Pumpkin Fest!

It’s Friday. It’s sunny. It’s Fall!

Oh Yeah!

I’m getting ready for my cooking demo tomorrow at Graf Growers….

and it’s all about pumpkins!

I picked up a box of baking pumpkins yesterday to cook down to a pumpkin pulp.

Seriously, why would you use pumpkin out of a can when you can cook these?

So easy my friends….

Whack that baby open with a large knife…just please be careful!

If you don’t give your pumpkins names, then it’s harmless…

but if you’re like me – they get names and then you find yourself apologizing to the pumpkin.

(hmmm….maybe I should get out more!)

Using a sharp sided spoon, scrape out the seeds and pumpkin “guts”…

Don’t throw the seeds out.

I’ll be sharing a toasted pumpkin seed recipe this weekend!

Flip the pumpkins in a baking pan or dish and fill with 1/4″ of water.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30-40 minutes.

You’ll know when the pumpkin is done when you can easily insert a knife through it.

Remove from oven, let cool and scoop the pulp out from the shell.

At this point, some people like to mash the pumpkin with  a hand masher…

I prefer the food processor….

Smooth and silky.

Now the magic begins….I have fresh pumpkin.

You can’t beat that.

Recipes to follow over the next week.

You won’t be disappointed.