I hope all you moms out there had a wonderful Mother’s Day! I know I enjoyed time with my baby and our families. It was a bit chilly here in Chicagoland for May, but at least the sun was shining! We spent the day with both sides of the family and the little munchkin got to spend time with all the Moms in his life.
And how can I not add a food photo into this scene? A pistachio layer cake with lemon curd and white chocolate milk crumb. Mmmmmm. Yes, I used Mother’s Day as an excuse to make another cake out of this cookbook.
Okay, I know it’s not pumpkin season. But how many of you have a lonely can of pumpkin puree sitting in the back of your pantry? I am in pantry clean-out mode, and I’m determined to get things organized.
I’ve been making a ton of random recipes using half bags of nuts, grains, dried fruit, etc. Things like pastas, salads and granola or bars are great ways to use up a lot of random ingredients you’ve had sitting around. I’ve also realized that making your own baby food is a great way to used up things in the pantry. 1/4 of pasta or rice is the perfect amount to make a couple of meals for baby, whereas it would probably go unused in your pantry for months otherwise! Also consider adding things like (cooked) dried fruits, coconut milk, beans and low-sodium stocks to your baby’s food.
Low-fat Pumpkin Banana Oat Bread, adapted from Joy the Baker
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 tsp canola or grapeseed oil
1 large egg, beaten
2 medium egg whites, beaten
2 large bananas, ripe
2/3 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 cup uncooked old fashioned oats
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a loaf pan and set aside. In a large bowl, stir together dry ingredients including the oats and cinnamon.
In a smaller bowl, mash bananas with a potato masher or fork. Add pumpkin puree, oil and whole egg and mix thoroughly.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well. Batter will be fairly thick.
In a medium sized bowl, with an electric hand mixer, beat the egg whites until medium stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the batter in three additions.
Pour batter into pan and bake until top of loaf is firm to touch, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes. Flip out and cool on a wire rack for another 10 minutes.
