The first thing I thought about when we decided to do this pumpkin week was pancakes. I’ve been seeing a lot recipes lately but never had the chance to make them. I make pancakes regularly for breakfast. I think it’s a great way to start a day. If you’re organized it can be really quick. The key is to have your pancake mix ready so that you only need to add the wet ingredients. I use a blend of whole wheat, oat, barley and regular flour for a healthy version.

So what’s so special about these pumpkin pancakes? It essentially is like a regular pancake but the added pumpkin puree and spice mix give them a nice fall touch. Now if you want to make your breakfast even more special, try them with this salted caramel apple sauce instead of the regular maple syrup. I’m drooling just thinking about it!

First, I cook and caramelize apple slices. The goal is to soften the apple and give them a nice color. I then make a quick caramel sauce with lemon juice and a bit of salt (or fleur de sel) to balance the sweetness. It’s sweet, slightly tangy and a touch salty, just the way I like it. Remember our apple chips? Make sure you have some time if you’re going to make everything. If you don’t, you can substitute the caramel sauce with maple syrup, that’s fine. One more thing, I reduced the amount of sugar in the pancakes since the sauce it’s quite sweet already.

The pancake recipe is adapted from Easy Homemade Pumpkin Pancakes by Inspired Taste. The recipe for the pumpkin purée is here.

This week we are doing a special pumpkin week. We will be sharing recipes featuring pumpkin in very different ways, from sweet to savory and breakfast to dinner. We never really used pumpkin before. It’s the kind of product that we used to ignore when grocery shopping because we misunderstand it. We would not know how to use it or what to cook with it. This time is over. We decided to give pumpkin a chance and the results were amazing.

Over the past weeks, we experimented many recipes and selected several of them to share on the blog. To make things easier, all the recipes are using pumpkin purée as a base. This way you can make a big batch and you’ll be able to try our different recipes. It’s also possible to use canned pumpkin, but making your own is dead simple and tastes so much better. It can be stored in the fridge for about 1 week.

So, hop on and join the pumpkin adventure with us!

Yay! We passed our first month of blogging! I know it’s a little bit early to celebrate but we’ve put a lot of effort and heart into it so this feels like a little achievement for us. We had over 5000 visits and 7000 page views, from almost 100 countries. I don’t know if these are considered good numbers but I think it’s pretty amazing. Thank you to those who’ve been reading us. We really hope you enjoy our recipes because there is more coming! Just to tease you, next week we’ll do a special week dedicated to pumpkin to celebrate fall. So stay tuned!

Ok, now you probably want to hear about this beef & bacon baked pasta (I know, that’s a lot of B’s). It’s a classic baked pasta recipe. Pasta, tomato and meat sauce, cheese. It’s a great recipe for weekdays, even better if you have leftover tomato sauce or pasta. If you make everything from scratch, it will take about 30 minutes to prepare. And if you’re feeling a bit lazy (that’s alright), you can make a bigger batch and heat up the leftover the next days.

Here’s a few tips. I use Rotini pasta because it holds the sauce well. Penne or Farfalle is also a good choice. I first cook them until firm so they don’t end up too soft after baking. If you like your cheese a bit more brown, sort of like a crust, leave the dish in the oven for a little longer. If you prefer a more gooey runny cheese, remove it earlier. Finally, top with fresh basil before serving if you have some.

Nico’s wine pairing: For this hearty meat sauce, I would go for a smooth and fruity red with enough tannic structure. Since we’re talking about pasta, Italy comes to mind. Try a Sangiovese based wine like Chianti.

Avocado is one of those ingredients that doesn’t need much help to be turned into a delicious dish. It’s just good on its own and adding too many ingredients would just hide its subtle nuances. Our favorite guacamole, for example, is made with tomato, shallot, coriander, salt and pepper. Simple. It doesn’t mean you can’t be creative. I’m sure there are tons of ingredients that would pair well with avocado, but moderation is key. Here’s one way to make a simple and beautiful avocado tartine. You almost don’t want to eat it but honestly it’s irresistible.

Nico’s wine pairing: A light and crisp Sauvignon Blanc, preferably Sancerre or Pouilly-Fumé.

This summer has been very busy for us. We moved to a new apartment after a long time hunting for a new place. While moving is usually tiring for everyone, moving with a baby around is another level. And to make things worst, we all got sick after moving to the new place. Luckily, we had Nico’s parents to help us out. When things get really busy like this summer, it’s always nice to have easy and quick recipes to boost the troops. After all, what’s better than a nice meal after a long day of work?

Strawberry Crumble Cake is one of those simple recipes. Like its name implies, it’s half cake half crumble. The bottom is more cake like while the top resembles crumble (perfect if you prefer cakes but your husband favors crumble), with a fruit layer in the middle. I have been making it all summer using different kinds of berries each time. I like strawberries but I found blueberries worked just as well. Of course, you can go with your preferred fruits. I also sprinkle the top with almond flakes to make it a bit more interesting.