackers and made a graham cracker crust in the bottom of my 8x8 baking dish. This worked fabulously. It is more creamy and less spicy than your average pumpkin pie (probably also higher on calories...shhh), but it held it's shape and we all enjoyed it. So it was a success in my book.

I can't wait to try this filling in a pie crust now that I know it works. Baking times are for the 8x8 dish. Use any sort of crust you like. I didn't really measure....or pay attention to how I made the crust. I'm great at this whole food blogging thing, aren't I?

2 packages of cream cheese
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup pumpkin
2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp ground cardamom

Soften the cream cheese in the microwave. Slowly stir in sugar.

Stir in pumpkin and spices. Adjust spices to taste preference.

Pour into crust. I baked mine for 50 minutes at 350. Let cool.

I'm so excited that our little man will be able to enjoy egg free, soy free pumpkin pie this year. If your intent is to make this dish egg free, soy free, be sure to check all the ingredients you use carefully!

UPDATE: I've made this quite a few times now, and this should definitely be made ahead of time to ensure time to set in the fridge. Also, while not absolutely necessary, using an electric mixer will produce the best results.

Pumpkin Spice Waffles (egg free)

Happy Monday!! Our week has been kind of crazy. We have been back and forth at the doctors trying to figure out why little man is so...well...little. His sissy eats the same types of food (less even with her sensory issues) and has never had problems with her iron or sodium levels like he does, so that left us perplexed and referred to about a bijilion specialists. The doctors all agree that he has allergies to food, but what that food is, and whether that is the only problem is being debated. So this week we go in for his second round of testing for Cystic Fibrosis.....which has nothing to do with waffles...and really not much to do with food at all. I just felt like sharing.

I really enjoyed these waffles, they weren't as light and fluffy as you would expect from a waffle made with eggs. However, given the choice between these and no waffles at all....I would definitely take these.

Also completely unrelated, Mother's day is coming up....................hunny.....

The dry ingredients
1 cup unbleached white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 tbs sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cardamom

The wet ingredients
3/4 cup pumpkin
1 1/4 cup milk
1 cup sour cream
1 tbs maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract

In one bowl whisk together the wet ingredients. In another bowl mix together the dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until combined. Follow the directions on your waffle iron for some super yummy waffles. Fight the urge to make these every day. Seriously, we've had these twice already.

Pumpkin Toaster Pastries

I bought a jar of pumpkin butter a while back, because I love all things pumpkin, weather it be flavored or shaped. The problem is I had no idea what to do with it. I didn't want to waste it all on toast and sandwiches, so I figured when the right thing came around I would know. Well when I saw this recipe for toaster pastries it hit me, WHY has nobody come out with a pumpkin flavored toaster pastry??? So I whipped* up a batch of the crust, which is basically a pie crust recipe, and filled it with a mixture of pumpkin butter, cinnamon, and a wee bit o' brown sugar thickened with corn starch. The only changes I made to the crust were replacing half of the flour with whole wheat flour, and halving the size of the pastries. Also by the time I had finished measuring, mixing, rolling, and cutting, I was so ready to be done baking (I really hate baking), that I didn't take the thirty seconds to make them pretty around the edges with my fork....
it didn't really matter that they came out ugly as a monkey's backside, these things were good. They made the house smell fantastic, and the crust was so tender and flaky oozing with pumpkin and cinnamon goodness. I ate a half of one straight out of the oven**. You are still stuck on that reference about a monkey's backside aren't you?? Well nobody ever said selling things was my strong suit. In short, these are good. If you have the time you should try them. If you don't have the time, but can find a good organic pre-made pie crust you could use that for a quicker option.


*And by "whipped" of course I mean spent a good hour of measuring, cutting in butter, rolling, and asking the hubster to roll, in between feeding, changing, and otherwise distracting the kiddos.

** Whatever you do, RESIST the urge to eat these straight out of the oven. Because, by the time you get to the third or fourth bite, you will really be kicking yourself....delicious lava.

Spicy Pumpkin and Black Bean Enchiladas with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

I can't stop eating this, I had to go get a handful of baby carrots so that there would be something in my mouth besides enchiladas. The original recipe for the sauce can be found here, it was so simple and so yummy, I will definitely be making these again. Thanks Sarah!

What you'll need

1 pkg low fat cream cheese
1 can pumpkin puree
1 can black beans
1 box roasted red pepper and tomato soup
1 can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 pkg corn tortillas

For the filling mix together the cream cheese, pumpkin, drained black beans, and adobo sauce to taste. For the sauce, in a separate bowl mix together red pepper soup one to two chopped* chipotle peppers, and salt to taste. I made these lasagna style because I was crunched for time, alternating layers of tortilla, filling sauce, tortilla, filling, sauce finishing with the last of the sauce, and the shredded cheddar cheese. Bake in the oven at 350, until the cheese is melted and bubbly.These enchiladas were good, but spicy. My children would not eat them, but I don't think the hubster and I will have a problem finishing these off.

*When working with chipotle peppers be sure to keep your hands away from your eyes (even if you have a really, really, really, bad itch, and you don't think you got any sauce on your fingers) or you will find yourself singing Oklahoma at the top of your lungs because it's the first child friendly exclamation that comes to mind....true story.