Let's Go Orange -- Clap-Clap-CLAP-CLAP-CLAP!

It's March Madness and Central New York is bleeding Orange.

If the closest you get to orange food in your diet is the sauce on your chicken wings or the Cheez Doodles in your snack bowl, here's some orange food that's more pure and natural:

Pumpkin-Maple Scones.

The pale orange and utterly delicious scones were the first in a three-game streak of going orange in the kitchen.

 

 
To get out of a winter cooking rut, I turned to some magazines for inspiration and found plenty in the autumn issue of Edible Finger Lakes magazine, which contained a recipe for Winter Squash Scones and Roasted Delicata Squash Stuffed With White Beans, Greens and Sage.

I made the scones with organic pumpkin puree (canned) in the interest of convenience and the main course with butternut squash because delicata was not available.

 

The extra pumpkin puree was used to make a couple Pumpkin-Apple-Maple Smoothies, a healthy way to go orange for breakfast.

To make one, combine a half-cup of low-fat vanilla yogurt, a quarter-cup of pumpkin puree (or to taste), a couple spoonfuls of applesauce, a splash of milk and a tablespoon or two of maple syrup in a blender. Blend until smooth. To thicken the mixture, add a couple ice cubes. Serve in a tall glass, garnished with a sprinkle of cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg.

If you care about your body and what you put into it, you know that it's important to eat a rainbow of foods, including red, green, yellow, blue, purple, brown and ORANGE. The color of pumpkin, squash and other vegetables comes from beta carotene, which plays a role in maintaining healthy vision. Beta carotene is believed to delay cognitive aging, help the heart function properly and protect skin from sun damage.

For an orange recipe using carrots, see my first-ever Eat First blog post, Orange Comfort in a Bowl (2009).

Pumpkin-Maple Scones
Adapted from Edible Finger Lakes magazine

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
½ cup pumpkin puree
¾ cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg beaten and mixed with a little water to make an egg wash
Maple sugar for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Add chilled butter to flour mixture and combine using a pastry cutter until you have pea-sized chunks.

In a separate bowl, combine pumpkin, cream, maple syrup and vanilla until smooth. Add to the flour mixture, mixing lightly with a fork until the liquid is just incorporated. Do not over mix.

Knead the dough several times in the bowl, then turn it out onto a floured work surface. Cut the dough in half and pat each half into a disk, roughly 1 inch high and 5 inches in diameter. Cut each disk into six wedge-shaped scones, and place the scones on the baking sheet, spacing about 1 inch apart.

Brush the tops of the scones with the egg wash and sprinkle with maple sugar. Bake for 15 minutes, until the tops are lightly browned. Cool on a rack.  Stir together the confectioner’s sugar and syrup until smooth. Makes 12 scones.

Comments

[Margaret @ Eat First]

Maureen -- I don't see why Cheez Doodles can't be part of a (relatively) healthy diet on occasion... we're supposed to 'Eat a Rainbow!'

Thanks for stopping by!

[Maureen]

Margaret these look healthy and delicious. But can I still eat Cheese Doodles?

[Margaret @ Eat First]

Hi, Katrina --

I like the "eat a rainbow" strategy of getting kids to eat vegetables!

Thanks for visiting and have a great weekend.

[Katrina]

These all look delicious!! When I was little, my parents always told me I needed more orange in my stomach to get me to eat squash & pumpkin - I now love both, so they were right :)