HEY THERE PUMPKIN….
Pumpkin, that iconic symbol of fall, so tied to Halloween and Thanksgiving in North America, is a bit of a contradiction. A native of North America, its seeds, dating back to 7500 B.C.
have been found in Mexico, but the name as we know comes from the Greek “pepon” or Large Melon. Though tied to autumn, it’s really a summer crop, which is planted in the spring and matures by fall. The biggest hazard to the crop is a cool, dry summer. Actually, it’s the last of the summer fruits to be harvested. That’s right, pumpkin is a fruit, not a vegetable.
Technically, pumpkin is a member of the winter squash family. In Australia, the name is used to denote any of that family, but elsewhere it applies only to the large, round, orange squash with a ridged, rough stem. Like other produce it has been transported and now grows on every continent but Antartica. Also like other produce, it has been modified to produce other colors, white and dark green most predominantly, but the ridged stem remains to identify its origins.
Though grown as a feed crop in some countries, in the U.S. pumpkins, these days, fall into two categories; large “Jack-O-Lanterns” for decoration and smaller “pie” pumpkins for cooking. As with most produce, the larger a pumpkin grows the tougher and stringier the meat becomes, but regardless of size, there is a recipe to cook pumpkin into a dish that can fit any course of a meal.
By the same token, though pumpkins disappear quickly from the markets by late November other winter squash can substitute in many of these dishes, so we can enjoy them all winter. Of course, canned pumpkin is always available in fact many cooks prefer it to fresh.
The wide variety of pumpkin featured recipes is a rather new development in our menu evolution, and it’s made converts of people who never cared for pumpkin before. I’m one of them. I never cared for pumpkin pie, but pumpkin bread and soup are great. Not only is pumpkin used in more ways now, but the old recipes are being varied as well. I give examples of this trend in the following recipes by presenting two completely different types of pumpkin pie. Let’s start with appetizers.
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Seeds from one large pumpkin
Cooking spray
Salt
Cumin and/or Chili powder – option
Cinnamon and/or sugar – option
Cajun seasoning – option
Old Bay Seasoning – option
Pull the seeds out of the pumpkin and rinse them clean in a colander, under cold running water; pat dry with paper towels. Spray a cooking sheet with the oil lay put the seeds and lightly spray the tops; sprinkle with seasoning of choice. Place in a Preheated 300 deg. oven and roast for 30 min, stirring at 10 min intervals to cook evenly and prevent burning. Toss in a bowl and correct seasoning. Allow to cool completely. Store air-tight.
Pumpkin Soup: Serves 4-6
I have several pumpkin soup recipes, some spicier, most with other vegetables, because pumpkin blends well with many others, anise, peas and tomatoes for example. This is the purest version.
11/2 lb. pumpkin meat
1Tbs. Oil
2 Tbs. butter
1 large onion chopped
1 lb. white potatoes
14 oz. can vegetable stock
2 ½ cups milk
2 tsp. dried tarragon
Pinch nutmeg
1 tsp. lemon juice
Salt and pepper
¼ cup water
Sauté the onion in the oil and butter until soft; add the water and sweat the pumpkin and potatoes over low heat, stirring often until beginning to soften about 10 min. Add the stock, herb and seasonings; simmer until vegetables are tender about 10 min. Blend until smooth, return to pot; add the milk and re-heat gently, avoid boiling. Add the lemon juice, salt and pepper. Adjust seasonings and serve warm.
Pumpkin Ravioli: Serves 4
This is an inexact recipe but an old method. The main thing to remember in calculating is that 16 tsp. = 1 cup. In using won-ton wrappers as the “skins” decide if you want to fold them over to make smaller packets, using 1bout 1 to 1 ½ tsp. filling, or if you want to make larger ones using two wraps per ravioli with about 1 Tbs. of filling.
6 ½ oz. package won-ton wrappers
1 cups pureed pumpkin – canned is best= (1) 15oz. can
¼ cup plain, toasted, fine breadcrumbs
1 egg – beaten
4-6 Tbs. butter melted with
1Tbs. oil
1 Tbs. dried sage.
Seasonings of choice – try pinch of nutmeg and 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese OR see roasted seeds above for suggestions-just salt and pepper is fine too
Mix the seasonings into the pumpkin with the egg and breadcrumbs. Lay out the won-ton wrappers 12 at a time; place the desired amount of filling in the wrapper, about ½ tsp. is average for the small, 1 tsp. for the large, dampen the edges and either fold over, if making small ravioli or cover with another wrapper if making large ones, pressing the edges to secure. Place the filled ravioli on a tea towel covered tray and cover with another towel until all are filled. Cook in small batches in rapidly boiling water for about 2 min. don’t crowd. Drain each batch in a colander. Arrange on a platter and drizzle with butter melted wit oil and sage. Serve at once.
Quick or buy cialis cheap infrequent heartbeat Storage loss Numb feeling of an arm or leg Agonizing or extended erection Diarrhea Dizziness Natural Male organ Pills Another practical choice is penis tablets. They further explain that this mainly occurs due to any problem at several stages of life due to ED, you can generic cialis online go to these guys resolve it by taking Kamagra. These herbal cialis tadalafil 5mg http://deeprootsmag.org/2013/12/06/the-murky-origins-everlasting-life-of-jingle-bells/ pills are developed using pure plant ingredients. This prescription drug is a thiazolidinedione class medicament enriched with the potential to act as hypoglycemic and its ability enhances the functional capability of body our storefront on line viagra cells to respond significantly to the insulin and can regain the potential to absorb more sugar from blood flow in order to return the diabetic affected with normal body parameters. Stew in a Pumpkin; Serves 6-8
3 Tbs. butter
2 lbs. beef for stew cubed
3 Tbs. cornstarch
2 large onions diced
3 tomatoes chopped
2 Tbs. butter
¼ tsp. EACH salt and pepper
3 cups beef stock
½ lb. prunes
½ lb. dried apricots
3 sweet potatoes sliced
(2) 10 oz. packages corn –thawed and drained
1 pumpkin, top cut off and reserved, cleaned of pulp and seeds. Melt 3 Tbs. butter in a Dutch oven. Roll the meat in the cornstarch and brown. Set aside. Melt 2 Tbs. butter in a separate pan and sauté vegetables until tender. Add to meat with juices. Add all remaining ingredients except in a roasting pan with 1 inch of water, and bake for 1 hr. Carefully transfer pumpkin from the pan to a serving dish and replace its top as a lid for garnish. Serve at once scooping out some of the pumpkin meat as you ladle out the portions.
NOTE: I save clean-up by sautéing the vegetables in the Dutch oven first and then browning the meat. It’s one less pot. Also if you have it on hand, replace one cup of stock with beer. It deepens the flavor.
Cold Pumpkin Chiffon Pie
Lots of people like the spicy taste of pumpkin pie, but we consider it a seasonal thing, when, actually, thanks to preserving methods, it’s available all year. This pie is a lovely warm weather dessert, but even better, it can be made a day ahead, because it needs to be well chilled.
Double Boiler (also called a Bain Marie) and a 8 inch pie plate.
1 pie crust – home-made or purchased – baked*
1 Tbs. gelatin
¼ cup cold water
11/2 cups cooked pumpkin – 1 can
½ cup sugar
¼ tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon + dash for pastry.+ dash for nuts.
1-2 Tbs. sugar for pastry + 1 Tbs. for nuts
½ tsp. ginger
2 eggs – separated
1 cup milk
¼ cup toasted spiced walnut pieces **
Line the pie plate with pastry, crimp or flute, and bake in a preheated 450 degree oven for 10 – 15 min, until brown.* If homemade, incorporate dash cinnamon, and 2 Tbs. sugar into the dough. If purchased, sprinkle cinnamon and 1 Tbs. sugar over the pastry in the pan.
Soften gelatin in cold water. Combine pumpkin, ¼ cup sugar, salt, spices, slightly beaten egg yolks and milk. Cook over boiling water 5 min, stirring constantly.
Add softened gelatin and stir until gelatin is dissolved. Chill until slightly thickened. Beat egg whites until stiff, (remember to use clean beaters) and gradually add remaining ¼ cup sugar. Fold into thickened pumpkin mixture. Pour into lined pie plate and garnish with nuts. Chill until firm.
*To stop an empty pie shell from buckling, line the bottom with a piece of foil filled with about a cup of raw rice or dried beans. Remove the foil after 10 min. if the crust isn’t brown enough by then. An alternative method is to prick the crust several times with a fork, but this allows juices from the filling to seep through and make it soggy after a few hours. The beans and rice are reusable in future pies, but if you plan on frequent baking, go to a home hardware center and buy 18 – 24 inches of the beaded chain used to make key chains. It works beautifully!
**Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt a thin sliver of butter on a piece of foil. Toss walnuts in butter, separate into one layer allowing ample room, sprinkle with 1 Tbs. of sugar and a dash of cinnamon. Toast for 6-8 min. until beginning to brown. Remove from oven, trying not to disturb the coating, allow to cool completely. Sprinkle nuts over the pie, and gently press, if needed, to make them stick.
A Twist on Classic Pumpkin Pie
One of the very best Pumpkin Pie recipes is Libby’s. I’m not going to copy it here because it’s on every can of that brand of pumpkin and at this season featured in every ad for that product.
as well as headlined on the Libby’s website. However I do have a twist to add to it.
Anyone who reads this blog knows I’m a huge fan of meringue. It can be used in so many ways, not the least of which is to dress up a dish while keeping the contents from drying out. This is true of adding a meringue topping to pumpkin pie.
For a normal 8-9 inch pie, beat 2 egg whites until soft peaks form, then gradually add ¼ cups sugar and beat to stiff, glossy peaks. Using a spatula, spread meringue over the top of the pie covering the filling up to but not touching the crust. Swirl leaving a few peaks. Bake in a 300 deg. oven for about 20 min until edges begin to brown. Cool to room temperature.
