How To Bake A Pumpkin

The other day I picked up a couple pie pumpkins from a farmer down the road, and a larger pumpkin for my son to paint. Today I finally got around to cooking the pumpkins. You can cook pumpkins several ways, but my favorite way is to bake them.

I usually use the smaller pie pumpkins because they  have a better consistency and flavor than larger pumpkins do. I cut the pumpkins in half, and scraped out all the seeds and the pulp. An ice cream scoop, or a large spoon work great for scooping out the pumpkin guts.

Don’t throw out the seeds, save them and you can have roasted pumpkin seeds, or try this recipe for roasted garlic pumpkin seeds. Pumpkin seeds are loaded with vitamins, and healthy fats.

Once you have all the stringy middle out of the pumpkin, lay the halves face down on a baking dish, and add about an inch of water to the bottom of the dish to keep the pumpkin from drying out.

Preheat your oven to 350`F, then bake the pumpkin for about an hour. When the pumpkin is soft, and gives to your touch it is done. Depending on the size of your pumpkin, it may take a little longer than an hour.

Let the pumpkin cool, then remove the peel and puree the pulp to add to all your pumpkin recipes. You can also freeze it in freezer bags to use later.

I’ll be back with some pumpkin recipes to use up your pumpkin. Now I just need to decide what I’m going to make. Maybe some pumpkin butter, pumpkin custard, pumpkin cheesecake, or some pumpkin muffins. Hmmm.

Image (c) L Gerlach