Greeted by the crisp cool morning air, Priscilla shuts the door to the cabin, and hurries to the pumpkin patch. She pulls out a much used knife and begins cutting pumpkins. She had only cut a few when the wind picked up making the fallen leaves dance. Brr… She pulled her shawl tighter around her, and kept cutting off pumpkins. The wind had a cold ominous feel to it, warning all the pilgrims in the settlement that winter was coming quickly.
All six of Priscilla’s blonde haired, blue eyed children scurried to the garden to help their mother with the harvest. Last year’s winter taught them the importance of preserving everything they could before the cold weather hit. These pumpkins were essential to the health of the family, and though they weren’t a desired vegetable; they would keep them from starving through the winter. Last winter was disheartening; for many in the village died from the cold and lack of nourishment, including two of Priscilla’s children. This year they worked hard to prepare for the onslaught of cold. As soon as Priscilla would cut a pumpkin, one of the children would run to pick it up; and take it to the house where the eldest daughter was cutting some of the pumpkins, and setting them out to dry. Though the pumpkins would last through much of the winter; they would eventually go bad, and so they dried them to use in a soup, as the Indians had taught them. It was not the children’s favorite way to eat pumpkin, but it was food, and they were not about to complain.
That night for supper, Priscilla fixed the children’s favorite pumpkin dish as a treat for all their hard work. She hollowed out a pumpkin, then blended the center with a bit of milk, honey, and just a touch of spice, she had brought with her when they left Europe. She then put the filling back into the middle, and placed the pumpkin in the hot ashes of their fireplace, where it would bake slowly. The aroma wafted through the house, and into the surrounding forest where her husband was cutting wood. The smell tickled his nostrils, and he began to chop faster, anxious to get home to his lovely wife, and some of that delicious pumpkin.
As evening was waning, they all gathered around the table, and savored Priscilla’s baked pumpkin. They thanked the good Lord that they had been blessed with an abundant harvest, and prayed they would be blessed with many years filled with pumpkin.
Many years have passed, and as technology and factories have flourished, the knowledge of how to prepare pumpkin has began to dissapear. I find myself often buying canned pumpkin rather than making it from scratch, due to the convenience of it. This is perfectly fine, but understanding how to roast pumpkin or how to process any food from scratch, gives a person a deeper understanding of bakers of the past, and allows you to get to the heart and soul of baking.
To begin the process, pick a pie pumpkin also known as a sugar pumpkin. These can be found at many of your fruit stands, and at some supermarkets. Many of the ones sold for jack-o-lanterns are a tougher more fibrous pumpkin and will not be the right consistency for a pie. They are also not as sweet, and do not have the same pumpkin flavor we all love. You can make it work in breads, though they won’t be quite as tasty, but if used in pies you will notice a definite difference.
Next cut the pumpkin in half. Some recommend you cut the top off the pumpkin for ease of splitting it in half. I tried to do that with this one, and was afraid a finger might come off instead of the top of the pumpkin. Pie pumpkins are small enough you don’t have to cut the top off in order to cut them in half, and if it looks like you will lose a hand before you will get the top off; don’t risk it! Just insert the knife into the top of the pumpkin by the stem, and begin cutting around the pumpkin, moving away from the stem as you cut, until you reach the stem on the other side. Next just grab the two halves and pull them in opposite directions; they will split off of the stem fairly easy.
Once your pumpkin has been cut in half, scrape out the seeds with a spoon or use a pumpkin scraper to make it easier, and set the seeds aside. Don’t throw them out! Toasted pumpkin seeds are a delicious and healthy snack. We will go over how to toast them later in this post. Now that the seeds have been removed, scrape out the fibers in the center of the pumpkin. When you are done it should look about like this.
After you have removed the fibers place the pumpkin halves upside down in a lightly oiled large baking dish, and bake at 350° F for 45 to 55 minutes, or until the pumpkin is tender, and you can poke a fork through the pumpkin easily.
While your pumpkin is baking, rinse the seeds you set aside earlier. I found it easy to rinse them in a colander, and would pull out any large pieces of fiber I found. Once you have the seeds clean, let them dry for a few minutes, or until excess water has dripped off. Next, toss them with a little bit of olive oil, and spices of your choice. I used Himalayan pink salt on these, but black pepper, sea salt, or garlic salt are also excellent ways to season these seeds. Place the seasoned pumpkin seeds on a baking sheet and bake at 350° F for fourty mintes or until they are beginning to brown. Make sure you stir them every ten minutes to keep them from getting too toasty on one side. Remove from oven and let cool before eating. Enjoy!
After your pumpkin has baked, let it cool for a long while before removing the insides; as it will stay hot for quite some time. Once it has cooled enough to handle, scrape the inside of the pumpkin until all you have left is a shell. You can also use a knife and peel the shell off of the pumpkin, as I did with this one.
After you have scraped out the insides; blend it with a blender such as a Vitamix, until you have a smooth puree. You can also mash it with a potato masher if you don’t have a Vitamix, but a Vitamix is a life changer. It blends everything up quicker, and your puree will be smoother. It is a must have in our kitchen along side our KitchenAid mixer. These two gadgets may be a hefty investment, but they are well worth the money. They do their job wonderfully well, and do it heaps better than anyone could do by hand, in half the amount of time.
Now your pumpkin is ready to use in any of your favorite pumpkin recipes. My personal favorite is pumpkin pecan bread, due to the fact I’m a texture freak, and don’t love the texture of a pumpkin pie. I know, I know. I’m weird….. Don’t worry I will still post a pumpkin pie recipe in the future for all of you pumpkin pie lovers out there!
(Priscilla and her family are purely fictional, but their story was based on true facts. After a very harsh winter, many of the pilgrims died from starvation and cold. Friendly Indians shown them how to grow crops to help them through the next year, pumpkin being one of those crops. )