Pumpkin & Pomegranate

I apologize for the photo you are about to see, but only sort of. You see it doesn’t look nearly as good as it tastes, and the recipe for one of the ingredients makes up for the not so photogenic food. This was my breakfast:

The fact that the photo was taken with my phone only makes it worse. I had no time for any presentation, nor the time to take the memory card out of my computer to take a proper photo. So you get that mess up there. I promise you though it was DELICIOUS. On Sunday after our fabulous breakfast we drove out to the country to get fresh pastured eggs from chickens who have the run of the property. We were saddened to hear that the flock of 40 has dwindled down to 16 because of predators, and that very morning one of their roosters had been saved from the mouth of a coyote. I am not talking early morning either, the chickens are protected at night. This coyote was gutsy enough to come out at 11 a.m. and try to feast on the poor rooster. Luckily he was spared that day, but it was so sad to hear about the others. I know this is the circle of life, but it is still upsetting to me. We did manage to load up on eggs, Matt and I each got 2 dozen, and I brought 2 dozen home to my mother as well. So that scramble was made with 3 fresh eggs with the most amazing orange yolks. I scrambled them with some purple kale Matt got for me at the Ballard Farmer’s Market, and a little virgin coconut oil. I then put them in a bowl with some refritos. Those beans right there are made from reconstituted beans ;-) I know it sounds gross but I LOVE them. And I can get them on Amazon now! No more loading up when I visit Texas! then (and here comes the magic) I topped it all off with a couple of tablespoons of my HOMEMADE Pistachio-Hazelnut nut butter with cumin and black pepper! I got the idea from Marilyn’s Nut Butter that I tasted at the Ballard Farmer’s Market. I absolutely loved it, but at $14.50 a jar I unfortunately cannot afford the luxury.

So what is a chef to do but whip some up herself!

So…I bought some organic roasted Hazelnuts, some salted roasted pistachios (they didn’t have organic or shelled at my co-op), and went home to work on the project. Next time I am definitely going to seek out the shelled pistachios. I know I am a whiner, but I like my nails.

Here are the specs:

• 1 C. Shelled Pistachios
• 1/2 C. Roasted Hazelnuts
• 3/8 tsp. Ground Gumin
• 3/8 tsp. Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 1.5 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil

I put all of that into the Vita-Mix (let’s call her Dolce) and blended. I didn’t go to the highest speed, and I am not really sure what others do when they make nut butter in there, but I find that lower speeds work a little better but you have to stop it fairly often to stir. If you have any tips I would LOVE to hear them. I’d also love to make this without any extra oil, but pistachios aren’t all that oily. I could probably try more hazelnuts next time. I’ll keep you posted. I might even add a little garlic powder to the mix just to shake things up a bit.

So, this was delicious on my breakfast. I am also going to try it on a savory quinoa or buckwheat, and this would be tremendous in place of the pumpkin seed butter from yesterday’s sweet potato fry recipe.Also great on roasted or sautéed veggies, crackers, etc. I am totally in love with it! I had also forgotten how good pistachios are! Might have to load up on those next time I am at the store.

And now I am completely into different nut butter combos. I think a Thai cashew nut butter might be next but I am undecided. Maybe it will be peanut.