After a summer filled with abundant amounts of yellow squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplant, zucchnini - you name it, we probably got enough of it from our garden to sustain a small village - we have now entered the fall harvest and have this time been blessed with a plethora of pumpkins. Our cup certainly overfloweth as a result of a few small seeds and some water :)So, I spent last weekend cheerfully cutting down our dried cornstalks for decoration on our porch and creating fall displays of pumpkins in various sizes at the base of my stalks. Oh how lovely and fallish! Bring on the hot apple cider and pumpkin spice lattes. And where are those apples? I want to bob for one!
So here we are, mid-September, a time when I usually have not even taken the kids pumpkin picking yet. And already we have enough pumpkins to carve the entire Duggar family in Jack-o-Lantern form, if we so desire. And let's not forget the smaller, "pie" pumpkin variety that has flourished even more than the carving pumpkins at this point. I have given many away and still our porch is covered with them.
So, as I dig our family out from the Great Pumpkin Invasion, I have decided to invest some time in researching and trying various ways of processing and enjoying fresh pumpkin. I will admit that I am a bit of a pumpkin fanatic. As soon as August hits, I start thinking about how in a month's time, I can again enjoy all of the pumpkin goodies of the fall - pumpkin bread, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin spice lattes, and, of course, pumpkin pie. So, this research has been quite exciting to me, as I dream of eating fresh pumpkin treats until my pants no longer button. My husband shares in my joy (except I'll take his latte since he would never go near one). But, I did not know how it would go over with the three little people, who act like I have just served them roadkill for dinner most nights. What would they think of that delicious, yet quite strong, taste of pumpkin?
And the verdict? So far, so good. They have gobbled up our pumpkin treats with vigor and have even asked for- brace yourselves - seconds!
So, with the canned pumpkin shortage this year at the supermarket, think about processing your own pumpkin puree and solving that problem without even having to call Libby's to complain! It is really very easy and there is nothing to be afraid of. Got that, ladies? So just give it a try and leave a comment, letting me know how your pumpkin pie and other goodies turned out. I'll bet you one large Jack-o-Lantern that they will be the best pumpkin sweets you have ever eaten!
Pumpkin Puree
What You’ll Need
1—6 to 8 inch “pie” pumpkinA sharp, large serrated knife
A cutting board
An ice cream scoop
A large, covered Pyrex or other oven-safe baker
Directions
1. Find a pie pumpkin., which are smaller, sweeter, less grainy textured pumpkins than the usual jack-o-lantern types. Grocery stores usually carry them in late September through December. They're only about 8 inches in diameter. Look for one that is firm, no bruises or soft spots, and a good orange color. One 6-8 inch pie pumpkin will produce 3-4 cups of pumpkin puree.2. Wash the exterior of the pumpkin in cool or warm water, no soap.
3. Cut the pumpkin in half. A serrated knife and a sawing motion works best - a smooth knife is more likely to slip and hurt you!
4. Scoop out the seeds and scrape the insides. You want to get out that stringy, dangly stuff that coats the inside surface. A heavy ice cream scoop works great for this.
5. Place the two halves of your pumpkin, cut side facing up, into your oven-safe, covered baker and fill with 3 cups of water.
6. Bake, covered, at 350 degrees for approximately 1 hour to 1.5 hours, until the pumpkin is very soft and a knife easily inserts into it.
7. Remove from oven and from baker and let cool. When cool, scrape the puree into a large bowl. It should come out very easily and in large chunks.
8. Place puree into a food processor or blender and puree for several minutes, until smooth. That’s all, you are now ready to use your puree in recipes or freeze it. .
Homemade Pumpkin Pie Recipe
Ingredients
1 homemade or purchased single pastry 9” pie crust (see My Favorite Apple Pie Recipe for a homemade crust)
1 cup sugar 1.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
3 cups pumpkin puree
1.5 cans (12oz each) of evaporated milk 3-4 drops red food coloring to enhance orange color (optional)
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Mix all of the filling ingredients above with an electric mixer or blender.
3. Pour filling into your pie crust up until about 1/2-1/4” from the top. It will be runny at this point but will firm up in the oven.
4. Bake at 425 degrees for the first 15 minutes; then reduce the oven temperature to 350 and bake another 60 minutes, until a knife inserted into the center comes out dry and clean.
5. Let cool or enjoy warm and serve alone or with ice cream or whipped cream. Enjoy!
Extras?
If you have extra puree after you do your baking, here are a few good ideas to use up the leftovers. Enjoy!
- Use leftover pumpkin pie filling mix to make Pumpkin French Toast for a special breakfast. The eggs, spice and milk are already there so just dip your bread slices in the mixture and put onto your skillet until golden. Happy fall!
- Blend some of your leftover pumpkin puree into a homemade meatloaf, meatballs or mix in with pasta and sauce. Only use about 1/4- 1/2 cup for an entire recipe. The nutrients will be there; the taste will not. The kids love this (since they don't even know what is happening to them !)
- Mix any leftover pumpkin puree into pancake mixture for Pumpkin Pancakes. Use about 1/4-1/2 cup for the single recipe.
- Babies love pureed pumpkin as a quick and easy form of homemade baby food. Or, for older babies and children, mix with some applesauce for a different take on, well, applesauce. Only this one has one of those dreaded veggies in it, but at least it's not green, right? Tell them it's a new type of applesauce and they'll likely try it.
- Freeze it. your fresh puree can be frozen in Ziploc freezer bags or in other plastic containers for future use. If there is some moisture in your puree when you defrost it, just drain that off before using it to avoid having watery baked goods
Don't Forgot Those Seeds!
If you are one of the rare kind like myself and my husband who will actually take the time and effort to remove, clean and roast the pumpkin seeds for a tasty, crunchy snack, then this section is for you. Basically, there is not much difference in how you roast the seeds; the differences lie in how you season them. Enjoy!
To roast pumkin seeds, remove the seeds and place in a colandar. Clean them and remove all pumpkin membrane. Dry and place in a bowl with 1/4-1/3 cup olive oil, depending on how many you are roasting. Seeds from an entire pie pumpkin would probably be 1/4 cup; those from a Jack-o-Lantern would be 1/3 cup. Mix until coated and place in a single layer on a foil-lined cookie sheet with sides. Roast at 350 for 20 minutes or until golden. Remove and promptly season with one or more of the following:
Salt
Cinnamon Sugar
Seasoned Salt
Garlic Powder and Salt
Cayenne Pepper
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