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It's a white pumpkin. I had no idea such things existed. I thought it was a giant squash. But no, it is a pumpkin.
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At this point, I become concerned that I have been tricked into purchasing a squash. I hate squash with an unholy passion. If I have purchased a giant squash, I will be annoyed.
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My squashkin, cut up and placed in my brand new slow cooker. Scrap out the seeds, leave the peel on, cut into chunks. Easy.
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The seeds, washed and ready to toast. Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures of the finished product from these. They are currently sitting in a container in my desk drawer at work for quick snacks. Mmm...snacks.
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After the pumpkin was fork tender, I took it out of the slow cooker and let it cool in my fridge over night. Then I trimmed off the peel with a paring knife and put it in this big pot.
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My pumpkin puree. I mashed it up with my wire whisk, and added salt and cinnamon to it. I did heat it up a bit, because I was worried about it being water logged. But I don't think it needed it.
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Pumpkin puree, measured into zip bags and resting on the table to cool. I have an awesome ladle that holds exactly 1/2 cup, so it's easy to measure things like this for freezing. Most of the bags are one cup bags, but I do have a three cup bag. That one is for a pie.
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This is a batter made with a bag of the puree. Oooh! What could it be?
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Homemade pumpkin bread, with locally grown black walnuts. And it's the best pumpkin bread I've ever made. This is when I stop being suspicious that I bought a squash. Squash doesn't taste this good. And if it does, I don't want to know about it.
So was it worth it to make this with my own pumpkin? I'm going to say yes. It did take a considerable amount of time to process the pumpkin. However, most of that was done in the slow cooker, while I was hanging out with friends Saturday night. I think I spent maybe an hour and a half working on the puree itself, and most of that happened when I was trying to cut it apart. That sucker was tough. It made a TON of puree. I think I got at least eight cups out of it, and it was a smallish pumpkin. It was definitely cheaper than buying that much in a can, and it didn't come with a bunch of additives I didn't want either. So if you've got the time, go for it.
The recipe (Adapted from "The Joy of Cooking" 1975 ed.):
Preheat recipe to 350 degrees
Sift together:
1 3/4 sifted all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
In a large bowl, beat together:
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/3 room temperature butter
2 eggs
Add: 1 cup or one small can pumpkin
Add: 1/3 cup milk
You can add nuts or raisins at this point too. Be careful to not over mix.
Pour into greased loaf pan and bake for one hour, or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.
2 comments:
Love it! You inspire me, Mother!
(Charis)
If only I had the energy to do things like this. Maybe later. ;)
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