Pumpkins
Harvest Pumpkin Soup
Thinking about the yummy recipe above that Barb sent LAST year reminded me that she had sent along a pumpkin/squash soup recipe THIS year along with a note: “My sister passed this recipe on to me this week with the endorsement of her godchild as the best pumpkin soup ever. If our squashes and pumpkins are the same, I thought my farm mates would appreciate it.” It comes from the website “From Ketchup to Chutney.”
2-lb Sugar Pumpkin
2-lb Kabocha Squash, or Buttercup Squash (your sunshine squash would work well) S&P
4 Tbsp Butter (salted)
1 cup Sweet Onion, diced
1/2 cup Carrots, diced
1/3 cup Celery, diced
1 tsp Ground Ginger
1 Tbsp Ground Cinnamon
1 1/2 Tbsp Tomato Paste (concentrated)
1/4 cup Brown Sugar, packed
4 cups Vegetable Broth (I use the little squares that you mix with boiling water)
1 cup Half & Half
Preheat oven to 400. Slice the pumpkin and squash from stem to bottom and remove seeds and pulp. Season with S&P and roast on a cookie sheet for 45 – 60 minutes, or until tender.
Ten minutes before the pumpkin and squash are done roasting, in a large stock pot, melt the butter. Add the onions, carrots, and celery and saute until the onions are soft and translucent. Then add the ginger, cinnamon, tomato paste, and brown sugar. Stir to combine heat over medium until the sugar is dissolved. Add the vegetable stock and bring the pot to a boil. When the pumpkin and squash are tender (pumpkin may be more so than the squash), scoop out all of the flesh and add it to the pot, along with the half & half. Return everything to a boil. Using a slotted spoon, scoop out as much as you can of the vegetables and pumpkin and squash, and liquify it using a blender (or if you have an immersion blender, that would be perfect for this). Return the liquefied veggies to the pot. You don’t have to blend the entire pot – just however much you want to that you’re comfortable with the consistency of the soup. When everything is smooth and heated through, taste and add salt or cinnamon as needed. I added about a 1/2 Tbsp of salt and a dash or two more cinnamon. It was perfect.
Scott Lewis’ Pumpkin Pie
1/2 pie crust
2 C mashed fresh pumpkin, baked and cooled so you can handle it
2/3 C Brown Sugar
1 t ground ginger
1/2 t nutmeg
1 t cinnamon
2 eggs
3/4 C light cream
1/4 C dark rum!
Add more spices to suit your taste.
Pre bake crust 450 deg. for 10 minutes.
Mix pumpkin, sugar and spices, beat in eggs, cream, and rum.
Bake 325 deg. for 1 hour, or until knife comes out clean. I personally enjoy it with whipped cream on top.
Spiced Pumpkin Bread
1- 1/2 cups pure pumpkin puree
2 large eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/4 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
1/2 cup golden raisins
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9″ x 5″ x 3″ loaf pan with cooking spray and sprinkle with flour or line pan with parchment or non-stick foil. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, brown sugar, and vanilla extract with a whisk. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, and nutmeg. Add dry to wet ingredient and stir until just combined. Fold in raisins and pour into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 50 – 60 minutes, or until a pick inserted into center comes out clean. Allow to sit in loaf pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack and cool completely before slicing.