Let's try this.

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Pumpkin Granola and Working at the VA.

What's UP, everybody?!  Let government furloughs and pumpkin recipes roll in!  I'm just kidding about the furlough thing...that sucks.  Yes, I work at the VA, but I'm a nurse, so I get to keep coming to work. :D  Can you imagine if they decided to stop paying us and we decided to not come into a job we aren't going to get paid for?  Riiiiiiiiight.  Bad news.  

K, good news...Paleo PUMPKIN Granola!  PALEO!  My girlfriend has decided that I need to sell this stuff.  She is very serious.  Let me give you the recipe before she talks me into it.  I have modified it pretty significantly.  I make my own pumpkin pie spice...not because I'm amazing, but because it's SUPER easy.  I picked up a jar of pumpkin pie spice the other day in Marshall's and, no shit, there was sugar, cornstarch, and all kinds of shit I couldn't pronounce!  Here is a good one.  Make it yourself:
  • 4 tbsp ground cinnamon
  • 4 tsp ground ginger
  • 4 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 3 tsp ground all spice
Mix it all together and put it in a recycled spice jar, then use it here:

Okay, I got the original recipe from Juli @ PaleOMG, but I've modified it quite a bit.


Pumpkin Granola
Ingredients
  • 1 cup whole almonds
  • 1.5 cups pumpkin seeds (pepitas), divided, so pay attention!
  • 1.5 cups pecans, divided, again...pay attention!
  • 1 cup roasted cashews
  • 1 cup walnuts
  • 10 dried dates, pits removed
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 2/3 cup coconut oil, melted
  • 2/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 2/3 cup maple syrup
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 Tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 teaspoon of pink salt

Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  2. In a food processor or high speed blender, add 1 cup EACH of almonds, pumpkin seeds, and pecans.  Pulse until it's about half nut flour, and half nut chunks, then dump it into a large mixing bowl.
  3. In your processor/high speed blender, add the dates, pumpkin puree, coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla vanilla, and all spices. Puree the shit out of it.
  4. Add pumpkin mixture and coconut to your nut mixture and mix well.
  5. Hand-chop the rest of the nuts or just break them a couple of times with your fingers so that you have larger chunks and add them to your mix.  
  6. You might feel like this is a "batter" and way too wet to ever make granola, but TRUST ME, this will work!
  7. Place parchment paper on a large baking sheet and pour HALF of your granola mixture on top. Use a spatula to spread out the mixture evenly so everything will cook at the same time.
  8. Place in oven and cook in 15 minute intervals, taking out the granola and stirring it every time to be sure it doesn’t burn.(Fold the outside edges in, then chop it up with your spatula to even it out again, then smooth it out with your spatula.  Eventually it will be too crumbly, just keep stirring!)
  9. LET COOL. Letting the granola cool will help it harden up.  If you let it cool and it's still too soft and chewy, put your oven on 150 and let the granola sit in there for a couple of hours.  Stir it one more time, then turn off the oven and let it sit in the oven over night.
  10. Eat all by itself or top it off with coconut milk, almond milk, or even dairy milk (if you do that).