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by Urbana
Halloween decorations grow stale -- or, in the case of the Jack O'Lantern, rotten - if you leave them up past their time. But how sad I feel packing up the little witches, black cats, and devils! And this year the dreary chore is accompanied by the boring and depressing drone of election results and their dissection.
I especially can't bring myself to compost the Jack O'Lantern. I grew it myself, from seed. And I hate to waste good food. This is a Rouge vif d'Etamps pumpkin, the kind Cinderella's coach was made from, deeply lobed with a deep orange skin, and sweet nicely textured flesh. And though it's been on the porch for a few days, the autumn chill has kept it quite fresh.
Pondering the role of moral values in the president's re-election, I hacked up that pumpkin with a butcher knife. Then I piled the pieces in a roasting pan, dotted it with butter, added a couple of sprigs of rosemary and put it in the oven at 375 degrees. Two hours later, it was soft enough to puree and the house smelled really good.
The medium-sized Jack O'Lantern yielded about two quarts of puree.
What to do with two quarts of pumpkin puree? Here's what I did with it.
3 cups in freezer for future pies, pumpkin bread, etc.
1 batch Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins
Pumpkin Soup (4 bowls)
Fed some to the baby.
Long live the Pumpkin King!
Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins
these muffins have a very hearty whole grain flavor and are sweetened lightly. they
are very moist. we like them but they probably fall into the category of hippy food.
elvosity=zero.
elvis wouldn't touch these muffins with a 10 foot pole
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
or 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 cup plain yogurt
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix wet ingredient well, then add to dry ingredients.
Stir to combine. Bake in muffin cups about 30 minutes.
Pumpkin Soup
a very simple soup, good with fall and winter meals.
elvosity=medium.
elvis would
probably eat this soup, especially if it were served with sausages, spoon bread, and greens
2 cups chicken stock
4 cups pumpkin puree
salt, white pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste
hazelnuts, toasted and chopped
Bring the chicken stock to a boil then reduce heat to medium low. Add pumpkin puree and seasonings.
Stir well and heat the soup. You needn't cook it. Serve sprinkled with toasted hazelnuts.
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