Our farm grows Small Sugar Pie Pumpkins, a variety that is especially sweet to be used for cooking. Store it in a cool, dry place with good air circulation, but protect it from freezing. Or cook it and store the cooked flesh in the freezer for later use. Here are some recipes I use all the time with my pumpkins. Enjoy!
Sharon Blick
Cooking Your Pumpkin:
Cut it in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds and save to cook (see below).
- Conventional Oven: Set to 325. Place pumpkin halves cut side down on flat baking pan. Bake for 30-60 minutes (until it pierces easily with a fork).
- Microwave: Place pumpkin halves cut side up into glass dish, add ¼ cup water, cover, put in microwave. Cook 7-8 minutes on high (until it pierces easily with a fork).
Scoop out the flesh and mash it with a potato masher.
Pumpkin Molasses Muffins
1 ½ c whole wheat flour
6 T oat bran
½ T baking powder
½ T baking soda
1 T cinnamon
½ t ground nutmeg
¼ t ground cloves
¼ t salt
1 egg
1/3 c canola oil
2 T blackstrap molasses
¼ c dark molasses
3 T honey
1 ½ c cooked pumpkin
1 ½ T grated orange peel (organic)
¼ c water
¾ c raisins
¾ c chopped walnuts
Heat oven to 350. In smaller bowl, whisk together the first 8 ingredients. In larger bowl, whisk together next 8 ingredients. Oil muffin pans (12 holes). Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and whisk until barely mixed. Add raisins and nuts and mix as little as possible. Fill the muffin cups. Bake 20 minutes at 350. Done when firm on top and toothpick comes out clean. Makes 12 regular muffins (or 24 mini muffins).
Pumpkin Seeds (also works with Spaghetti Squash seeds)
Heat oven to 200. Remove any big globs of orange goo from the seeds but don’t wash them; the rest of the orange stuff gives them flavor. Measure the amount of seeds you have. For every cup of seeds, use ¾ T butter, 1 t Worcestershire sauce and 1/8 t salt. Put the butter on a flat baking pan and put it in the hot oven until the butter melts, then spread it around in the pan. Mix the seeds with the salt and Worcestershire Sauce and spread them out evenly in the pan. Bake until they are fairly dry and tasty (about 1.5 - 2 hours). Eat them shell and all!
Pumpkin Pie
Crust:
¾ c whole wheat flour
¼ t salt
¼ c cold butter
2 T ice water
Filling:
2 c mashed cooked pumpkin
½ c honey
1 ½ T molasses
1/8 t ground cloves
2 t ground cinnamon
1 t ground ginger
¼ t salt
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 c whole milk (raw goat milk is best!)
Crust: Mix flour with salt. Cut butter into ¼ inch cubes and mix in well with fingers. Add ice water and stir with fork to form ball. Wrap ball tightly in plastic bag and refrigerate at least 2 hours (24 hours is best.) Get dough out of fridge 1 hour before rolling into crust. Use a floured pastry cloth and rolling pin cover to work with the dough. Use a large pie pan (9 inches in diameter by 1 ¼ inch deep or more).
Filling: Set oven to 450. Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into crust and bake 10 minutes at 450, then 40 minutes at 350, or until set (quivery in center, not liquidy.)