November 07, 2011

From Vine to Pie

Do you remember my pumpkins? Well, I carved one for Halloween. I saved the seeds and roasted them with spices and really enjoyed them. When I was carving, I noted how meaty the pumpkin was and I thought I might try baking one. The variety is 'Howden' and all my online searches indicate it is mainly grown for carving. I decided to process one anyhow.


I cut it into chunks, placed it in a pyrex dish and baked it at 400 degrees for 45 minutes or so. I had to bake two batches to get it all cooked.


When it cooled, I removed the skin and pureed it in the blender. I then let it drain in cheesecloth. The pumpkin is very moist...too moist to use in baking.



Meanwhile I toasted the seeds. I tossed them with some olive oil, salt, chili powder, cumin and cayenne. I baked them at 325 degrees for 35 minutes.



The big pumpkin made 3.5 pints of puree that I will freeze.



I saved 2 cups to use right away.





Here is a link to the Vegan Pumpkin Pie recipe I used. The consistency is nice, but next time I will use less nutmeg and a bit more cloves. But don't worry, I will be enjoying this pie (right now with a cup of Chamomile tea)!

3 comments:

  1. Oh, that looks delicious! I'm glad you baked one to test....how do you make your crust? I made a loaf of pumpkin bread using pulp from a "sugar pie" pumpkin bought from TJ's--they're small and round and, yes, meaty. The bread is amazing....

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  2. Ooh awesome, I have been dreading dealing with the pumpkin sitting on my porch (the one I didn't carve), but you are making it look quite easy! Your pie looks delicious...

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  3. That is the prettiest pumpkin pie I've seen in a long time!

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