Tasty Tip!!

Okay, so you know from my Apple Sauce post that last week I ended up with tons of fruit and vegetables from the fruit co-op that I participate in. One of the items in my basket last week was a pumpkin. This presented a challenge for me, because the only thing that I have ever done with a pumpkin is carve it and put it outside. Well, I wanted to do something with the one I got last week, so I went on the search for some good pumpkin recipes. I found a couple that I wanted to share with you. The first one is for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins. Although it may not seem like pumpkin and chocolate chips would go well together, they do. You can find the recipe here.

The other wonderful recipe that I found was for Pumpkin Bread. I was a little skeptical about this one, but I figured that I would give it a try. It turned out great, and I even made a second batch. One thing that I did differently from the recipe was that I used only bread flour, because I did not have any whole wheat. It still turned out great.

Now if you are like me, you may be wondering where to even begin with a whole pumpkin. The first thing to do is cut it in half and scoop out all of the seeds. Next place the pumpkin, flesh side down, in a baking dish with a 1/2 inch to an inch of water. Place it in the oven on around 375 until the skin on the pumpkin is tender enough to poke through with a fork. Once it is done, take it out and remove the inside of the pumpkin. I used my handy dandy stick mixer to puree it, and then used it in my recipes. I think using the fresh pumpkin really made everything taste better. I have tried the pumpkin and chocolate chip muffins before using canned pumpkin, and they were much better with the fresh pumpkin.

Oh, and a little side note, do not throw away the seeds. Wash and dry them off, coat with oil and spread them on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with your favorite spices, I just used salt, and bake at 275 for about 45 minutes, or until crispy. These made a super tasty snack.

So, now that you have some good recipes for pumpkin, don't be afraid to grab one when they go on sale and give it a shot.