Happy Halloween! It's the spookiest night of all tonight and I feel like we're properly starting into the cold, dark months from tomorrow. So what we really need is a nice sweet treat! Here in Germany you can usually get sugar roasted almonds and other nuts at Christmas markets and similar markets and fairs. With covid cancelling quite a few of these over the last couple of years, I had to find out how to make these at home. To give them a more autumnal touch, I decided to use pumpkin seeds instead of the classic almonds. This literally uses like 5 basic ingredients and all the equipment you need is a pan and a stove :)

Here's the ingredients you need:

Add the water, sugar and spices into your pan and heat until the sugar has completely dissolved.

Now add the pumpkin seeds to the sugar water and cook on high heat, stirring occasionally. You will notice the syrup thickening with time.

Meanwhile, prepare a baking tray with greaseproof paper. You will leave your roasted pumpkin seeds to cool and set on this.

After about 10 to 15 minutes, the syrup will have thickened considerably. At this point it's important you keep stirring the seeds continiously so they don't stick to the pan and burn or build one big lump. Your kitchen will already be smelling divine at this point! :)

Once the sugar starts to properly coat the pumpkin seeds and starts to set and get crumbly, your pumpkin seeds are ready to come out of the pan. Pour them onto the baking sheet and spread them out evenly to cool down and set completely.

Be sure to wait for the seeds to cool down before tasting as the hot sugar mixture is really just that - painfully hot! ;)

These also make for a perfect little foodie christmas gift for friends and family or a lovely little winter snack for when you have some friends over. Have you tried making your own sugar roasted nuts or seeds? How did you get on? Leave me a comment if you try this recipe and enjoy :)

Add all the ingredients except the chocolate into a blender until you've got a nice little pumpkin/oat batter. Add the batter to an oven proof dish (lightly grease in advance) and add a piece of dark chocolate to the middle of your ramekin. If you're not feeling chocolatey, top your oats with blueberries or apples to taste :)

Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 - 25 minutes and dig in straight away!

Autumn arrived full force a couple of weeks ago with lots of rain and surprisingly cold temperatures. And with the cold weather comes a craving for warm and comforting meals like soups and stews! And is there anything more comforting than snuggling up with a big bowl of creamy pumpkin soup? So last week, I put my wellies on and went to the local farmshop that sells a wide variety of pumpkins and squashes and also offers a little pumpkin patch to pick Halloween pumpkins! I loved it and came back with a few little pumpkins and the hokkaido pumpkin needed for this recipe :) Hokkaido is perfect, as you don't have to peel it - just give it a good wash and it's ready to go!

To make this pumpkin soup super creamy we'll use coconut milk, which also gives it a bit of an exotic taste. I also love using roasted pumpkin as that really enhances the taste of it! With all the amazing spices used, another plus of this recipe is, that you can easily prep this soup a day in advance as the flavours only get stronger. So definitely keep those leftovers in the fridge for an amazingly tasty quick lunch the next day :)

Preheat your oven to 200°C.

Wash and half your pumpkin. Spoon out all of the seeds, then chop into same sized chunks. Place the pumpkin chunks on a baking tray and roast for about 30 minutes or until it's softened and browned on the outside.

In a big soup pot, melt the coconut oil then add the finely chopped onions and garlic and fry until the onions start to become translucent. Grate in the ginger and fry for another minute or two.

Into your pot, add the roasted pumpkin, all the spices as well as the stock and coconut milk. Bring the whole thing to a boil, then reduce the heat and let simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Your kitchen will be smelling amazing by this point :)

Take the pot off the heat and blend it until it's smooth and creamy. If needed, add a bit more stock.

To serve, add some toppings to your bowls such as pumpkin seeds, balsamic, some swirls of soy yoghurt some chopped parsley - whatever floats your boat :)

Now there's only one thing left to do: get cozy and tuck in! :)

Let me know how you like this recipe! What are your favourite autumn/winter warmer recipes and comfort meals? Leave me a comment and let me know :)