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Friday, February 5, 2010

Nommin'

I caved.
I finally opened the giant can of pumpkin I've had in safekeeping for months last night.
and OH, my world, I forgot how much I love pumpkin. I guess I wasn't necessarily "hoarding" it...but I was worried it would be difficult to find it after Thanksgiving. That and...it's a giant can. I wanted to make sure I would appreciate every last spoonful and not get sick of it and have to throw some out!
...I don't think that will be happening.
After waking up ravenous in the middle of the night and remembering the pumpkin I'd opened earlier, I had to make up some pumpkin yogurt...it was so good that it made an appearance as my porridge topper!

Aestheticlly pleasing? It's Debateable. Palate pleasing? Oh yes.
The usual mix, topped with banana, Kashi H2H Warm Cinnamon, chopped walnuts, Red Raspberry Preserves, Barney Butter, and a mix of Greek Yogurt, Pumpkin, and a splash of almond milk.

To be honest - I much prefer putting the pumpkin right in the oats. The coolness of the yogurt and the warmth of the oats kinda weirded me out...but it was good nonetheless :)

...And you know you're just destined to have  "nommin'" day when you find yourself eating a grilled banana and almond butter pita pocket before even leaving the house - even though you're still full from breakfast!


I was still full from breakfast...but I could NOT get this out of my head! So I justified it by using half a Joseph's flax pita, half Better N' PB, half Full Circle Almond Butter, and adding in some wheat germ. Hey, an extra peanut butter n' banana pita never hurt anybody, right?

And it worked to my advantage - while I was using the panini maker I figured why not make my lunch extra special and utilize the panini press? We have one at work but it's all gross and full of old, congealed grease and cheese. Why don't people wipe stuff down after using appliances like that? It's not gross then - it's gross months later, however.


mmmm.
Does anybody else swear by those Copco travel mugs? They're the only ones I have luck with not spilling all over me! They have the coolest looking cold beverage one, too.

I don't have any exciting stories today, except for the one thing I had on my mind all day: Sweet Potato Crepes. You see, I've had this idea since my Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie


To be honest, I didn't think the idea was all that strange when I thought of it. But then I searched high and low and could not find a recipe to reference anywhere. I mean, I guess making your sweet potatoes into crepes rather than just mashing them and eating them as a sad may be a little extravagant. But they're sweet potatoes! Sweet potatoes are heaven sent! You can do anything with sweet potatoes! Why not crepes?!

Needless to say, that did not discourage me (though it probably should have suggested that I'm a little wacky) and was instead just going to be hoofin' it alone.


In my head, the crepes would be slightly sweet, relatively true to a plain sweet potato. The filling would be slightly spicy beans, peppers, and chicken in a small amount of thick cream-based sauce.
So, that's just what I did. Which is shocking, because half the time I think about a recipe creation this much in advance, I;ve changed twenty things by the time I actually execute it. Ah well.


To speed up the process, I boiled and mashed a sweet potato last night, so I would be all-systems-go when I got home from work. (Funny side note? with all that pumpkin in the fridge, my pumpkin yogurt in the middle of the night was almost sweet potato yogurt. Luckily, a hunk of sweet potato skin stopped me dead in my tracks.)

For the "Crepes" I whisked together approximately half the sweet potato, 2 eggs (plus a splash of egg beaters), scant 1/4c. or so of almond milk, 1 T. or so of flour, and seasonings: chili powder, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. It made a mixture that was runny enough to thinly coat the entire pan when I tilted it. Cook in pan coated with non-stick spray. I got three medium-sized crepes.
Obviously, my crepe-cooking techniques need work. Or I need to be more attentive.
I think it's both.

For the Filling: (which weren't very photogenic) I sauteed red beans, Quorn chik'n tenders, minced garlic, red and orange peppers seasoned with chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper and eventually added in some Imagine Organic cream of broccoli soup and half a cheese wedge. 
Fill the crepes and fold!
I also whipped up some greek yogurt with some of the mashed sweet potato and Cedar's salsa and put some of that in it, too.


mmmm, good! Why just lump on a pile of mashed taters when you can have this much fun playing with your food, instead?! And think of how pretty they'd be if you're a good crepe-maker :)


The sweet potato flavor comes through really well, and I love the combination of the chicken and beans with it. 

I hope everyone enjoyed their Friday! I'm off for some baked pumpkin oatmeal dessert, sure to be followed by pumpkin yogurt!
What's your favorite thing to do with pumpkin? Or...sweet potatoes, for that matter :P

2 comments:

  1. So neat that you are making crepes! It was the "Chandeleur" this week; It is originally a christian holiday but it has become a national crepe eating day here in France. I think your crepes sound and look much more interesting than any of the classic crepes they make here. And they photographed beautifully. I can't wait to try your recipe!
    What's my favorite thing with pumpkin? Pumpkin bread!

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  2. Love the crepes, yummy and beautiful color. Pumpkin- I love pumpkin pasta...


    sweetlife

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