How to Cook a Pumpkin

Our pumpkins did very well in the garden this year! We have some really big ones! We plant them just for fun/decorating, but this year they have another fate...

I have always been partial to Libby's canned pumpkin, but since there was a pumpkin shortage last year in the US- there was NO pumpkin in the stores until recently, I have decided to try eating our pumpkins. So I called my bestest friend to find out how to do it and now I am going to share it with you all!

I have our pumpkins lined up on my front porch, and I just go out and pick one to cook. I keep picturing horrified jack-o-lantern faces on them as they wait to see who is next!

This one was a funny shape and flat on the one side.

Step 1: Wash it off.

Step 2: Slice in half.

Step 3: Scoop out the seeds and schmutz! (PA-dutchified word) Step 4: Chop it up into pieces if it is too big for your roaster(s) and put the pieces in the roasting pans with enough water to cover the bottom of the pan. Step 5: Bake at 350 degrees for an hour or more... until you can stick a fork through the rind and it is soft.

Step 6: Use a fork to scrape the pumpkin off of the rind. A lot of water should be draining off of the pumpkin pieces.

I throw the pumpkin right into my colander in the sink so that more water can drain off. I am not straining it really, just letting the water drain out on its own. I just give the pumpkin a little stir once in a while. It really is key to let a lot of water drain off so that it is not runny.

Step 7: Puree in a food processor or blender. Then you can use it to make pumpkin pie, pumpkin roll, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pancakes, or even these DELICIOUS pumpkin cookies!!!

I got the recipe from GroovyPumpkin HERE. Mine look a little flatter than hers, but I am guessing it is the pumpkin. They are so soft and so, so good! I did some with and some without chocolate chips in them. Yummmmmm....

So, if you have any pumpkin recipes, feel free to pass them on! I told you our pumpkins did well- they are BIG!!! I am getting 12 cups or so from each one! Geez!!!

Homemade Pizza Sauce

Well, since I have been so very busy lately, this post is a little late in its usefulness, but if you don't have any late tomatoes hanging on yet, you can bookmark it for next year!

I have a great homemade pizza recipe and I like to can my own sauce for it. This is how I do a small batch- if I am doing a lot of tomatoes, I use different equipment and such.

I start out with some tomatoes from our garden and wash them off- Mom's scrubbies work so great for scrubbing those dried on leaves and dirt off of them without roughing them up! If I have Roma's, I just take off the tops and, if they are big, I cut them in half. Then I cook them until they are soft, adding only enough water that they don't stick to the bottom.
When they are ready, I use a big, strainy spoon to scoop them into my food mill which is placed over a pot.
Then, I crank that handle around and reverse and turn some more until just the skin and seeds are left. Kids also come in handy in this step!

This is what comes out the bottom!I cook that down for a loooooooong time until it is about halfway.Then I add, for every one cup of sauce I estimate is in the pot...

1 tsp .oregano
½ tsp. marjoram
½ tsp. basil
½ tsp. garlic salt

I use my canning funnel to ladle it over into clean jars, leaving about 1/2" head space.

Now, I skip a lot of official steps, but this one is a MUST- wipe the edges of the jars off! Otherwise you won't get a good seal.

Then attach the lids and bands.

And place in a water bath canner for about 30 minutes.See? Only 3 jars- this is a very small batch!

Take them out and let them cool on a towel on the counter. After about 24 hours, remove the bands and wipe them down.
Now, I skip some things like I said before. I don't keep my jars hot until I fill them, and I don't keep my lids in warm water until I am ready to put them on. But I do try to make sure that the filled jars and the water in the canner are close to the same temperature when I put them in. I have blown out the bottoms on many jars to learn this well. So, don't put cool sauce into boiling hot water or vice versa.

See? It is not that hard! Hard is this:

17 jars of salsa by myself in one day!

Ahhh... I did the last of my tomatoes up earlier this week. Some hot jelly today and then, when the Fuji apples are ready, applesauce and apple butter. Almost done!!!

We were blessed with a bountiful harvest from our garden this year. Did you grow anything?What foods do you like to preserve?

Zucchini Alfredo

I have had some requests for this recipe, so I made it AGAIN and took a picture this time. Then, we ripped out the zucchini plants. Most of them were going to feed the pigs anyway, and they were not that good anymore, either- kinda tough. I did have some more recipes to try out, but they will have to wait for next year. So.... last one!

Zucchini Alfredo4 cups young, tender zucchini- cut into thin slices or - if you are ambitious- noodles
Salt water
¼ cup butter
8 oz. package cream cheese
¾ cup milk
½ cup shredded parmesan
Garlic salt

Slice zucchini and soak in salt water for one hour. Drain. Saute in butter until zucchini is limp, but not too long so that it turns to mush (I have done this a few times). Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, heat cream cheese and milk, stirring until smooth. Add garlic salt to taste and stir in parmesan- it will be really creamy! Drain zucchini and coat with sauce.

Now, I need to look for eggplant recipes! We have 27 eggplant plants because my husband discovered his great love of eggplant last year and got a little carried away planting!

Zucchini Mock Crab Cakes

Seriously. The zucchini thing is getting a bit out of hand. So, here is another creative recipe -this one I got from Meemaw!

Zucchini Mock Crab Cakes

• 2 cups zucchini, grated or shredded
• 1 medium onion, grated (I skip this part cause I don't care for onions so much)
• 1 tsp. Bay seafood seasoning
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 Tbsp. mayonnaise
• 1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed

Mix well; shape into cakes. Fry in oil until golden brown.

Zucchini Bread

The zucchini continues….
I am picking over two dozen a day! It is quite ridiculous!
So, today I give you, zucchini bread. Not an original idea for zucchini, but it is devoured quickly year-round in my house! When I have zucchini coming out of my ears like I do right now, I shred the zucchini and put it in freezer bags to freeze for later use. Just thaw and drain the water off when you make it.

Zucchini Bread

2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup grated zucchini
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. baking powder
(I don't have an 1/8 tsp. measuring spoon so I always guess or double the recipe)

Beat eggs. Beat in sugar. Stir in oil, vanilla, and zucchini. Mix well. Add dry ingredients. Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

Zucchini Chocolate Cake

We are currently experiencing zucchini overload here! So, I will be bombarding you with zucchini recipes! First up, this yummy, extra-moist cake is a delicious way to sneak kids their vegetables! Of course, my kids love their vegetables so much they fight over them!

Zucchini Chocolate Cake

1/2 cup of margarine

1/2 cup of vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup sour milk (can make this by adding vinegar to milk)

2 tsp. baking soda

2 1/2 cups flour

4 Tbsp. baking cocoa

2 cups shredded zucchini

12 oz. package semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cream first three ingredients. Add egg and vanilla. Mix. Add sour milk. Mix well. Add dry ingredients and stir. Mix zucchini in last. Pour into pan and sprinkle chocolate chips all over the top. Bake at 325 degrees for 40-50 minutes.

Manly Bunting

I am trying to do more craft projects with the kids because it affords me a few minutes where they are not inventing their own “projects.” So, while supper was cooking last night, we threw together a “Welcome Home” bunting for hubby who had to stay away for a night because of work. Since it was a last minute job, I used whatever I had on hand. I wanted to make it “manly” for him, so I stole a few old hunting magazines from the basket (Before you gasp at that- I usually purge them after they are 6 months old anyway and he doesn’t seem to notice or care.) I picked out the pages that were mostly pictures and cut them into bunting shape triangles for later.

I cut out letters from a black gel pen paper tablet the kids have (Thank you, Mr. Schwalm, who made us learn how to cut out block letters every year in elementary! I still remember!)

Then, since I realized they weren’t gonna show up so well against the dark pages, so I had the girls glue stick them to some pages that were mostly black type on white background.

Then I cut around the edges of those and had them glue stick them to the triangles.

We folded over the back with the yarn in it and taped it down (this was a three person job- one to cut tape, one to hold, and me to stick it down- excellent because little hands were kept busy!) Then we hung it up in the window and waited for him to come home.

Of course, he didn’t see it when he stumbled in exhausted later that night, so I had to ask for a drink of water. But I was glad he was…