Roasting Life's Pumpkins

The pumpkins "dimple" when done (top left).

Autumn is my favorite season of the year because the white heat of summer turns golden, and the temperatures cool down.  Autumn means pumpkins, of course.



The Resident Dragon really enjoys a good pumpkin pie so, prompted by a display at WalMart, I decided to prepare roasted pumpkin puree for my holiday pie-making.  (My own pumpkin vine has yet to set fruit.)

Fortunately, Mother Earth News had the exact instructions I needed for making pumpkin puree.  I followed the instructions, except I removed the seeds and strings before roasting and put about 1/4" of water in the bottom of the pan to prevent burning of the edges.

The flesh peels easily.

As a special treat for the Dragon, I decided to roast the seeds with one of his favorite spice blends--Penzey's Northwoods Fire.  While the pumpkin roasted, I rinsed off the seeds, dried them, and spread most of them on a jelly-roll pan lined with foil.  (I did reserve a few for planting next year as "WalMart 3134 Pumpkin.")  I drizzled olive oil on the seeds and turned to coat.  Then I sprinkled the seasoning over the seeds, turning to coat.  I estimate that I used about 1/2 teaspoon of seasoning for seeds from a 6-pound pie pumpkin.

My faithful Cuisinart
is older than my children!

After the pumpkin came out of the oven, I increased the temperature to 425 degrees.  I toasted the seeds for about 15-25 minutes.  I began checking them after 15 minutes and removed them as soon as they reached the desired color.  Cool on a dry paper towel and store (if they last that long) in a tightly covered container.  Ours did not last for more than an hour!

Once the pumpkin was cool enough to handle, I removed it from the skin, and pureed it in my trusty Cuisinart.  A 6-pound pumpkin yielded about 6 cups of puree, which I bagged in 2-cups batches in zipper bags for freezing.

The puree is unsweetened, and, of course, not as sweet as canned pumpkin pie filling.  It's also soupier (although I could have strained it like cheese to make it more solid).  It's not as red-orange as canned pie filling, but it tastes wonderfully fresh.

The puree is more yellow than orange.

All told, making pumpkin puree (and getting toasted pumpkin seeds in the bargain) was far easier than I could have imagined.  It made me wonder how many opportunities I have foregone just because I thought they would be too much effort.  Too many, I fear.  I think I need to roast more of life's pumpkins.

So, I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving this year, and a pumpkin pie made with love.

What's cooking in your kitchen?

Nancy