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I start by cutting the pumpkins into large chunks and throwing the seeds and pulp in a bowl to be dealt with later. Then I bake them at 300 for an hour or so, basically until tender.
While the pumpkin is cooking, I deal with the seeds. I separate the seeds from the pulp and clean them really well. I then drizzle some olive oil on a pan, toss the seeds around and sprinkle with a little bit of sea salt. They are ready to pop in the oven as soon as the pumpkin comes out. Again I bake at 300 for an hour or so.
Once the pumpkin has cooled I scrape out all the inside from the skin and put it in a bowl. I do this in parts, because it won't all fit into the bowl at once. Plus it is easier to puree this way. I puree it, adding a little water if needed, but usually I don't need to. Then I store it in quart bags - 1 cup at a time - for use all year in muffins and pies. I am contemplating making a soup with it this year too. If I need more than a cup I can always pull out 2 bags, but if I freeze it in 2 cup portions and only need 1 cup, well you know that would be hard to do.
From 2 small pumpkins I got 9 cups of puree and a big bag of roasted pumpkin seeds. And my compost pile got the remains.
* We usually carve our pumpkins the day before Halloween and I cook them up the day after. I was given 5 pumpkins yesterday on top of what we had bought, so I got busy with them today.
10 comments:
That seems like a lot of work. Is it really? I've heard others say it's worth it just to buy canned pumpkin.
Nikki, I enjoy doing things like this and I really try to cook as much food as I can, so that there are fewer additives and preservatives in them (and sugar). Plus I already paid the money for the pumpkin as a Halloween decoration and I consider it free food for us at that point. I am not one to turn down free food.
the first year I found it harder than I expected. Since then, I know what to expect and there isn't a lot of hands on time involved, but you do have to be around for a few hours to get it all done. I guess I have a good system down now. I think it would certainly be worth trying it one time and seeing how you think it goes.
It is a little work, but one thing I learned a long time ago is that it's 100 times easier to work with the pumpkin once it's cooked and softened up. Then it's easy to chop, slice or whatever you need to do with it!
My question is, how long can it sit on my porch carved and still be good? We carved ours last night.
Great post! I have a couple of pumpkins my kids got while camping that I was going to get the seeds from. I wasn't sure what exactly to do to make the pumpkin puree. I want to try to make some pumpkin bread for my husband.
Wow I love this. We have our pumpkin on the front steps ready for trick-or-treaters. I can't wait to cut it and cook it now that I have seen yours.
Hi Jennifer,
I just found your blog and I'm really enjoying it. I laugh at some of your posts, as we seem to have some similarities in our personality. I like to cook our pumpkins like you do - the way my mother taught me and use it for breads, pies, muffins etc. For me, this is usually a Saturday type project because of the time involved. I'm just wondering how you find the time to do this and homeschool four kids too? You must be super organized, as I someday aspire to be. :) Hope you have a great day! Denise
Denise, I am not super organized! I wish I was. When I take on a task like this one, then my house does suffer some. I cut the pumpkin up while the kids were doing their school that they can do on their own. Then while it was cooking I finished school up with them. Then after lunch I put a long movie on for the kids and went to work on the pumpkins. 3 of the 4 kids are sick, so we didn't do all of school and they didn't feel good enough to play. Plus it was sleeting outside - a good day for a movie. I have 3 more pumpkins to take care of and I probably won't get to them until middle of next week.
I am really glad that I found this post. I have four small pumpkins sitting on my dining room table, and I had no idea what to do with them. I have been wanting to experiment with some pumpkin recipes, and I think pureeing the pumpkin meat is a good idea. I can use the puree in soups and baking dishes. Thanks.
I like to do the same, hate to see anything go to waste, especially something so high in vitamin A!
You can eliminate the olive oil for the seeds if you soak them in salt water overnight, then bake them, no added fat.
I also like to drop of cup of pumpkin puree into my soups. In a big pot of soup, it doesn't add a too pumpkin flavor but adds to the rich broth, gives nice color to beef soup bases, too.
Karen - great idea on adding the pumpkin to soup. Thanks!
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