I harvested a bumper crop of pumpkins this year, and am happily storing them under my stairwell. Winter squash (like pumpkins, butternut, and others) store really well at or a bit below room temperature; as long as you don't put them in front of the heater or freeze them, they'll stay good for months.



As I need them, I bake my pumpkins and puree the flesh. The recipe for this is easy: Cut the pumpkin in half along the center, as if it was wearing a belt, then remove the seeds and any stringy flesh you can get out and place each half cut-side down in a oven-safe dish containing one inch of water. I use glass pie plates, but you could use a rectangular casserole dish, too. Bake at 375 degrees for about an hour, or until when you poke the pumpkin with a fork it feels about as squishy as a nicely baked potato. Then, I like to use a ice cream scooper to get all the flesh out. Stick it in a food processor and puree!

The next step is to make something tasty. I have three favorite things that I do with pumpkin.

Pumpkin Pie

I use Mollie Katzen's recipe in the Moosewood Cookbook. Delicious and a little different from the kind you make from canned pumpkin. Try it out!

Pumpkin Soup

If you are an intrepid soup maker, pumpkin puree is an ideal starting point. All you really need to do is saute some onions and garlic. Once they are done, combine one part stock (chicken or vegetable) to two parts pumpkin puree, toss in the onions and garlic, and add ample ground pepper, paprika, chili powder, and any other spices you like in a zesty fall soup. That's all! This is great with thick hearty breads, or just chunky crackers.

Ultimate Pumpkin Muffins

After nearly ten years of searching for the ultimate pumpkin muffin recipe, I stumbled on this one last fall. I am confident that this will be a recipe you like, and I've worked out two easy variations on it that are really delicious. The muffins are incredibly moist, rich, and wonderful.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 c sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp of each: cinnamon, nutmeg, alspice, ginger
1 cp pumpkin puree
1/3 c melted butter or canola oil
Two eggs
1/4 cp water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift all the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. Beat eggs in a separate, large bowl. Mix all the wet ingredients into the eggs, stir
well. Gently pour the dry into the wet and stir until all mixed - don't over stir, and never use a mixer. Be slightly delicate with the batter.

Bake in muffin cups for 25-30 minutes. Makes one dozen muffins.

Fall seasonal variation: Stir in 1 cup diced frozen cranberries.

Decadent dessert variation: Replace the 1/4 cup of water with 1/4 cup of cold leftover coffee. Stir in 1 cup dark chocolate chips or shavings.