all things pumpkin

I love pumpkin season! There's so many delicious recipes to try and pretty pumpkins to pick and decorate with. I always like to do a pumpkin picking excursion but haven't yet this year. I did cook a pumpkin though, and tried a recipe I thought would be fun to share!

First of all, if you're going to cook a pumpkin, I highly recommend the Long Island Cheese variety. It has excellent flavor and is so much better than canned pumpkin!

Long Island cheese pumpkin 

Cut the pumpkin up in several pieces and remove seeds. Add a small amount of water to the roaster so it doesn't stick, and bake around 300 degrees for an hour or so, until it's soft when pricked with a fork. Let it cool, then remove any remaining seeds or stringy insides. Scoop out the pumpkin flesh and blend until it's nice and smooth. It can be kept in the fridge for quite awhile. This can also be frozen, but will be more watery once thawed, so keep in mind you might need to add more flour to a recipe if you're using frozen pumpkin.

This is my favorite pumpkin recipe so far. It comes from my sister Keela.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins 

4 eggs
2 cups sugar
16 oz. pumpkin
1 cup oil
3 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
2 cups chocolate chips

In large mixing bowl, beat eggs, sugar, pumpkin, and oil until smooth. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Add to pumpkin mixture; mix well. Fold in chocolate chips. Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes.

Makes 24 muffins.



Now for my favorite pumpkin quote.

And my favorite pumpkin poem.

Happy punkin' gathering and baking!