Pumpkin Season is upon us and I LOVE PUMPKINS!!!
Not just for Halloween anymore, the Pumpkin is a delicious gourd-like squash that can is part of the Cucurbitaceae family. “Most parts of the pumpkin are edible, including the fleshy shell, the seeds, the leaves, and even the flowers.” (Wikipedia)
Pumpkins have a mildly sweet flavor and can be used interchangeable in recipes that call for butternut squash and other winter squashes. Sugar Pumpkins are typically the choice for cooking and work amazingly as a pumpkin pie, roasted herbed pumpkin or sweet puree for cakes and breads.
So you know about carving them up, but Did you know that pumpkins are also Very Good for you? Pumpkins are an excellent source of the antioxidant, beta-carotene and Beta-carotene is one of the plant carotenoids that is converted to vitamin A in the body. *These little orange babies are also a great source of Vitamins E (Alpha Tocopherol), A and C, B Vitamins such as Thiamin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, and Riboflavin and trace elements including Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Copper, Potassium and Phosphorus.
So, knowing all this, I swapped pumpkin into my favorite Rice Medley And made an Awesomely Moist Vegan Pumpkin Cake. All the credit goes to this fabulous Vegan Recipe Website: Kitchen La Boheme
WHY VEGAN, you might ask? Well, Eggs are a common allergy for some people and Ayurveda focuses on proper food combining (low emphasis on eggs as a source of daily protein). Since I was using Almond Milk in the recipe, I wanted to reduce potential Food Combination interactions between eggs and nuts. *oh, and I didn’t have any eggs in the house. =)
Ayurvedic Highlights: My cake was made with Organic Ghee (Tridoshic), Garam Masala (to balance Kapha) and Almond Milk (Tridoshic).
So, here’s the recipe Link of last night’s Pumpkin Creation…Enjoy!
Veda Health 