My latest foodie influence is “Hungry Girl” Lisa Lillien. She began her career with a website and a book offering useful tips to anyone (unsurprisingly, mostly women) looking to monitor their caloric intake without losing any flavor, satisfaction or most importantly volume in their meals. Although I’d heard of her, I 
recently became familiarized when she appeared on my beloved Food Network with her own series. Her slogan is “Tips & Tricks for Hungry Chicks”. She shows how to make easy swaps in your food choices (from grocery stores to dining out) and introduces seemingly satisfying recipes for any occasion. While I can’t yet commit to being her biggest fan, I am intrigued. So much so I was eager to attempt an offbeat swap she suggests for making brownies. Instead of adding the usual oil, eggs and occasional butter to a typical brownie mix, Lillien proposes substituting a can of pure pumpkin puree (which happens to be a standard on-hand ingredient in my pantry) for all of the above! Sounds foolish, doesn’t it? To the health conscious or pumpkin lover, such as myself, maybe not so outlandish, but to the if-you’re-going-to-eat-dessert-go-all-the-way population, this may be a taboo swap. I’d be happy eating any chocolate dessert that’s moist and savory, especially if I can eliminate some of the calories (and increase the nutritional value!?). Intake chocolate with less guilt? Yes, please!
The ultimate test? Make two batches of my typical Ghirardelli brownie mix (I’ve tried far too many brownie batches from scratch that didn’t live up to the store-bought boxes). One with the naughty, but flavorful, additional ingredients... one with pure pumpkin. The results are in! Visually, the brownie batters looked different. The batter with pumpkin was airy and fluffy, while the control group had the expected, familiar dense look and feel. I had to spread the pumpkin batter in and around the pan, while the regular mixture simply distributed to the edges on it’s own. The mixes were poured into the same type of pan and were baked side by side at the same temperature. After the suggested cook time, the typical batch looked done and ready to cool. The pumpkin mixture seemed cooked on the edges, but wiggly in the center. I let them bake about ten minutes longer.
Typical me; I wanted to do a “blind taste test” for this experiment, but it was rather silly for this experiment. The texture between batches was extremely different and it was easy to tell which was an imposter. I’m sure we’re all familiar with what an amazing brownie should feel and taste like (especially coming from the best stock mix in the world). The pumpkin brownies were “more tacky and perhaps less flavorful” according to one brownie connoisseur. In my opinion, I wouldn’t use this ingredient swap for a potluck dessert, but I do plan to experiment with other wonders of what pumpkin can do for my baking. Perhaps I’ll even attempt another attempt in the brownie department.
You can find Hungry Girl, Lisa Lillien at her website www.hungry-girl.com where you’ll discover thousands of food substitutions and tips.
