I love the fall and daylight savings time is probably my favorite day of the fall since I get to wake up early with the sun coming up like I do in the summer, without sacrificing it being my favorite part of the year. The changing of the seasons never ceases to change my appetite drastically. Where in the summer the thought of “stick to your ribs” food is a rarity, in the fall and winter, I somehow find myself dreaming after warmer, denser, heartier foods. In the summer smoothies and bowls of fruit do just fine for breakfast. Salads with lean protein for lunch. Fresh spicy food for dinner. In the fall and winter, that just won’t do. I mean as hearty as a salad can be has one ever warmed you up? When you are hoofing it through a winter (or fall) snow storm are you dreaming of leafy greens with a whisper of dressing to stave off the cold? Hardly! I want soups, chili, curry, roast vegetables, comfort foods (made healthy of course!) Especially since I am prone to being cold anyways, I need something warmer to keep me sustained especially when I am running 100-120 miles in a week in the cool fall air. And just because something is warming and comforting doesn’t mean it has to be bad for you.

Over the weekend, I headed to Cibo post-run for a late breakfast and dug into a bowl of granola with yogurt and stewed fruit. The stewed fruit especially was absolutely the perfect fall breakfast. I decided to take the idea home and create something that would fit my foodie model. Must taste great, but also not just be loaded with sugar or without additional health benefits. I decided to notch down the level of oil and sweetener in the granola and boost up the dried fruit and nuts. I also used agave nectar instead of brown sugar It was not overly sweet but got a great golden toastiness that I adore. The fruit stewed in POM Wonderful juice (which is what I had on hand thanks to them sending me some!) or any juice will do. The stewed fruit will be plenty sweet to balance out the granola. I thought it potentially could be too sweet but this breakfast was a home run.

Stewed Fruit

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

2 apples, diced
2 pears, diced
2 persimmons, diced
1 cup peaches, sliced
¼ cup Pom Juice
¼ cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

Put everything in a pot over medium-low heat, bring to a simmer and cover. Let cook for 45 minutes stirring occasionally.

Autumn Granola

Yield: About 24 servings.

Ingredients:

4 cups gluten free oats
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts
½ cup peanut oil
½ cup agave nectar
1 cup diced dried apricots
1 cup roasted unsalted cashews
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup dried berries
1 cup dried cherries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Toss oats, shredded coconut and walnuts together in a large bowl. Mix oil and agave together and stir into oat mixture. Spread out evenly on a sheet pan and bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until golden, stirring occasionally.

Remove mixture from oven and mix in remaining ingredients and let cool. Store in an airtight container.

Just like a fond memory. Gluten Free Pumpkin Whoopie Pie.

Food is often equated with or can provoke both strong positive and negative memories. During the fall, as the weather cools and the leaves change color and fall to the ground, I think back fondly to my time in Pittsburgh when I was in library school. I loved the fall there. I can remember getting in my little kitchen and cooking my first ever Thanksgiving dinner. I remember hunched over a fingerprint covered copy of that month’s Food and Wine magazine, meticulously following the recipe for three elaborate dishes that I would serve only to myself. I wasn’t much of a foodie then, or even that creative of a cook, but I had my moments of brilliance.

Ingredients for the GF Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

One of the things that I discovered while in Pittsburgh (food wise) that I had never heard of, other than Fluffernutters and Salads and Sandwiches topped with handfuls of fries, were whoopie pies. According to Wikipedia: whoopie pie (alternatively called a gob, black-and-white, or bob) is a baked good made of two round mound-shaped pieces of chocolate cake, sometimes pumpkin cake, with a sweet, creamy frosting sandwiched between them. While considered a New England phenomenon and a Pennsylvania Amish tradition, they are increasingly sold throughout the United States. According to food historians, Amish women would bake these and put them in farmers’ lunchboxes. When farmers would find these treats in their lunch, they would shout “Whoopie!”

Once I left Pittsburgh, I didn’t see these delicious treats again. Until, that is, I visited Vermont for the Vermont 50miler. As the description indicates, it is also a New England phenomenon and when my friend Glen was eating at the pre-race dinner the night before the race, he came back to the table with three desserts. One of which was a pumpkin whoopie pie. I was instantly lost in a memory of cool, crisp Pittsburgh fall evenings and the comfort of a pumpkin whoopie pie and a cup of tea, nestled down on my couch. I hadn’t thought about that time in my life for a while. And, I began seriously craving a pumpkin whoopie pie.

Folding the ingredients together

After I finally got home from my trip to Vermont & NYC, I decided to start testing a recipe for a gluten free/ egg free/soy free version of the pumpkin whoopie pie. While I would have loved to stuck with the Amish tradition of using eggs and normal flour, I simply cannot eat those things and so what would be the point of having my cake but not being able to eat it too?!?!

Cakes fresh out of the oven waiting to cool and be frosted!

I was quite pleasantly surprised at my first go-round with these. Their texture was absolutely spot on. Very light and fluffy, which is saying something considering gluten free flour usually does not lend itself to that. The frosting turned out creamy and dreamy once whipped the heck out of it the blender and then let it hang out in the fridge to tighten up. I took these pictures before I did that, thankfully I only frosted one “show” whoppie pie. Ok, let’s be honest, I couldn’t hardly wait so I made one I could gobble pretty immediately. It was brilliant! The frosting was not to heavy or sugary. The cakes were not heavy and not super sweet either. Admittedly, I had a second one once I let everything really cool and setup and it was out of sight. I love it when things get better with time.

Vanilla frosting and half a cake.

Today is a very crappy day. The bay is being slammed with bad weather, but these GF Pumpkin Whoopie Pies give me a sense of comfort and security no matter how hard the rain falls and the wind blows. I am comforted by the taste that floods my mouth with each nibble, but even more than that, I am comforted by the memories that are evoked in my mind and wrap my spirit in a sense of calm and coziness.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Whoopie Pie perfection!

Gluten Free Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Ingredients

1 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
2 serving eggs replacer, equivalent to 2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 ½ cups bobs red mill gluten free flour mix
¾ tsp guar gum
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 ½ cups pumpkin puree
¼ cup coconut flour
pinch salt
¾ cup almond milk
¾ cup butter
2 ½ cups confectioners sugar
3 ½ tsp vanilla extract

For the cakes:

Preheat the oven to 400 F and cover baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and brown sugar. Prepare the egg replacer and add to the butter/sugar mixture. Beat well and add vanilla.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, guar gum, baking soda and powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Add flour mixture to butter/sugar alternating adding the pumpkin puree. Mix well until smooth.

Drop rounded spoonfuls onto baking sheets leaving plenty of room for the cakes to spread out as they cook. Bake for 11-12 minutes until the spring back when lightly pressed. Cool completely and then frost and top with another cake. Wrap each whoopie pie individually in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator.

For the filling:

In a saucepan over medium heat whisk the flour and salt with the almond milk until the mixture is smooth and starts to thicken. Cool in the refrigerator.

In a blender meanwhile, cream butter and confectioner’s sugar and vanilla. Add the cooled milk mixture and blend until the filling thickens. Taste and add more sugar if more desired sweetness. Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes until cool and thick before frosting.

Curried Lentils with Roast Carrots, Stir-Fry Broccoli with garlic, onions and spices, Greek Salad, Chili-Spiked Roast Butternut squash, Chili loaded with organic veg, Corn on the Cob roasted in the Husk. Sounds like something straight out of a hardworking, well equipped kitchen right? Sure it does, but that would be easy. All of that was created while camping out here in Leadville, using little more than a campfire, a JetBoil, a little camp stove and a few tupperware containers.

I have been delighted to find out how easy it is to still create amazing dishes while “roughing it”. We have eaten well, not had to sacrifice flavor, health and gotten to be hugely creative in the meantime.

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Our first night of cooking we decided to experiment with roasting under the hot coals of the fire. I had picked up some butternut squash, carrots and corn for roasting at Alpine Natural Grocery in Frisco and with a few simple additions from Bryon’s backseat pantry, we were in business. I only had a very small paring knife that I picked up for 2 bucks so I painstakingly peeled and cut up the Butternut Squash and then tossed it with some Chili powder, fresh garlic cloves and olive oil. I did the same for the carrots. We folded them up nice and tight and put them under the hot coals of the fire. We left the corn in the husks and wrapped those in foil as well. We slightly buried the packets under the coals, way from the direct heat. The sound of the oil in the packets sizzling wetted our appetites. Meanwhile, I put together a great Greek salad and added avocado. Tomato, fresh spring greens, red onion, cucumber, local goat cheese and avocado, topped with a easy red wine vinegar and olive oil dressing. We pulled it out of the fire when we intuitively knew it was done and voila, perfectly tender butternut squash and carrots. It was so amazing to have this success after proceeding with the technique we had never tried before. There was a lot of high-fiving after we took the first few bites. It was damn good.

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The roast vegetable packets were amazing and the salad was a fresh, bright counterpoint. The whole meal just popped and was quite satisfying. After this meal, my mind was churning with the infinite possibilities for the next few nights. The success of the coal roasting unleashed so much potential!

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The next night we were hungry for something hearty and interested in trying out multiple techniques. We again roasted some carrots in the fire. We also cooked some wild rice on a friend’s gas burner. Bryon carefully and tediously cooked up some lentils over a small campstove which pretty much requires constant attention. I utilized the jetboil and stir-fried up some broccoli with onions, garlic and spices. It was really quite good, well rounded and proved once again that good quality ingredients simply prepared make amazing meals.

I come back to it time and time again, good food, healthful food, gourmet food is not rocket science. It can be quite easy in fact. Good quality ingredients, simple techniques can produce profound results! I for one am continually excited about the possibilities for cooking, eating and discovering. There is always more to learn and explore! It is exciting!