What to Do With a Pumpkin

October 16th, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Vegetable Lovin'

(Alternate – and perhaps more catchy? – Title: The One Where I Show You My Underwear)

(Took me a minute to decide.)

So!

White bean blondies aren’t the only thing you can bake to heat up your kitchen. Pumpkins are good for that too, especially first thing in the morning.

Bake a Pumpkin, Heat up your Kitchen

This pumpkin showed up in this week’s CSA share, and I swear, my first thought was “A pumpkin?? How on earth do you cook THAT?”

And then I reminded me that a pumpkin is just a squash.

Pumpkin is just a Squash

Oh yeah.

Cut in half and de-seeded, oven pre-heated to 350 while you proceed to heat up your 59 degree kitchen.

Pumpkin Halves

Alright, FINE – I caved and turned the heat on for the first time this season. I busted out the long underwear too.

Long Underwear Gif

I bought these merino wool long johns from LLBean last year. Can I say, “Best Thing I Ever Bought”? I think I just did. These kept me so cozy and warm under jeans and/or yoga pants last winter, I cannot believe I waited 31.75 years to buy a good pair of long underwear.

(That’s it folks, move along. The peep show’s over.)

Seeds were set aside so they could be roasted too. Rinsed of all their pumpkin yuck and then coated in a little canola and salt, they went into the oven with the pumpkin/squash.

Toss occasionally and keep a close eye on them to keep them from burning. You could also bake them at 250 – 300 if baking them separately, like after carving or maybe cutting out the bottom of your pumpkin and wearing it as a stocking hat if your kitchen is really cold?

These were were done in about 15 minutes. Moved to a jar once cool to be stored in the fridge when the urge for something salty and rich in Thiamin strikes.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

I knew the pumpkin itself was done when I could easily stick a fork in it – about an hour. Canned pumpkin is way easier, but it does nothing in terms of the temperature of your kitchen.

And besides, you know the saying:

“If you’ve got a pumpkin, bake a pumpkin.”

(OK so I just made that one up.)

Kitchen officially warm, pumpkin innards were scraped out and transferred into a dish to be turned into pumpkin flavored meals and snacks for the coming week.

Baked Pumpkin Packed Up

Like maybe a pumpkin smoothie now that my pumpkin is cold and my legs are not? Oh baby, now I’m totally in the mood!  (<– showing you my underwear helped too.)

Pumpkin Smoothie Ingredients

I was going to say “This is my first pumpkin smoothie ever!”, but then I googled “Pumpkin Smoothie” and my own post from two years ago showed up in the results.

So, no. Never mind.  This is indeed NOT my first pumpkin smoothie ever.

Thanks Google for keeping me honest.

Brain? I have to say, I’m a little disappointed. Especially with that not-knowing-what-to-do-with-a-pumpkin bit earlier too.

Pumpkin Smoothie In Blender

Today’s smooth pumpkin movement was comprised of a heaping scoop of cooked pumpkin, a scoop of Greek yogurt, a pour of unsweetened almond milk, 1 banana, a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg.  I added a squeeze of agave after I tried it and realized it to be a little sweeter.

Pumpkin Smoothie

I have no idea how to wrap up this post, so many important topics were covered today! I guess I’ll end by saying:

“If you’ve got a pumpkin, Google it before you blend it in your long underwear.”

Oh, and pumpkin smoothies are awesome. I should say that too.

Linked to Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade

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