Posted on 10/10/2017 3:41:33 PM PDT by Jamestown1630
There are lots of things you can do with pumpkin, besides pie and Jack-0-Lanterns. I like these recipes that can be served inside of the cooking-pumpkin that they came out of to start with. From 'My Recipes' here is Pumpkin Soup with Pumpkin-Seed Mint Pesto:
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/pumpkin-soup-pumpkin-seed
'The Kitchn' has '10 Things You Can Cook Inside a Pumpkin', and the Savory Stuffed Pumpkin with Sausage and Gruyere looks great:
http://www.thekitchn.com/10-things-you-can-cook-inside-a-pumpkin-211927
The HGTV email newsletter this week had instructions for making these gorgeous gilded pumpkins out of the 'faux' pumpkins you can get at the craft store, as well as some easy carving templates:
http://www.hgtv.com/design/make-and-celebrate/handmade/metallic-copper-gold-and-silver-pumpkins
-JT
It appears it can evacuate a school.
Winter means prepping hardy soups. Any suggestions??
Usually do Minestrone. Use V-8 or Zing-Zang as the base. A bit more kick.
I posted my favorite ‘Green Slime Soup’ a couple of years ago; we make this a few times a year in a big batch - it freezes well, and is flavored with basil, perhaps crushed red pepper, sometimes garlic:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3259353/posts
Word of advice: When using fresh pumpkins, taste them before you cook with them! I’ve ruined too many recipes by assuming the taste, only to find the pumpkin was bitter or had other bad flavors.
That said, last week I bottled 4 quarts of squash/pumpkin wine. I started with a mix of super-sweet squashes that I grew several years ago (they’ve been taking up space in the freezer), and added brown sugar and a touch of molasses. I did not add cinnamon or other spices. It came out tasting more like apple cider!
It was my first ever attempt at wine-making, and it worked well enough that I have apple wine brewing next.
I’ve also incorporated mashed pumpkin into noodle dough. It makes an orange, slightly sweet but not too sweet noodle. Best cut thick.
Do you think the bitterness had to do with the variety, or how big it was?
I’m still trying to figure out what people seem to identify as ‘cooking’ or ‘sugar’ pumpkins.
It’s a roll of the dice. Some of the big ones are fine for cooking, others are bitter and stringy.
Try a butternut or hubbard-type squash instead. Those tend to be more reliable. You can use them in the same recipes, although I’ll admit they might be harder to cook soup in.
Oatmeal, I ate it for so long I got sick of it. Cooked in something like baked things is great. Maybe I'll get to liking it again.
If I'd have thought of your post, I would have taken more care with my words about my daughter, no offense intended. Apologize profusely if you were offended.
I counted about 15 or 16 huge ones out in our patch. rather than cook with them, we’re going to let friends with kids coming pick whatever they want. They are a lot of work to cook with!
“When cooking any hard squash including pumpkin, just toss it into the 350 degree oven on a cooking tray for 45-60 mins until it’s easy to cut and peel. Don’t attempt to peel raw pumpkins. Unless you love the ER. ;).”
I did know that, thank you for the info! I might attempt to cook with a couple after all.
The bitterness has to do with the variety. The worst pumpkin I ever tasted was exactly the same size as the sweeter pumpkin the next bush over.
(What follows may not be appetizing)
I actually use this as a cautionary tale when talking about plant breeding. My favorite pumpkin variety was a small hybrid pie pumpkin, with sweet flesh and hulless seeds. When it was discontinued, I decided to try de-hybridizing it. The first 2 generations came out very similar to the first, so I thought it’d be easy.
Then came generation 3.
That generation ran the gamut. I had sweet pumpkins, I had bitter pumpkins, I had one so starchy you could use it as a potato substitute. And then I had that one that tasted like pure vomit, and just the sliver that I sampled burned my throat so badly, it felt like I’d been gargling battery acid!
Did you know it is actually possible, using normal breeding techniques, to grow a toxic pumpkin?
Needless to say, I have a lot more respect for the power of genetics than I ever learned in class!
I know that doesn’t help you much in choosing a pumpkin. If you have a farmers market, talking to the farmer might help you more. They should be able to give you some pointers.
OH WOW! Thank you. Sounds great but I had a bad experience with kale.
Made a Maryland stuffed ham one Easter with kale instead of spinach and it didn’t go over well. At all.
I’m still getting teased about this and it’s been 10 years ago!!!
Well, the kale in the soup is cooked down a lot, and then pulverized - the soup is basically a puree, and what you mostly taste is basil.
Thanks for mentioning one of my home state’s signature dishes, Maryland Stuffed Ham - (if your folks didn’t like kale, maybe it would work better if you just used cabbage).
Here’s an old WP article about the dish:
Thanks for sharing all of your knowledge and pumpkin experiments.
I like Acorn squash a lot, and I think some of the pumpkin recipes would be just as good with Acorn or other, easier squashes - and the Acorns make nice little containers, scooped-out.
save
I harvested some good pumpkins from my garden and intend to can them for pies and bread. Someone told me that I am using the wrong pumpkin. I should be using the pumpkins specially intended for pie. Is this true, or can I get good results from my pumpkin harvest?
Years ago when my big kids were little, I served soup in a pumpkin. I thought thought they would have fun with it and that my husband would be impressed with all the effort I put into the evening’s meal. Wrong on both counts. Kids found eating out of a pumpkin off putting and my husband wondered why I’d wasted so much time on that. He’s come a long way in appreciating presentation and effort! He was a country boy from a large family-creativity at meal time was not a priority!
Oh well, you live and learn.
I’d love to have land - and a pumpkin patch ;-)
Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pie/Egg Roll
but rather than baking in a crust, make pumpkin egg rolls.
http://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a55851/pumpkin-pie-egg-rolls-recipe/?visibilityoverride
Another autumn meal - breakfast or brunch
PUMPKIN WAFFLES
https://www.marthastewart.com/1128946/pumpkin-waffles
http://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/spiced-pumpkin-waffles-67930
The pumpkin patch and the cornfield are hubby’s pride and joy. I just grow everything else. But I have to admit his look the cutest.
Yeah I was glad when we just picked up and moved and bought acreage. It has been worth the risk. Everything has worked out, employment wise. But it was touching go for a while!
“Try a butternut or hubbard-type squash instead. Those tend to be more reliable. You can use them in the same recipes, although I’ll admit they might be harder to cook soup in.”
I have to admit that I hate pumpkin. Well hates kind of strong. But I’d rather have another type of squash or sweet potato in place of the pumpkin in recipes. I’ve been harvesting my better not, I little at a time as the vines die off. I probably have about 15 now, and just as many still in the field. I should have a nice crop to last the entire winter! Purposely planted extra because they lasted so well in the basement last year.
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