Baking Baking Pumpkin

Cooled baking pumpkin drizzled with Bluebird Gardens honey, so delicious! (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

Baking Baking Pumpkin

Maybe it was the overnight turn in temperatures but today was the day to bake my little cute baking pumpkin.

It’s been sitting on my den coffee table, my idea of easy fall decorating. About the size of a small basketball, baking pumpkins are different than the larger Jack O’Lantern pumpkins also popular for fall decorating. The baking pumpkin flesh is more dense and easier to use in cooking.

Interestingly enough, baking pumpkins are available in October but try to find one around Thanksgiving and you will be out of luck!

A baking pumpkin has sat on my den coffee table for a couple of weeks. Fall decorating. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

To bake this, or other pumpkins, wash the outside with water. Remove the top notch. Cut down the center.

I remove the seeds and give them to my outside residents but you can also roast them for a snack.

I also don’t sweat the fibers that hold in the seeds, they will bake quite nicely.

My baking pumpkin cut open so I can remove the seeds. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Fill each of the baking pumpkin halves with water and place on a cookie sheet.

Warm over to 350F. Place the pumpkin halves in the oven and bake 45 minutes or until you can press a fork into the sides.

One of the baking pumpkin halves cooked and ready to slice. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Once cool, peel and cut off the outside, some will easy peel now that it is cooked. Cut up into small chunks.

Now here is my favorite part, drizzle with local honey. According to historians, this is closer to how the European settlers first consumed pumpkins with Native Americans on those first Thanksgivings.

You can bake a Jack O’Lantern pumpkin and any of the other pumpkins the same way. Once cool, remove the center pulp; blend. Use the blended pumpkin in your recipe instead of canned pumpkin. And yes, they are quite different. Once you try a real pumpkin you may not go back to the canned variety, which is really a blend of pumpkins and squash.

I have about 8 half cup servings of baked pumpkin out of this one, and I enjoyed two of them. The rest are in the freezer for later use. I can also make pumpkin custard with this fresh pumpkin, more flavorful than the canned pumpkin. Canned pumpkin is a mix of squash and pumpkin,

Charlotte

Messy Omelet

Part scrambled eggs, part omelet, this is an easy to make practical combo. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Messy Omelet

My brothers are to blame for the inspiration. I used to try to make the traditional, recipe-book specified flat omelet. Now I skip that part and go straight to what would be more elegantly called a deconstructed omelet. I call it the “Messy Omelet.”

Think of it as well-dressed scrambled eggs only the additional ingredients have to be added in a certain order. That’s how it started. But that only works if you are paying attention to what you are doing and not talking to someone. Or distracted by a plant that doesn’t look so well. Or listening to a fascinating radio show.

See, you have it messy before you even start.

I check the refrigerator first for possible ingredients: chopped green peppers, onions - either yellow or red - and mushrooms are favorites. Tomatoes to add color are a good addition, too but not the winter, store bought ones without flavor. If I am still ripening the last tomatoes of the season in a brown bag with an apple I will toss one of those into the chopping stack.

Cooked chicken and ham - choose one, not both, can be added but not necessary. I was less than thrilled with the salmon I added last time.

Finally a dash of garlic powder and 1/2 inch of sharp cheddar cheese, cut up into small pieces.

Cut up the rest into small pieces as well. I leave mushrooms in larger pieces so I can see them.

Once you have all of the additions cut up, break 6 eggs into a bowl. Add the ingredients.

Heat a frying pan with extra virgin olive oil. Add the mixture just before your pan starts to protest about not having enough olive oil.

Now the waiting begins. I let the sides form a solid once inch band, then scoop and mix. Another wait, and the same. You don’t want to mix too much or you will make it mushy. I watch the cheese. When it disappears, one more scoop around the pan edge and it’s ready.

A mixture with six eggs makes 4 servings.

Nice way to get some protein and clean your refrigerator out of leftovers. It’s also good practice for cutting up vegetables, where my brothers come in. We used to spend Friday nights in our home kitchen cutting up everything we could find and cooking it. I remember those days as I chop away at whatever I have on my kitchen cutting board. It was a small miracle no one lost any fingers.

This is a great recipe for those cold snow days when everyone is at home because schools are closed. You will have extra staff to help with the chopping.

Charlotte

Baking Baking Pumpkin

Cooled baking pumpkin drizzled with Bluebird Gardens honey, so delicious! (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Baking Baking Pumpkin

Maybe it was the overnight turn in temperatures but today was the day to bake my little cute baking pumpkin.

It’s been sitting on my den coffee table, my idea of easy fall decorating. About the size of a small basketball, baking pumpkins are different than the larger Jack O’Lantern pumpkins also popular for fall decorating. The baking pumpkin flesh is more dense and easier to use in cooking.

Interestingly enough, baking pumpkins are available in October but try to find one around Thanksgiving and you will be out of luck so stock up now if you want to bake one to make a Thanksgiving pie.

A baking pumpkin has sat on my den coffee table for a couple of weeks. Fall decorating. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

To bake this, or other pumpkins, wash the outside with water. Remove the top notch. Cut down the center.

I remove the seeds and give them to my outside residents but you can also roast them for a snack.

I also don’t sweat the fibers that hold in the seeds, they will bake quite nicely.

My baking pumpkin cut open so I can remove the seeds. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Fill each of the baking pumpkin halves with water and place on a cookie sheet.

Warm over to 350F. Place the pumpkin halves in the oven and bake 45 minutes or until you can press a fork into the sides.

One of the baking pumpkin halves cooked and ready to slice. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Once cool, peel and cut off the outside, some will easy peel now that it is cooked. Cut up into small chunks.

Now here is my favorite part, drizzle with local honey. According to historians, this is closer to how the European settlers first consumed pumpkins with Native Americans on those first Thanksgivings.

You can bake a Jack O’Lantern pumpkin and any of the other pumpkins the same way. Once cool, remove the center pulp; blend. Use the blended pumpkin in your recipe instead of canned pumpkin. And yes, they are quite different. Once you try a real pumpkin you may not go back to the canned variety, which is really a blend of pumpkins and squash.

I have about 8 half cup servings of baked pumpkin out of this one, and I enjoyed two of them. The rest are in the freezer for later use. Guess I need to pick up another baking pumpkin if I’m going to make a pie!

Charlotte

A Thanksgiving Toast!

"May your stuffing be tasty

   May your turkey plump,

   May your potatoes and gravy

   Have nary a lump.

   May your yams be delicious

   And your pies take the prize,

   And may your Thanksgiving dinner

   Stay off your thighs!"

~Grandpa Jones