Make your own Pumpkin Puree

It’s that time again. Get those pumpkins before the end of October for better quality and selection

For me, Thanksgiving wouldn’t be the same without something pumpkin-y at the end of the meal. For us it’s Pumpkin Pie but of course pumpkin bread and cookies could work too. Whatever it is I decide to make, I always do it with pumpkin puree I’ve made myself. Because it’s funner and tastier that way!

There is more than one way you can make a pumpkin puree but below I will you show you the Summer way of doing it.

1) Start out by cutting one pumpkin (6 lbs. or more) in half lengthwise, cutting out the stem. Place each half on a cookie sheet, cut side up.
Note: Some people swear that sugar pumpkins are a must for pumpkin sweets but I stick with regular ol’ pumpkins because they’re cheaper and they taste no different to me.

2) Bake your pumpkins in a 350 degree oven for approximately one hour or until pumpkin is adequately tender when poked with a fork. When you pull your pumpkins out they will look something like this. Yikes! I know, but stick with me.

3) Scoop out the guts and seeds and discard.
Note: If you’re a pumpkin seed roast and eat kinda person you can scoop the guts and seeds out beforehand. If you don’t care about saving the seeds you can still scoop the guts and seeds out before cooking, but they come out a heck of a lot easier after cooking.

4) Using a serrated or other sharp knife, cut off the dry wrinkly meat gracing the rim of the pumpkins where they were cut.

5) See! I told you to stick with me. Lookin much better now.

6) Turn the pumpkins over and using a serrated or other sharp knife, peel/cut the skin away from the pumpkin. If you want you can scoop the meat out of the pumpkins but that’s not as easy as just cutting the skin away from the meat.

7) Voila!

8 ) Now slice the pumpkin into blender friendly sized cubes.

9) Blend until the consistency of baby food. If your blender isn’t very good (like mine) you may want to strain the pumpkin through a sieve before storing to make sure there are no pumpkin clumps.

Yay! You’ve just made your very own pumpkin puree. And really, it wasn’t that hard was it? But you can pretend it was if you want, to impress your friends.

I like to measure my puree in one cup increments into freezer safe ziplocs. You can freeze the pumpkin puree 6 months to a year. To thaw just pull out desired amount and place in the fridge overnight. You can use this in place of any recipe that calls for canned pumpkin. Just be sure that if the recipe calls for canned SPICED pumpkin that you don’t forget to add your own spices to that particular recipe.

And now, to finish off this post, I will leave you with my pumpkin pie recipe. It’s a delicious recipe if I say so myself and this pie actually tastes better after sitting. So bake it a full day or two before Thanksgiving and then enjoy!

Pumpkin Pie

2 cups Pumpkin puree
12 ounces Evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
A pinch of nutmeg

* Preheat the oven to 450 degress.

* In a large bowl whisk together the pumpkin puree, sugar, eggs and evaporated milk

* Combine all of the spices and then whisk into the pumpkin mixture

* Pour into one deep dish 9 inch pie shell. Bake at 450 for 10 minutes and then reduce oven heat to 350 degrees and bake for one hour
Note: I’m just above sea level so if you are at a higher elevation you may have to cook it longer. I also guage when it’s done mostly by sight. As this pie cooks, the top will begin to puff up around the edges until it reaches the center. After 50 minutes have passed and the center has puffed up I call it done. Don’t worry, as the pie cools, it falls

* Let cool completely before serving.

This post originally published Nov. 7, 2007