Roasted Pumpkin with Merkén Chile & Honey

Two weeks ago I got a terrible head cold that at first made my throat feel like a solid piece of rock and then morphed into congestion and then just left me aching. When I finally got a solid night of sleep (like a really solid night of sleep--12 hours, or more), I felt like I could think again. Smelling, tasting, and swallowing were still a day away. 

The worst part of a head cold to me is that your body feels totally fine--like you could run a mile- but the minute you try to do anything, you realize it was a terrible, terrible idea. By Friday I felt well enough to hit the climbing gym again, and doing so plastered a fixed smile across my face. I could taste again too, so when I got home I cooked the pumpkin I hadn't found energy to cook earlier in the week. Golden pumpkin with savory Merkén Chile: it was the first thing I smelled all week. 

That pumpkin filled my house with the scent of it's caramelizing edges and steaming Merkén chile. They were beautiful, but that smell was what really swept me off my feet. A drizzle of honey was all that was missing. (Doesn't honey make everything better?)

If you can't find Merkén chile don't sweat it: you can use any kind of smoked red chile flake in this recipe. 

Roasted Pumpkin with Merkén Chile & Honey

Published October 19, 2017 by Caitlin

Serves: 4   |    Total Time: 50 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 1 small pumpkin
• 2 tablespoons avocado oil
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 2 teaspoons merkén chile, or other smoked red chile flake
• 1-2 tablespoons honey 
• Garnish: 2 tablespoons minced cilantro

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Slice pumpkin half, remove stem, and seeds. Slice into wedges, about 1-inch thick.
2. Fit a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place pumpkins on pan, and brush with avocado oil. Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt, and merkén. Place in oven, and bake for 30-40 minutes, until pumpkin is tender all the way through, and starting to brown on the edges.
3. Remove from oven, and drizzle lightly with honey. Garnish with minced cilantro.

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie Bowl

Exhausted from holding on and worn out from trying hard, I yell "take!" to my belayer. The slack in the rope tightens and I can sit back in my harness. I stare at the rock wall, analyzing it's seams, and it stares back at me, full of tricks and secrets and history. My forearms ache from holding on: my endurance for sport climbing is lacking right now. 

Three feet from me, a spot of golden yellow with a tinge of red catches my eye.

There, in the middle of the rock, a miniature tree grows, it's leaves turning orange with fall. In fact, an entire micro ecosystem sits within the crack in the rock. A tiny but steady stream of water from above trickles across a pile of dead pine needles, and a bug crawls up to see the view from the edge of the crack.

I imagine a bird visiting that spot a year ago. He drops a seed, and flies off. And then I imagine that seed getting just enough water to sprout--and a bit more, enough that the sprout grows into a tree right there, on the side of a rock face. It's no larger than 1 foot tall, but it clings on to the side of the rock with might and patience. It doesn't have a belayer; it can't call "take."

There is a breeze and I am reminded of the task at hand. I climb on while that baby tree just stays there, clinging for life. Imagine the view from it's home! 

This pumpkin smoothie bowl is the breakfast to eat when the leaves are crunching underfoot and the air is crisp but still not too cold. It's spiced with fresh ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, and is super creamy. Top it with toasted pecans, and for an extra special treat add a dollop of whipped cream (coconut cream for dairy free!). 

In the ingredient list you’ll find an outlier (cauliflower) and if you’ve never put cauliflower in a smoothie, this might make you run and hide. BUT I promise you: once that cauliflower is all blended in, you will not taste it. What you will taste: pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger. Toasted pecans if you choose to put them on top (please do!). And it will be a thick, creamy smoothie. That texture? That’s because of the cauliflower, which at this point you’ve forgotten is in there.

Try it!

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie Bowl

Published October 12, 2017 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 2   |    Total Time: 10 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/3 cup cottage cheese (or plain greek yogurt, or non-dairy yogurt)
• 1/2 cup milk of choice
• 2 frozen bananas, sliced 
• 1 cup frozen cauliflower florets
• 1/2 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, plus more for serving
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch of ground cloves 
• Optional: 1 scoop vanilla or unflavored protein powder
• Dollop of whipped cream (or coconut cream for dairy-free)
• 2 tablespoons raisins
• 2 tablespoons toasted pecans

Directions:

1. Add pumpkin, cottage cheese, milk, bananas, cauliflower, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and protein powder to blender. Puree until no chunks remain. Pour smoothie into two serving bowls.
2. Top with a dollop of whipped cream, raisins, pecans, and a sprinkle of extra nutmeg. Enjoy!

Grain-Free Banana Nut Waffles

When you descend the ski hill at Crested Butte in Colorado, the smell of vanilla, butter and maple syrup wafts in your face. It gets stronger the closer you get to the bottom. As the hill tappers off and your skis slow, you find yourself standing in front of a small shack serving Belgian Waffles. They are steaming even as they get plated, causing swirls of butter and maple syrup to take over your mind. Talk about a solid business plan! Serving hot waffles to hungry traveling skiers who just want something warm--now that's a jackpot. 

One whiff of those ski hut waffles has the ability to set me off on a waffle-craving craze for weeks. These banana nut waffles have a similar effect, filling the house with the sweet smell of maple syrup, butter, and vanilla. Toasted pecans only add to this experience. The difference is, they are made with 100% wholesome ingredients (because you know that's how I like it!). 

Grain-Free Banana Nut Waffles

Published September 28, 2017 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 4   |    Total Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients:

For batter:
• 3/4 cup almond flour
• 1 banana
• 2 tablespoons coconut flour
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk of choice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Optional, to serve:
• Sliced banana
• Toasted pecan pieces
• Butter
• Maple syrup

Directions:

1. Pre-heat a non-stick waffle iron.
2. Add batter ingredients to a blender, and puree until batter is smooth and no clumps remain.
3. Pour ¼ of the batter into waffle iron, and close iron. Cook for 4-5 minutes, until waffle is fluffy and golden. Transfer waffle to a plate.
4. Repeat step 3 until all of the batter is used, cleaning waffle iron as necessary between rounds to prevent and burning or sticking.
5. Serve with pats of butter, toasted pecans, sliced banana, and a drizzle of maple syrup.