Roast Pumpkin and Ricotta Crostini

Dec 19, 2012 by lovelypantry

I’ve been fluttering in my cookbooks again. It’s a wonderful way to spend a few borrowed minutes, just to browse and find your next victory. The problem is, there are so many recipes I want to try, and very little time to try them all. I will continue to compete with my family’s schedule and create wonderfully tasting food – even if it’s just for me 🙂 Today, that’s not the case. This dish is great for a light snack  or even as an appetizer. You decide! It’s always a good idea to serve vegetables in a nice way, especially during the holiday season.

I love bread. Usually most breads will appeal to me if its crusty on the outside, light and fluffy on the inside. Toasted with butter and some other condiment will also do the trick. I have fond memories of having French Bread as a child growing up in England. It was something that we enjoyed served with a soup or just whenever we felt like having it.

This recipe was adapted from “Cooking Season by Season” – I basically cut the recipe in half to suit my household.

 

 

 

 

How do you dress up your fall/winter vegetables? I love roasting root veggies. It keeps it simple and tasty.

 

 

Enjoy!

~Lyn

 

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Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins

Dec 12, 2012 by lovelypantry

I didn’t get to indulge in my usual #MuffinMonday this week. Sadly I’ve had to deal with 2 sick kids plus I’m trying to get over a little cold/cough. It’s the season to share in a little more than just holiday spirit. I believe we are on the mend and this means I’ll be back in the kitchen, whipping up something great for you. I do have a muffin recipe that I wanted to share that I made a few weeks ago but didn’t get to post it. I’m so glad that I got to use up some pureed pumpkin that I had in the freezer.

I get so much junk mail delivered to my door, and I usually just recycle. But there was a flyer for a local business that caught my eye. The photograph on the flyer had me drooling. It had a recipe that looked so delicious, I went ahead and made it. And it was so good! I have no idea where the original recipe came from so I have no reference for it. But here it is!

 

 

 

 

 

This was such a moist muffin ~ and absolutely delicious!

 

 

These muffins disappeared in no time. The cream cheese was such a great companion for the pumpkin muffin.

 

 

Happy Wednesday! I hope your week is going wonderful so far!

~Lyn

 

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Roasted Pumpkin & Coconut Soup for #SundaySupper

Oct 7, 2012 by lovelypantry

Its Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada and my family and I are having a great time celebrating family, birthdays and friendships. We have so much to be thankful for!

Earlier this week while I was preparing for the weekend meals, I picked up some pumpkin…without knowing what I was going to make with it. I came across this recipe and I was sold! I don’t make soup very often but I surprised myself with this one. It was simple, awesome and perfect for #SundaySupper. This weeks #SundaySupper theme is All Things Orange, showcasing some wonderful Autumn recipes from some of our fabulous food bloggers. Look out for a wonderful selection of recipes using ingredients like pumpkin, sweet potatoes and butternut squash, to name a few. I’m so excited to see all the wonderful creations! This is my first season actually cooking with pumpkin so I know I’m going to be inspired. This is truly my favourite season!

This weeks host is Pam from The Meltaways! As always, please be sure you join us on Twitter throughout the day for #SundaySupper. We’ll be meeting up at 7:00 pm EST for our weekly #SundaySupper live chat where we’ll talk about our favourite recipes featuring our favourite fall colour. All you have to do is follow the #SundaySupper hashtag, or you can follow us through TweetChat. We’d also love to feature your recipes on our #SundaySupper Pinterest board and share them with all of our followers, too.

I hope my Mother is reading this post. She will be pleasantly surprised to know that I actually cut up and roasted pumpkin. *gasp* Ok so I didn’t do all the work. I bought a piece of pumpkin weighing about a kilogram. I removed the skin, chopped it into cubes, then roasted it. Originally, I was going to use the canned pumpkin puree but I really wanted to cook with the real thing. It may have taken me a few minutes longer to prepare, but I believe it was worth it. The flavour says it all!

 

 

 

I picked up this piece of pumpkin at the Asian supermarket. It happened to be labelled “Jamaican Pumpkin” so that I would pick it up. I prefer buying pumpkin pre-cut anyway. Less chance of me wasting it. This portion was just right for what I needed it for.

 

I liked the simplicity of this recipe. I loved the use of coconut oil as well as coconut milk. This soup is just bursting with goodness. I really missed the presence of chicken or even yellow yams and dumplings in my soup. Perhaps that addition will be made after my next visit to the Asian supermarket.

 

 

This could be the perfect appetizer for an Autumn dinner, and a great choice for entertaining.

 

 

A warm crusty bread, like Ciabatta is a lovely compliment to this soup.

 

 

 

Here’s the lineup for this weeks #SundaySupper:

 

Sunrise  (Breakfast and Brunch)

• Paula from Vintage Kitchen Notes is bringing her Orange Ricotta Pancakes
• Erin from Dinners Dishes and Desserts is baking up some Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Heather from Girlichef is bringing Pumpkin Doughnuts with Spiced Buttermilk Glaze
• Nicole from Daily Dish Recipes is making Pumpkin Donut Puffs
• Patti from Comfy Cuisine is bringing  Classic Orange Marmalade
• Sunithi from Sue’s Nutrition Buzz is making Spiced Pumpkin Ricotta Muffins with Craisins and Walnuts
• Wendy from The Weekend Gourmet is cooking up some Pumpkin Maple Oatmeal
• Jamie from Mama Mommy Mom is bringing Butternut Squash Butter
• Chelsea from Chelsea’s Culinary Indulgence is bringing Pumpkin Spiced Donuts with Chai Icing
• Kris from In The Kitchen With Audrey and Maureen made Sweet Potato Pancakes 

 

High Noon (Soups, Salads and Sandwiches)

• Renee from Magnolia Days is serving up some Butternut Squash Soup
• Beate from Galactopdx is bringing her Carrot Ginger Soup
• Jen from Juanita’s Cocina is making some Curried Sweet Potato Salad With Cranberries and Pecans
• Megan from I Run For Wine is making Skinny Roasted Butternut Squash and Italian Sausage Soup
• Sarah from What Smells So Good is filling our bowls with some Spicy Sweet Potato and Coconut Soup
• Alice from Hip Foodie Mom is coming with her Roasted Carrot and Red Quinoa Salad
• Susan from The Wimpy Vegetarian is making Cider – Spiced Sweet Potato Soup
• Tora from Tora’s Real Food is bringing Butternut Squash and Tomato Soup
• Melanie from From Fast Food to Fresh Food is making Monty’s Pumpkin Soup
• Lyn from The Lovely Pantry is bringing Roasted Pumpkin & Coconut Soup
• Kim from Cravings of a Lunatic is whipping up some Mandarin Chicken Salad

 

Sunset (Dinner and Main Dishes)

• Sarah from Crispy Bits & Burnt Ends is offering up some Pumpkin Ravioli
• Shelia from Pippis In The Kitchen Again is serving her Roasted Squash and Ricotta with Honey
• Pam from The Meltaways is making Spooky Stuffed Peppers
• Patsy from Famfriendsfood is bringing her Carrot Souffle
• Laura from Small Wallet Big Appetite is bringing Chicken and Sweet Potato Fritters
• Mehereen from Chattering Kitchen is making Sichuan Orange Glazed Chicken with Toasted Sesame Seeds
• Tammi from Momma’s Meals is making Hearty Pork Stew
• Kristin from Kwistin’s Favorites is making Orange Chicken
• Soni from Soni’s Food For Thought is cooking up some Rigatoni with Pumpkin Ricotta Sauce
• Shelby from Diabetic Foodie is cooking up some Moroccan Vegetable Stew
• Dara from Generation Y Foodie is bringing Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese
• Brandie from Home Cooking Memories is sharing a DIY Baked Sweet Potato Bar
• Amber from Mama’s Blissful Bites  is bringing Rice and Fig Stuffed Mini Pumpkins
• Valerie from Val’s Food and Or Art made Double Stuffed Roasted Acorn Squash

 

By The Bonfire (Sweets, Snacks and Sips)

• Brie from Brie’s Bites is making Peanut Butter Pumpkin Bites
• Carla from Chocolate Moosey is making Pumpkin Tiramisu with Pumpkin Butter Caramel Sauce
• Heather from Hezzi D’s Books and Cooks is offering up some Pumpkin Cake Truffles
• Shelia from Cooking Underwriter is bringing Sweet Potato Bacon Beet Salsa
• Anne from Webicurean  is making some Drunken Pumpkin Bread
• Karen from In The Kitchen With KP is making Oven Baked Sweet Potato Chips
• Leslie La Cocina De Leslie is making Sweet Potato Atole
• Seet Fei from My Trials in The Kitchen is bringing Sweet Potatoes Mini Balls
• Tara from Noshing With The Nolands is bringing Oranges En Suprise
• Susan from The Girl in The Red Kitchen is making Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Scone with Pumpkin Glaze
• Conni from Mrs. Mama Hen is making Orange Glazed Poundcake
• Isabel from Family Foodie is baking up Moist Pumpkin Bread
• Cindy from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings is baking up a Vegan Pumpkin Orange Cake
• Brenda from Meal Planning Magic is whipping up some Creamy Pumpkin Dip
• Laura from Family Spice is making some Unprocessed and Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread
• Kathya from Basic and Delicious is baking up Butternut Squash and Carrot Bread
• Liz from That Skinny Chick Can Bake is serving up Pumpkin Roll with Cream Cheese Filling
• Stephanie from The Cookie A Day Challenge is whipping up some Pumpkin Ice Cream Sandwiches
• Katie from She Like Ruffles, He Likes Truffles is bringing Pumpkin Harvest Cookies
• Nancy from Gotta Get Baked is baking up some Orange Macadamia Dark Chocolate Cookies
• Angie from Big Bear’s Wife  is bringing Orange Soda Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes
• Katy from Happy Baking Days is bringing Carrot Cake with Orange Glaze
• Sandra from Midlife Road Trip is bringing Orange ya glad it’s fall! Hungarian Apricot/Walnut pastries

 

 

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