Autumn – Page 30 – GUTSy Performance Nutrition

A few years back, I lived in a college house with three other girlfriends. We cooked together often, had friends over for elaborate dinner parties, and pooled all the grocery shopping expenditures together into a collective house fund. Needless to say, this way of sharing food taught me a lot about different eating habits. One that was pointed out to me endlessly was my adventurous way of combining dissimilar ingredients, combined with an innate resourcesfulness.

You see, I enjoy trying new things. I rarely make the same recipe twice, unless I feel it’s got that special something to really warrant eating again. And second, I hate wasting. I’m not a packrat. I just don’t like spending money for no reason. Or wasting something that hours of labor, and resources, and perhaps a farmer’s heart went into.

My dear friends were privy to multiple new creations, some of which they still bring up with fondness or exasperation at my food-pairing ability. And I’d like to think I haven’t changed much—I still employ a lot of creativity in the kitchen.

So here we have Pumpkin & Berry Muffins. Or perhaps, in my case, roasted butternut squash.

It really was the best fall muffin recipe I’ve tried in a while— berry delicious,flavorful, moist, and just healthy enough to satifsy my dislike of sticky-sweet breakfasty things. And the plus side—throw extra in the freezers and defrost as needed, for a quick grab-and-go for busy mornings!

Pumpkin & Berry Muffins Recipe (adapted from Cooking Light)

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 T. wheat germ

1 t. baking soda

1/8 t. salt

1/2 cup plain fat-free yogurt

1/2 cup pumpkin or squash puree

1 large egg

3/4 cup fresh or frozen blackberries

1/2 cup fresh or frozen raspberries

1 1/2 T. ground flaxseed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place 10 regular muffin liners or 5 jumbo liners in muffin cups. I chose to make jumbo muffins.

Combine flours and next 5 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Make a well in the center of mixture. Combine yogurt, pumpkin, and egg; add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Fold in berries. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle evenly with flaxseed. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Note: I used leftover roasted squash, pureed in a food processor instead of pumpkin puree.

Fall is most definitely in the air. And when I ventured home last weekend to run the Columbia River Power (half) Marathon, my mom made sure to load me up with the bounty from her garden—the kind of stuff that speaks fall in every way. Like butternut and spaghetti squash, quince, over-ripe heirloom tomatoes, and knobby red potatoes. As I traveled finally back to Corvallis, where I have been away for ages it seems, I couldn’t help but dream a little about all the wonderfully delicious ways I was going to use my mother’s gifts.

And as it seems it always does this time of year, the rainy season has begun. So with it brings Butternut Squash & Quince Soup. And delicious Multi-Grain Farmhouse bread.

The bread was a labor of love, since it requires a sponge—the first one (and successful too!) that I’ve made. Patience brings many great things.

And so too does gifts from a plentiful garden.

Butternut Squash & Quince Soup

1 Tbs. olive oil

2 lb. butternut squash, peeled & cubed

1 large quince, peeled and chopped

1 large onion, chopped

1 cup hard apple cider

3-4 cups vegetable stock or water

1/4 cup raw cashews, soaked in water for at least 1 hour

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium low heat. Add the squash, quince, and onion. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes, until soft.
Meanwhile, drain and rinse the soaked cashews. In a food processor, puree them along with about 1/4 cup of water until they form a smooth cashew cream. Set aside.
Add the cider, and bring to a boil. Add the broth, and reduce heat. Simmer, partially covered, for about 30 minutes, until the squash is tender.
Working in batches, puree the mixture in a blender. Return to the stockpot and cook, uncovered over low heat, until soup is reduced to desired consistency.
Once reduced, stir the cashew cream into soup and add vanilla. Simmer for 10 minutes more, and serve.

Makes 5-6 servings.

Multigrain Farmhouse Bread, slightly adapted from Martha Stewart.