Hello from Swan’s Island, Maine! I’m here with friends, enjoying the ocean views and crunchy leaves and I would never like to leave, thank you very much. We’ve been keeping busy doing as much or as little as we want—hiking, going to the beach, thrifting, watching TikTok, playing with my ring light, crafting…
As usual, I have kind of taken over the kitchen. It’s just what I do, I suppose. I’ve made a couple of blog recipes (Everyday Cassoulet, Oatmeal Blender Pancakes) and still have one planned to make while I’m here. Today’s Easy Pumpkin Oatmeal, however, was improvised. It was thrown together on the fly on a lazy Monday morning with perfect light and a harbor bell ringing in the background–in a perfect world, it’s the way all my breakfasts would materialize.
Easy Pumpkin Oatmeal takes ten whole minutes and is hardly even a recipe. Just toast some oats and then add some water and milk (I used almond). Bring it to a simmer and cook, stirring constantly, for about five minutes or until creamy. Finish it off with some pure pumpkin purée, pumpkin pie spice, brown sugar and butter (the vegan stuff). Easy peasy pumpkin…squeezy?
I dished this up with cinnamon apples, vegan butter and maple syrup. I highly recommend eating it in your pajamas in a living room overlooking a lobstering wharf on a fall morning, but if you’re not currently situated on an island in Maine, any dining table will do.
Heads up that I’m going to take this Friday off of posting so I can enjoy my vacation, but I’m posting all our Maine meals over on Instagram, and I’ll have a full report and new recipes up next week!
Easy Pumpkin Oatmeal
makes 4-6 servings
3 tablespoons butter (regular or vegan), divided
3 cups old-fashioned oats
3 cups water
3 cups milk of choice (I used almond)
1/4-1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1 cup pure pumpkin purée
1/3-1/2 cup light or dark brown sugar, packed (depending on preference)
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
For serving (optional):
cinnamon apples (the filling in this, basically)
toasted chopped nuts
maple syrup
cream
butter (regular or vegan)
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a medium pot over medium heat. Add oats and toast, stirring constantly, until fragrant (1-2 minutes). Add water, milk and salt, and turn heat up to medium-high. Stir frequently until it comes to a simmer, then stir constantly for 5 minutes or until thickened.
Stir in pumpkin purée, pumpkin pie spice, and brown sugar. Cook 1 more minute. Remove from heat and stir in remaining 2 tablespoons butter.
Serve immediately with desired toppings.
It’s fall, y’all! And not a minute too soon. I have been obsessed with these Pumpkin Pie S’mores for weeks and am so excited that I finally get to share them on here today!
You read that right: Pumpkin Pie S’mores! As in graham cracker, toasted marshmallow and a little puddle of pumpkin pie all stacked together in one perfect bite. These are absolutely magical, if I do say so myself. And, I do, since I’ve been eating one around midnight pretty much everyday since Labor Day.
The key to this whole operation is a homemade Pumpkin Spice Spread. It’s basically a soft-set pumpkin pie filling that can be used anywhere you could use a little pumpkin spice flourish. Toast, 
For those of you wondering if you can bypass the homemade spread by using pumpkin butter or mixing together some canned pumpkin, spices and brown sugar for your s’mores, the answer is “sure…but it won’t be the same.” While those options both work in a pinch, neither is as rich and decadent as Pumpkin Spice Spread. It’s made with sweetened condensed milk and has some body from egg yolks, so it’s every bit as luxurious as its pastry-wrapped counterpart and far more versatile. You’ll be seeing a lot of this stuff on here this season!
The whole Pumpkin Spice Spread process takes 25 minutes, fifteen of which are hands-off. The most “involved” step is caramelizing the pumpkin, and that’s no trouble at all. It’s literally pushing a cup of pumpkin purée around a dry sauté pan for ten minutes until some of its liquid evaporates and it darkens ever so slightly. This is to ensure that your Pumpkin Spice Spread is nice and thick and never one-note. If you’re pinched for time, you could probably get away without this step, but it really makes a difference in the end product.
Well, except for the part where you dig it out of the fridge every night and sandwich some with graham crackers and a toasted marshmallow. Oh yeah, that’s it.
Some foods are easier to photograph than others and…well…
That said, what baked oatmeal lacks in aesthetic appeal (dull brown and lumpy 😬😬) it more than makes up in delicious whole grain flavor. This one is especially enticing—it’s made with a hefty scoop of pure pumpkin purée and big hit of pumpkin pie spice for maximum seasonal breakfast magic.
It’s also very easy to make. The most difficult (if you can even call it that) step is toasting the oats, and that requires little to no actual brain power. Just scatter the oats onto a pan, put them in the oven, and set a timer. Boom. Done.
My favorite thing about Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal? It reheats like a dream! This, in addition to being filling and fairly good for you, makes it perfect for weekday breakfasts. Just heat individual portions as needed and enjoy.
Of course, it’s also a great low-maintenance-but-still-“special” thing to make on the weekends. And I wouldn’t be disappointed to see it over the holidays.
Has anyone else’s week been five years long? Mine started with two babkas, three layer cakes and a Rosh Hashanah dinner, continued with some early morning construction in my apartment, and was followed up with a neck-ache and a midweek heatwave.
The good news is that NYC weather is finally starting to get with the autumnal program (I am so tired of summer clothes) and that my only plans for this weekend are to take my visiting godparents out for lunch and watch postseason baseball. Then two more work days before going on vacation next Wednesday—it can’t get here soon enough! But more on that later. For now, let’s talk about Cheesecake Swirled Pumpkin Bread.
Cheesecake. Swirled. Pumpkin. Bread.
Cheesecake Swirled Pumpkin Bread begins with a half-recipe of my 
To assemble, you’ll need the pumpkin batter and a small batch of cheesecake—don’t worry, they’re both easy to make. Set aside a cup of the pumpkin batter and put the rest in your loaf pan. Top it with the cheesecake, followed by the remaining batter. Swirl it all with a thin knife or skewer before baking for the better part of an hour. The bread will be puffed when it comes out of the oven, but sink a bit as it cools. This is just the cheesecake buckling a bit—not a bad thing.
This bread needs to be cooled at room temperature and then chilled in the refrigerator, making it an ideal make-ahead treat. Don’t rush to serve this. Pumpkin is a flavor that blooms over time and nobody loves room temperature (or warm 😬) cheesecake. Good things come to those who wait.
e2 bakes brooklyn 