The pie pumpkins are bountiful this year, so I’m trying to think of some fun new ways to use them. Here are a few of my thoughts on the beautiful, orange squash.
*Breads and muffins- tasty quick snacks to bring on a fall hike or bring to a potluck. Cook up your pumpkin on a rainy day and freeze it in quantities that your recipe calls for. Then make a few batches all winter long.
*Pie- of course!!- I sometimes forget about a simple pumpkin pie. At the first farm I worked at, we had a glut of #2 pumpkins. We cooked them up and made custard bars- basically pumpkin pie but we cooked it in a giant pan and served them up as bars. We took a bunch to the neighbor family that had 6 kids. It was a great way to save all those pumpkins from the compost pile.
*Soup- creamy and smooth. Top it with some toasted nuts or pumpkin seeds to add a little crunch.
*Add it to chili- This is Max Shappiro’s suggestion and it sounds awesome. He throws roasted pumpkin into his vegetarian chili. Chef’s tip- peel, cube and roast the pumpkin in the oven with chili powder and then add it to your pot of chili at the end. This keeps the pumpkin from turning to mush as it might do if you put it in the chili raw and let it cook in the stew.
