Putting up Pumpkins

No joke, the farmers market has about 20 million different kinds of pumpkins right now...

 

okay. maybe that's a teeny bit of an exaggeration,

but there's a lot.

My husband will eat ANYTHING pumpkin,

so I've been roasting them and using the puree in just about everything.

Pumpkin granola with pumpkin seeds.

Pumpkin risotto (one of my personal favorites).

Pumpkin curry (one of my husbands favorites).

and in honor of my brother's birthday...

pumpkin pie.

Specifically, my mom's recipe which was, most likely, my grandmother's recipe before that.

*Recipe below*

Most people will tell you that canned pumpkin puree tastes the same as cooking and pureeing it yourself, so it's not worth the time and effort.

This is probably true.

but it's easy,

it's DEFINITELY cheaper,

and even if it's just in my head, I prefer it.

Not to mention my lesser but more honorable intentions of supporting local farmers.

I just roasted the cleaned pumpkins at 375 degrees and then pureed. Simple.

Note: if you place them upside down on a cookie sheet, they don't get that crusty, less than desireable skin on the top.

I use the same process for butternut squash

(and pretty much all squash for that matter).

After that, you can freeze the puree in freezer-safe bags or containers.

To be honest, we've been going through it so quickly, I've not freezed any yet this year.

This past Saturday, I asked the professionals at the market which pumpkins they suggested for cooking... and ended up bringing this thing home...

It's called a peanut pumpkin

(or "punkin" as my farmer friend pronounced it)

named for its peanut shell-like exterior...

So we're going to give it a shot.

Worse case scenario: it doesn't taste as great, but looks really cool.

And I'm alright with that.

And without further ado...

Pumpkin Pie

1 3/4 C pumpkin puree (if you cook it down a bit to reduce the liquid, the pie sets up a little bit better)

1/2 C brown sugar

1 cup sugar

pinch salt

vanilla (I'm always pretty liberal with the vanilla :)

3 eggs beaten

1 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1 1/2 C milk (warm, but not scalded)
a shot of bourbon if you wish

Mix ingredients and fill your choice of crust.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

Reduce heat to 300 degrees for 45 minutes, or until middle of pie is "just a tiny bit wobbly"

This is for a 9" pie plate.

Enjoy!