Pumpkin – Garden to Table to Garden
I love it when I can use everything, no waste! This is the case with this beautiful pumpkin. I was the lucky recipient of two freshly grown pumpkins from my friend Lois. She planted them and watered them and loved them all season! Even better – she shared them with me!
I roasted this one up in my oven and used the beautiful orange flesh for muffins. I also roasted the seeds. Then I dug a whole in my perennial garden and buried the scraps where it will compost over the winter! Zero waste!
Use the remaining pumpkin for these pancakes.
The muffins were spectacularly perfect on a cold autumn morning!
The seeds went really well with some smoked gouda and Malbec.
After you roast a pumpkin, you’ll never buy canned pumpkin again. It’s super easy.
Roasted Pumpkin
makes about 3 c. flesh
~4 lb. pumpkin
1 t. canola oil
cookie sheet
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Wash and dry the outside of the pumpkin. Rub the oil on the outside of the pumpkin. Place directly on the oven rack and place the cookie sheet underneath it on the rack below.
Bake for about 75 minutes or until tender. When done, using oven mitts gently scoot the pumpkin into a bowl and let cool for at least 30 minutes. When cool, the stem and skin easily peels off.
Separate the flesh from the seeds. This might sound difficult, but it really is easy!
Wash the seeds in a strainer and rub together in a towel to dry the seeds as well as remove most of the pulp. Generously sprinkle with salt and dehydrated garlic. Bake at 300 degrees fahrenheit for about 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown. Makes about 1 c. of seeds.
Pumpkin Streusel Muffins
adapted from the Joy of Cooking
makes 12 muffins
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. wheat germ or ground flax seeds
2 t. baking powder
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1/8 t. freshly groung nutmeg
1 egg
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
2 c. fresh roasted pumpkin flesh
6 T. canola oil
1 t. vanilla
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit.
Combine all of the dry ingredients and set aside. Combine the egg, oil, pumpkin and vanilla and add to the dry ingredients. Mix just until combined and distribute in a 12 place muffin tin either lined with paper liners or greased with butter (or both in my case, I ran out of paper liners). Set aside while making the streusel.
Streusel
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. brown sugar
2 T. canola oil
Combine the flour and sugar together and mix with a fork. Slowly add in the oil while continuing to mix with the fork. Keep mixing until the streusel becomes crumbly. With your fingers evenly crumble the streusel over the 12 muffins.
Bake for 15 to 18 minutes until firm. Let cool for about 20 minutes.
November 21, 2012
This entry was posted in baking, muffins, roasted stuff and tagged muffins, pumpkin seeds, roasted pumpkin.
