And we dropped $20 on pumpkins this year, because we went to a real, organic 'Patch instead of Walmart.
So I thought it might be nifty and thrifty to recoup some of our costs by cooking said pumpkins to use in my favorite recipes (Pumpkin Sausage Soup, Pumpkin Cake, Pumpkin Bread, risotto. Notice I didn't say Pumpkin Pie, because Costco already makes the best pumpkin pie in the universe AND it's cheaper, easier, faster & a lot less messy than making pie from scratch. End of pie soliloquy.) Pioneer Woman recently posted a fantastic tutorial on roasting & pureeing pumpkin. I just followed her directions and concentrated really really hard on not chopping off my hand (cutting pumpkins is HARD!!). The results follow:
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So what does this all have to do with me being a picky eater? I don't like lumps or bumps or stringy thingies in my food. And I could NOT get this pumpkin puree as smooth as the stuff that comes in the can. So now I don't have a clue what I'll use it in. Certainly NOT a cake (ewwww). Maybe in the soup or risotto if I can push it thru a sieve first??? Bummer.
7 comments:
So we scooped out our pumpkins last night and had piles of this stuff. Threw it in the garbage, and now I have a pumpkin cake in the oven. With canned pumpkin. What can I say, I don't have a food processor. ;-)
Kudos to you for trying! The insides of a pumpkin always gross me out. And you're right... gutting a pumpkin is very hard. But I think I'll stick to the canned puree.
I loved her post on that. It looked good. We did that to our pumpkin last year, and it didn't taste good at all. I think it has to do with the kind of pumpkin you use. You know, like if you used the small sugar pumpkins (Which are for cooking) or the large carving ones (which we will never puree again.)
You could puree it perfectly if you used a stick blender. I have a Cuisinart stick blender that I use for making Butternut Bisque (pureed squash soup)and it works great! I use the stick blender for a lot of other things as well.
Well...it looks pretty. ;o)
Is it possible that the chunks and stringy bits would melt away in the cooking process?
I do this all the time too, though I cook the pumpkin on the stovetop rather than roast it. I've never had a problem with the puree process. I let it cook till it's very soft and puree for a long time. I do use it in pies, since I can't stand any store pies, but I find it's runnier than canned pumpkin. The first year I did it, I froze piles of the stuff and snuck it into everything, even just a spoonful or two into muffins, so the kids wouldn't notice. They eventually caught on to my "secret ingredient," but by that time they didn't care anymore! I liked to put a little into mashed potatoes too, to add colour and a little more vitamins.
still got pumpkin? Check out my latest recipe at www.theprairiepantry.blogspot.com you won't notice the texture of the pumpkin in these muffins and they are my new favourite fall treat. Your blog is beautiful, I popped over from Mt. Hope... I'll be bookmarking you!
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