Psian Avilés, 130 YinD:

When I think of home, I think of mami waking my brother and I up with salsa music, yelling (todo el mundo levántense, que hay que limpiar! 😂) and the smell of fresh-brewed coffee. She taught me how to make it con un colador, and it’s traditions like this that make me feel so connected to home.

To celebrate traditions and the fall season, below are Psian’s recipes for homemade pumpkin spice coffee and homemade roasted pumpkin seeds that can be made at site:

Homemade Pumpkin Spice Coffee

From scratch prep time: 1.5 hr.
Pre-made ingredients: 25 min.
Serves: 2 cups of coffee

Ingredients

→ 1-2 cups of pumpkin puree (homemade or store-bought)
→ Cinnamon (to taste)
→ Sugar/brown sugar (to taste)
→ 4 tbsp. of coffee
→ 2 cups of water
→ 1-1.5 cups of milk (depending on how light you like it)
→ Whip cream
→ Caramel for drizzling 

Steps

1. Cut pumpkin into 4 halves.
2. With a spoon, scoop out pumpkin seeds and put them into a bowl.
3. Cut the halves into smaller pieces, so that you can cut off outer layer and discard it. 
4. Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).
5. Once the outer layer is cut off, place pumpkin pieces on parchment paper or aluminum foil, and sprinkle some salt on them. 
6. Bake for about 45 minutes to an hour., checking on tenderness occasionally. 
7. Once pumpkin pieces are tender, put them in food processor or blender to puree them. 
8. Add 1-2 cups of puree to a bowl and place the rest in Tupperware; store in freezer or fridge. 
9. Boil 2 cups of water and 4 tbsp. of coffee grounds for about 5 minutes. Then, strain with a cloth.
10. Boil milk, sugar, cinnamon and pumpkin puree for another 5-7 minutes, and add in coffee. 
11. Simmer for another few minutes.
12. Serve with whipped cream and caramel drizzle. Happy Fall!

*Homemade pumpkin puree will last for 1 week  in the fridge and up to 3 months in the freezer.
*If you have nutmeg, ground ginger or vanilla extract, you can add that in to
*Substitute milk with almond milk, coconut milk or any preferred milk.

Homemade Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Prep time: 15 min.
Cook time: 55 min.
Serves: 2 people

Ingredients

→ Pumpkin seeds
→ Water
→ Salt (to taste)
→ 1 tsp. of butter
→ 1 tsp. of coconut oil, olive oil or sunflower oil

Steps

1. Add pumpkin seeds with pulp to boiling water with 1 tsp. of salt.
2. Let boil for about 20 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C).
4. Strain pumpkin seeds, and discard pulp.
5. Place pumpkin seeds on baking pan coated with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
6. Add 1 tsp. of butter and salt to taste. Ensure that seeds do not overlap each other, so that they bake evenly.
7. Roast for about 45 minutes until golden brown.
8. For sweet pumpkin seeds, add brown sugar, cinnamon or any other sweet ingredient of preference.  

Buen Provecho! Bon Appetit!

Read Psian’s previous articles and contributions.