Pumpkin Harvest
My kitchen island is full of pumpkins. This morning there were seven. I have decided to approach them cautiously, one at a time, so that I will hardly notice that I'm dealing with them.
I chose one this morning, rinsed it, cut it in half and scraped the seeds out, then cut it into large pieces and piled them into the Crock-Pot with a cup of water. After several hours on high the flesh was very soft; I let them cool, then scraped the cooked pumpkin out of the rinds. Done with one!
I put half in a gallon ziploc in the freezer. The other went into dinner in this form, a tangy Asian soup:
*Summer Pumpkin Soup*
In 2 T. olive oil, saute
1 diced onion
2 cloves garlic minced
2 T. ginger, grated fresh
til onion is transparent.
Add:
1 quart chicken stock
1 can cream of coconut
3 cups cooked pumpkin
Simmer for an hour.
Stir in:
juice of one lime
1/3 c. tamari sauce
salt to taste
If desired, puree in blender, then reheat.
Excellent with a cold pasta dish made with crabmeat, broccoli sprouts, sliced cucumbers, and a spicy Asian dressing.
10 comments:
Your pumpkin soup sounds yummy. I'm going to have to try it. If we ever get a ripe pumpkin.
Am very interested to know what you will do with the rest of the pumpkins. Hope you can share more recipes. I enjoy your cooking.
Mmmm, sounds wonderful! I'm hoping my parents pumpkins will ripen soon, as I have the most fantastic recipe for a smoked chicken and pumpkin chili...
I attended a foods demonstration with my daughter at Strawbery Banke, Portsmouth NH this week.
The lecturer held up a pile of darkly coloured, leathery scraps no thicker than a deck of cards. "Do you know what this uniquely American food is?" Everyone was stumped, and then amazed to learn it was dried PUMPKIN pulp.
Colonial cooks spread their cooked pumpkin flesh on greased platters, then dried in the sun. The resultant leather was a fraction of the size of a whole fruit and the housewife could pantry 12 pumpkins in less than the space of 1! To rehydrate they soaked the card-deck-sized pile in a container of milk overnight. The next day, voila...The pumpkin had swollen to it's original cooked volume and was ready for pie-making.
Our lecturer used long-neck pumpkins, which she said were especially tasty and indigenous to that time and region.
floorplan
The comment about dried pumpkin is interesting. I would have never thought of that.
Your pumpkins made me decide to post about the squash curry I made. I think it would work fine with pumpkin, because the Thais actually use an Asian type of pumpkin and not squash when they make curry. You can see my recipe on my blog.
Anna, where do you get your recipes? I've tried several from your archives, and they have all been delicious. Oven fries and the sausage, penne pasta, and roasted vegetables are our current favorites.
Sarah, unless I credit a recipe elsewhere, the recipe is mine, all mine! But you can cook it :)
I make a pumpkin soup with curry and pear nectar. Your recipe with the cream coconut is an unusual twist and sounds wonderful. Can't wait to try this one.
Thank you for your post on Pumpkin Harvest and the recipe for pumpkin soup. Last year we made pumpkin pies from the excess pumpkins we purchased at the farmer's market. But wow-was it a chore! It's not easy to cut the flesh from the rind-it requires a REALLY sharp knife and a LOT of hand strength!
So, I was pleasantly pleased to learn that you simply cut yours up, cooked it in the crock-pot and THEN cut away the rind. How very clever! I'll try that this year for our pies.
Your little post just made life a little easier! Thanks so much for sharing!
Would very much like permission to copy your pumpkin soup recipe (right click copy, paste to a recipe file). According to your main page, I need your permission to do so.
Please email permission to dm1023@comcast.net
thanks
deb meyers
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