Pumpkin & Coconut Loaf

Adapted from Vegweb

1 cup unsweetened coconut
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

1 egg

2 tablespoons canola oil 

1/2 cup mashed cooked pumpkin

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Toast coconut in a dry skillet/frypan until browned. In a bowl mix dry ingredients together, including the coconut.  In a separate bowl, whisk wet ingredients together.  Mix together with a metal spoon.  Pour into non stick loaf pan and bake at 350F for about 45 minutes.  Your baking time will vary depending on your oven.

 The Result

The Verdict

The flavour of this loaf is very subtle.  I thought with a whole cup of coconut in the ingredients it would have a very strong coconut flavour, but it doesn't.  I would suggest if you do want a strong coconut flavour, to add a little coconut extract to the recipe.  The texture is very nice and the loaf is quite moist.  In some parts, the coconut can give the loaf a dry feeling, but it's just the pieces of coconut.  I think next time I might add a little spice to it to bring out the flavour of the pumpkin.  Even more pumpkin and less milk might be nice: I suggest increasing the pumpkin to 1 cup and decreasing the milk to 1/2 cup.

Sweet Baked Buttercup

I love pumpkin, squash and buttercup, especially in dessert.  It's going out of season down under as spring is here but I still love using it in recipes, savory or sweet.

1 small Buttercup, halved

5 tablespoons of Splenda (or brown sugar)

2 tablespoons Cinnamon

1 teaspoon All Spice

30g Almonds, chopped

30g Butter, finely cubed

Scoop out seeds from buttercup and set in baking dish with water covering the bottom.  Mix Splenda/Sugar, Cinnamon, All Spice and Almonds in a seperate bowl then gently stir in butter.  Distribute mixture between the two halves and place in oven at 350 degrees Farhenheit for about 1 hour.  Remove from oven and let cool a little before serving.

Pumpkin Pie Filling

Pumpkin Pie Filling

300g cooked pumpkin
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (or similar - I use Muscle Milk Cake Batter)
Pumpkin Pie Spice (50% cinnamon, 25% ginger, 12.5% nutmeg, 12.5% allspice)
Splenda or Stevia to taste

I actually had this while I was dieting for my competition now and again and it was heaven! It has around 20g of carbs and depending on what protein powder you use, around 20g of protein.

Roast Rosemary Pumpkin

I love pumpkin and I tried something new today!

Roast Rosemary Pumpkin

Cut 1/2 a small pumpkin into thin-ish slices and place on tray. Drizzle with olive oil and season with sea salt and cracked pepper. Scatter sprigs of rosemary and halved garlic cloves on the pumpkin and bake in the oven until soft (about half an hour).

The result:














I had it with grilled chunks of lean lamb - yum!