Food Fun Friday- Pumpkins

I love Pumpkins. I love the color and I love the taste in most recipes (I do not like pumpkin pie... go figure) I checked out my list of recipes I've compiled here in my computer files and realized that I didn't have NEARLY enough.

Then I found this site:

www.pumpkinrecipes.org

and just look at the yummy list of recipes I found there... go, look, cook, (my version of eat,pray,love)

• Baked Pumpkin
• Baked Stuffed Pumpkin
• Beef and Pumpkin Stew
• Black Bean and Roasted Pumpkin Salad
• Cereal Pumpkin Bread
• Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins
• Chocolate Pumpkin Pudding
• Creamy Pumpkin Soup
• Glazed Pumpkin Cookies
• Honey Pumpkin Pie
• Pumpkin Cake
• Pumpkin Cheesecake
• Pumpkin Chili
• Pumpkin Curry
• Pumpkin Fudge
• Pumpkin Gingerbread
• Pumpkin Mincemeat Pie
• Pumpkin Muffins
• Pumpkin Pancakes
• Pumpkin Pie
• Pumpkin Soup
• Pumpkin Waffles
• Stuffed Pumpkin

Below are some recipes from my files: and you can check my post from last year. here

Homemade Pumpkin Puree

Sugar pumpkins. You should be able to find them in the produce section of most grocery stores right now. and they're pretty inexpensive. They're almost too cute to eat! Almost...

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice pumpkin in half and remove stem. You can cut it in quarters if you want, or just leave it halved. It doesn't really matter. I cut mine in quarters so you could see the insides better.

Step 2: Using a spoon, scrape out all of the stringy stuff and the seeds. If you want to toast the seeds (shown below), make sure to save all this junk in a bowl and not the trash can! You'll be left with just the pumpkin rind and the flesh as shown here:

Step 3: Spray a foil-lined baking sheet with non-stick spray. Place your pumpkin cut-side down on the sheet.

Also, during this step, I would recommend covering the pumpkin with another piece of foil. I've never done that before, but I noticed the sticker on my pumpkin advised doing so. And I figure those pumpkin people might know a little somethin' somethin' about roasting pumpkin. Mine sometimes turn out a bit dry and I think covering them with foil might help keep some extra moisture in. On the flip-side, depending on your pumpkin, it may be overly moist instead. See the solution to that in step 6!

Step 4: Cook pumpkin in your 350 degree oven for 50-60 minutes or until it's tender when pierced with a fork. When done, remove from oven and let cool on the baking sheet.

Step 5: Use a spoon to scrape out the flesh and discard the skin/rind. It should be super soft and easy to scoop right out, kind of like scooping out an avocado.

Step 6: Place pumpkin pulp in a food processor and process until smooth. (Or you can just mash it with a fork or potato masher) Now. If your pumpkin is on the dry side, you can add a little water at this point to get the consistency you want. My pumpkin was dry and I was aiming for the consistency of canned pumpkin so I slowly drizzled in about 1/4 cup of water until it had the right feel. If it's too moist, just put your puree in a strainer to let some of the moisture seep through.

At this point you can use it in any recipe that calls for pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin. (Check out some of my faves at the end of this post!)

FYI: I used a 2-lb. pumpkin and it yielded 1 3/4 C puree.
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Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

I've never been much of a pumpkin seed-toaster, but I figure if you're going to the effort of cooking your own pumpkin, you may as well use every last part of it! In my little 2-lb. pumpkin, I got 1/2 C seeds.

1/2 C pumpkin seeds, clean and dry
1/2 T butter
1/4 t olive oil
1/4 t celery salt
1/4 t onion
1/8 garlic
1/8 paprika
pinch cayenne
Kosher salt

Now there seems to be a couple schools of thought on pumpkin seeds. The one that says you should boil them in salted water before roasting and the one that doesn't bother with that step.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Melt butter and add olive oil to it. Place seeds in a small bowl and toss with butter and seasonings (except kosher salt). Lay in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet. (You can, of course, use any seasoning mix you want--be creative!)

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Or if you totally forget about them like I did, they will be um...darkish brown... Give one a try and sprinkle on kosher salt if needed.
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Pumpkin Waffles
Adapted from several sources

2½ cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2¼ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
4 large eggs, separated
2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

Vegetable oil for brushing waffle iron or cooking spray

Accompaniment: warm pure maple syrup

Preheat oven to 250°F and preheat waffle iron.

Sift together flour, brown sugar, baking powder and soda, salt, and spices.

Whisk egg yolks in a large bowl with buttermilk, pumpkin, and butter until smooth. Whisk in dry ingredients just until smooth.

In a mixing bowl with a whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Fold them gently into the waffle batter, until just combined.

Brush waffle iron lightly with oil and spoon batter (about 2 cups for four 4-inch Belgian waffles) into waffle iron, spreading quickly. Cook according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Transfer waffles to rack in oven to keep warm and crisp. Make more waffles in same manner.