Cooking with Pumpkin

Before I start my post about cooking with pumpkin, I would like you all to see the mantel that has finally been installed after only 14 months. *Can you sense my sarcasm?*
It did turn out pretty well, though, even though we are in the process of repainting it black.

Okay, onto my real post.


Being as it's Fall and I've been on a cooking kick, I decided to do some fun things with pumpkin.

First I decided to bake a pumpkin in the oven. I have always thought this sounded difficult for and for some reason I've been intimidated to try it. After doing it I have no idea why I thought that, it was the easiest thing ever!

Before I baked the pumpkin I washed the outside and cut it in half. I then scraped out all the seeds and stringy pulp. I washed the seeds and left them to dry on a towel while I started the soup and baked my pumpkin.
I placed each half of the pumpkin face down on a cookie sheet. Then I baked it at 350 degrees for about an hour and a half. Doesn't it look pretty?

After the pumpkin was done, the skin peeled right off! So easy! I scooped the pulp into a bowl and let it cool before I stuck it in the fridge.


After my seeds were dry, I placed them on a skillet with butter and seasoning to make the "spicy pumpkin seeds" that my soup called for.


Another recipe I made with pumpkin, I actually used canned pumpkin for this recipe, was a Curried Pumpkin Soup. It took me about 4 hours and had some steps like "blending the soup in batches in the blender"but it actually turned out really good! It tasted even better the second day. Spicy and full of pumpkin flavor. The recipe calls to add the Spicy Pumpkin seeds as a garnish on top which I did but decided I liked it better without. The seeds were too chewy, next time I might bake them before I saute them...


The last recipe I've made recently was Pumpkin Spice Bread where I used the pumpkin pulp from my home-baked pumpkin. I made several variations, pumpkin chocolate chip, pumpkin craisin pecan and just plain pumpkin spice. Each turned out delicious! I love mini-loaf pans! Perfect for gifting my bread to my favorite in-laws. :)






Here's to more cooking with fall ingredients!

P.S. Is this not the cutest little man in the entire world!??! GO BIG RED!