Pumpkin Brownies

Pumpkin, chocolate, pumpkin, chocolate, pumpkin chocolate! I can't decide which to choose! So wait...if I can't decide, then why not choose them both?

Last year during Vegan Mofo, I remember seeing a few posts on Pumpkin Swirl Brownies. I even made some when I used my other site and was pretty proud of how they turned out. Now that i'm a raw foodies though, I was very curious of if I could recreate the dish of pure epicness. I do have some newly made raw pumpkin puree in the fridge, so whats stopping me? Its brownie time.

Raw Pumpkin Brownie

(Serves 12)

Brownie Ingredients:

2 c. Pecans

1 c. Pumpkin Seeds

3/4 c. Cacao Powder

4 Dates (pitted)

1/8 tbsp Coconut Oil

1/3c. Honey/Agave

2 tsp. Himalayan Pink Sea Salt

-Grind your pecans and pumpkin seeds into a coffee grinder until they become almost the texture of flour.

-Put your nut/seed flour, the cacao powder, and salt into your food processor. Pulse it a few times until they are well mixed.

-Add in your remaining ingredients and mix them until it forms a crumbly dough. Add a bit more coconut oil or honey if you thing its needed.

-Mold half of your dough into a container and freeze. Set the other half aside.

Pumpkin Filling Ingredients:

Ingredients:

1/2 c. Pumpkin Puree

3 Medjool Dates

2 tbsp. Honey/Agave

-Blend everything together in your food processor or blender.

-Pour the filling over the first brownie layer. Then add the remaining chocolate as a second layer.

-Enjoy!

This turned out excellently, even with the ingredients being as simple as they are. It was a little time consuming making the pumpkin puree, but I guarantee you it was well worth it. Pumpkin-chocolate combinations are kind of different, but I'll be looking forward to finding out other things I can do with the two. Especially with orange and black being perfect halloween colors! MWAHAHAHA!!!!

What are your favorite orange and black things?

-Andrew D. Morrison-

Raw Pumpkin Puree

PUMPKIN!!!!! PUMPKIN PUMPKIN PUMPKIN PUMPKIN PUMPKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How can you ever have fall without pumpkin? Carving, Pies, and pumpkin...well..everything!

So it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that the minute I got the opportunity, I bought myself a pumpkin and carved the heck out of it. Kudos to anyone who can guess what I carved. If you can, leave a comment below telling me what or who you think I carved!

Here's a hint:

Making raw food from pumpkin, however, is a bit harder if you don't do it right. Most pumpkin purees involve boiling the pumpkin to soften it enough to use. With this in mind, I set out to create a delicious pumpkin puree without having to cook it. So this is what i've come up with.

Pumpkin Puree

Ingredients:

1 Pie Pumpkin

1 Apple

-Cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out all of the seeds and insides. An ice cream scoop works excellently for this. Then core the apple.

-Cut up the pumpkin and apple into small pieces or cubes and put those pieces into a juicer.

-Put both the pulp and the juice into a food processor or blender and blend until the texture is smooth. Add water if needed until everything is smooth.

-Enjoy!

I also saved some of the juice just for the sake of Harry Potter references

Finally, a pumpkin puree that a raw foodist can partake of. Some people just settle for carrot puree and say you can't tell the difference, but if I want some pumpkin then i'm gonna have some pumpkin!

Pumpkin is also one of the nutritious fruits available (yes, its a fruit). Not only the mineral rich flesh, but the seeds are also incredibly good for your body and in many cases considered one of the healthiest foods on earth. But I didn't really use the seeds in this recipe in this post, so lets save that for another day.

I'm not big on counting my calories since I really dont need to worry about it with a raw diet but for those of you who are, there are only about 40 calories in every half cup of this puree! It contains a load of beta-carotene, which is basically just Vitamin A when its in the body. Vitamin A is awesome for your vision and helping to reverse skin damage. Also this vitamin is not too bad at boosting your immune system so when its combined with the vitamin C that's in here, its a perfect food for those winter colds.

It also has about 5 grams of fiber for ever 1/2 cup so your digestive system and cholesterol levels will both thank you for that. The Vitamin E in here will help your skin and the vitamin B5 will help to balance out your hormones.

So not only is this stuff going to taste incredibly good in a pie (a recipe for that is coming), but its also amazingly healthy for your body too! I added the apple in here to give it some sweetness for desserts, but you don't really need it if you plan on using this recipe for a soup. Expect me to be eating this stuff all month long!

Whats your favorite pumpkin recipe? And did anyone get what I carved?

-Andrew D. Morrison-