When the frost is on the punkin…

...you’d best hurry up and pick it before it freezes and turns to mush.

In years past our garden has produced enough pumpkins for friends and neighbors to pick their jack-o-lanterns from our backyard patch, but this year the vines weren’t very prolific. Fortunately we did grow enough for Thanksgiving pie and a bit more besides.

Some people are afraid of pumpkins, I think. Maybe it’s the thick skin or the goopy seeds. But don’t be intimidated. If you didn’t grow any yourself, you can likely find them at a farmer’s market or at the co-op. Look for small “baking” or “sugar” pumpkins – the big Halloween varieties are mostly gone to the great compost heap in the sky, but they aren’t much good for eating anyway.

Once you’ve acquired your pumpkin, you’ll want to cut it in quarters or halves (a big chef’s knife should do the trick) and put the pieces cut-side down on a baking sheet. Don’t worry about the seeds – we’ll take care of those later, after the baking. Put the baking sheet in the oven at 300 degrees and bake for at least an hour. When a fork goes in easily, they’re done. I have read that if your pumpkin is too hard to cut, you can just put the whole thing in the oven or microwave for a few minutes to soften it before cutting. Personally, I believe that this would work in the oven, but I would be wary of the microwave unless you’ve poked some good holes in the skin first. A pumpkin explosion would be messy indeed.

After it’s baked, let the pieces cool a little, then use a spoon to gently scrape away the fibrous strings and the seeds. Then scrape the flesh away from the skin or just pull the skin off with your fingers. You can mash the pumpkin flesh or do like I do and whir it around in the Cuisinart. Then it’s recipe-ready, and what you don’t use now you can freeze for later. It may not be quite as easy as opening a can of Libby’s but it is homemade and organic.

I’ve accumulated quite a few pumpkin recipes thanks to bumper crop years – pumpkin soup, pumpkin stew, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies… the list goes on. This weekend I dug out the final container of last year’s frozen pumpkin to make this recipe, a standby from the 1985 Sunset cookbook Cookies . They’re called “bars”, but in my opinion, they’re cake. Whatever they are, the recipe is ideal for when it’s Sunday morning and you just remembered it’s your turn to bring coffee goodies to church.

Pumpkin Bars

4 eggs
¾ C canola oil
2 C sugar
2 C cooked pumpkin
2 C flour
2 t ground cinnamon
¾ t each ginger, cloves, and nutmeg
¾ t salt
2 t baking powder
1 t baking soda

In a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat eggs lightly; beat in oil, sugar, and pumpkin. In another bowl, stir in together flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, salt, baking powder, and baking soda; gradually add to pumpkin mixture, blending thoroughly.
Pour batter into a greased and flour-dusted 10 by 15 inch baking pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 35 minutes or until edges begin to pull away from the pan and center springs back when lightly touched. Let cool in pan on rack.

The original recipe also has an orange cream frosting topped with almonds that is quite superfluous. Without it they will still be the hit of coffee hour; I guarantee you, those Unitarians will scarf them down faster than they can say “multicultural peaceful spiritual renewable organic solar diversity.”