Tim brought home 5 small "pie" pumpkins last weekend. They were sitting in a box on our dining room table until a certain cat who will remain nameless (Gypsy) jumped on the table where she knows she isn't allowed to be and knocked the box in to the floor.
Way to go Gypsy.
So yesterday I grabbed two and began the long, involved process of turning them in to food. This is a two day process for me.
I scooped out every.single.seed and set them aside to make roasted pumpkin seeds. I had the joy of scooping out all the "guts" and tossing them out, then cutting the pumpkins in to large chunks to go in to the crock pot.
I washed off the pumpkin seeds and set them to roasting- they are so delicious, but I wish they weren't quite so time consuming to do. They came out perfectly though, Tim and I ended up eating about half last night before we forced ourselves to put the container up.
Tonight I'll get the pumpkin "meat" out of the crock pot and set to work making pies. I like to make little individually sized pumpkin pies, then freezer all but a few of them. It takes just a few minutes to warm one up in the microwave and it encourages Tim not to gorge on pie. I don't eat it and he doesn't like to see it go to waste, so one full sized pie tends to be more than we need.
I think I'll also make some pumpkin butter. I need to get more canning jars- I love to give canned things away as little gifts, but that means I don't usually get the jars back.
If I have as much pumpkin left over as I think I will once all 5 are processed, I may try canning some pie filling for later on.
-Kristen
I have never perfected roasted pumpkin seeds - woyld you share your method? Also, I have always done pumpkin pies from canned pumpkin as I usually am able to get 2-4 cans every year through cuponing for free. Is there a huge difference with fresh pumpkin? I mean, I do get the plain and add my own spices and such but doing it from scratch seems like a lot of work, especially when I won't even eat the stuff (pumpkin pie is gross). Hubby loves it, brothers love it, so I do it for them.
ReplyDeleteI pre-heat the oven to 350. While it's doing that, I toss all the seeds in to a colander and wash them in cold water. I tried drying them off, but it was such a pain in the butt I just drain them really well and dump them in to a bowl. I pour a little bit of oil over them and mix it around with a fork. Then I dump the seasoning on top and mix it again with the fork to make sure they are coated. Then I put Pam on a backing sheet and dump the seed out on to it with the same fork (to help that last bit of water drain off).
ReplyDeleteHalfway through baking (about the 15 minute mark) I take them out and do my best to flip the seed and season any that look like they aren't as coated.
They always seem to come out really well :)