SUPER LUSCIOUS ORANGE & PURPLE SWEETS & SAVORIES NOW

ORANGE & PURPLE: PUMPKINS & PLUMS

Food’s fall colors can rival leaves in their breathtaking beauty -- with the added benefits of taste and nourishment. Today, we are sharing some very special, super-scrumptious, orange pumpkin and royal purple plum recipes. Some are sweet. Some are savory.

Plus there’s a bonus elegant pumpkin lantern you can make to add some orange love to your table.

PUMPKIN EATER: WINTER SQUASH SOUP WITH RED CHILE & MINT

Pumpkin Eater: Winter Squash Soup with Red Chile & Mint, by Nicholas Day, of Food52, is a beautiful orange soup in a state Summer/Fall transition.

Loosely adapted from Deborah Madison's Vegetable Literacy, it combines fresh summer herbs, of basil and mint, with winter squash and spices. And, it works brilliantly! It’s perfect for October, when the vestiges of summer remain, just as Autumn closes in.

ROASTED PUMPKIN GARLIC SOUP

Here’s another earthy pumpkin soup that we have come to adore. Roasted Pumpkin Garlic Soup, created by New Zealand chef Jimmy Boswell, for Raglan Coconut Yoghurt, plays up the savory side of pumpkin. It is warmed with cumin, cardamom, and turmeric, and sparked with fresh chili. It is cooled by a swirl of creamy Raglan Coconut Yoghurt.

Get the recipe here.

SPIRAL PUMPKIN TWISTS WITH MAPLE CREAM

Spiral Pumpkin Twists with Maple Cream, by Adrianna Adarme, at A Cozy Kitchen, is exceptionally beautiful, both to behold and devour. it looks like an Indian Summer sunflower.

Twists of all-butter puff pastry, filled with spiced pumpkin, radiate from the center. She tops it with lightly sweetened whipped creme fraiche.

Get the recipe here. And check out Adarme’s new book here.

PUMPKIN SPICE WAFFLES

Like eating a hug for breakfast! These Pumpkin Spice Waffles, by Julie Gransee, of A Lovely Little Kitchen, just might be the coziest fall Sunday morning treat we’ve ever had the warm pleasure of devouring.

They are divine with melted butter and amber maple syrup. Homemade whipped cream with a shower of cinnamon makes a perfect topper too. Either way, toasted pecans are the crowning glory.

Get the recipe here.

AMAZING PUMPKIN PIE ICE CREAM

The original title for this recipe is “Vegan Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream,” but we just called it Amazing Pumpkin Ice Cream, because, vegan or not, we fell in love. Almond milk, cashews, and pumpkin puree make for a creamy, dreamy pale orange frozen treat.

Maple syrup and brown sugar give it a mellow sweet. Cinnamon and nutmeg add warmth.

This beautiful recipe was created by Dana Shultz, of Minimalist Baker, adapted from Post Punk Kitchen.

KI PLUM

Plum flavored gin! Genius! For this wonderful Ki Plum cocktail, start with a good dry gin, and load it up with purple plums, star anise, and Ki Japanese Arboreal Tree Bitters, made with smoke-dried Japanese mume plums and other exotic fruits and barks, and you’ve got yourself a sophisticated purple party.

Check out Gin Garden’s perfect recipe here.

SAVORY PLUM TART

Savory Plum Tart, by JackieK, of Food52, is a perfect plum pairing fantasy.

Ultra-flaky, buttery pastry cradles a light pillow of mascarpone cheese, with a blanket of balsamic caramelized onion ribbons -- all topped with fresh slices of red and purple plums and a fine julienne of fresh basil.

Get the recipe here.

PISTACHIO PLUM & RED CURRANTS GALETTE

Pistachio Plum & Red Currants Galette, by Gloria at Shanyara Leonie, is another one of those incredibly beautiful recipes that is, for us non-vegan’s, surprisingly vegan! Nut and oat flours form the base, topped blissfully, with purple plums and fresh red currants.

Get the recipe here.

PLUM TATIN

Purple plums become juicy jewels in this beautiful spin on a Tarte Tatin: Plum Tatin, by Beeta Hashemmpour, of Mon Petit Four.

Confession: We love it even more than the original Apple Tarte Tatin. The plum juices soak into the buttery tender cake base turning it, yet another shade of beautiful purple.

PLUM TORTE

Plum Torte, by Michael Newman, of Haverchuk, reminds me of an apple cake my mother used to make, but it’s juicier, and more of my favorite color. Purple passion tops it, in the form of plums, roasted right into the surface of the batter. 

Actually, Newman admits, the recipe was handed down, multi-generationally, from his mother-in-law’s family. It was a favorite for Jewish holidays.

The cake is deceptively simple to make -- not much more than plums, butter, sugar and vanilla, with a little flour and egg thrown in, just to keep it together. Get the recipe here.

Who says Jack ‘O Lanterns have to be spooky? What if they were, instead, beautiful pumpkin lights? Anna Hazel created a simply gorgeous pumpkin lantern that is a snap to create. Check out her easy instructions on her Food52 post here. It comes with a bonus recipe for Old Bay Pumpkin Seeds.

Read more about Beautiful Colors, as it relates to Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact including Color Your World With These 10 Beautiful New Books On Color and 11 Super Colorful New Species Discovered Now.

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IMAGE CREDITS:

1. Image: by Bruce Denis. Pumpkins.
2. Image: by Ryan Dausch. Courtesy of Food52. Pumpkin Eater: Winter Squash Soup with (Less) Red Chile and Mint.
3. Image: by Tesh Randall, of Raglan Coconut Yoghurt. Roasted Pumpkin Garlic Soup.
4. Image: by Adrianna Adarme, of A Cozy Kitchen. Spiral Pumpkin Twists with Maple Cream.
5. Image: by Julie Gransee, of A Lovely Little Kitchen. Pumpkin Spice Waffles.
6. Image: by Dana Shultz, of Minimalist Baker. Vegan Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream.
7. Image: Courtesy of Gin Garden. Ki and Plum Flavored Gin.
8. Image: by James Ransom, for Food 52. Savory Plum Tart.
9. Image: by Gloria, of Shanyara Leonie. Pistachio Plum & Red Currants Galette.
10. Image: by Beeta Hashemmpour, of Mon Petit Four. Plum Tatin.
11. Image: by Michael Newman. Plum Cake. For Rosh Hashanah. Happy New Year!
12. Image: by Anushruti RK. Plums.
13. Image: by Anna Hazel. Courtesy of Food52. Polka Dot Pumpkin Lantern.
14. Image: by Alan Sheffield. Sliced Plums.
15. Image: by Bill Gracey. Pumpkin With A Succulent Hairdo.
16. Image: by BN App - Download now!
17. Image: by RHiNO NEAL. My Plums.