Pumpkin, Pumpkin, and more pumpkin

If you thought that pumpkins were only good for carving you were way off. Pumpkin puree makes the perfect ingredient for a variety of dishes (both savory and sweet). We had never made anything from an actual edible pumpkin so this year we thought we would experiment with  several new pumpkin recipes. First, if you decide to make your own pumpkin puree you need to make sure you get the right type of pumpkin. Some common names you might see are Pick-A-Pie, Baby Bear or Sugar pumpkin. These small varieties weigh 4-6 pounds and will yield 1 ½ - 2 cups of pumpkin puree. To make pumpkin puree you prepare it the same way you would a squash. Cut the pumpkin in half, clean out the seeds and place on a baking sheet.They have to bake at 350* for about 1 ½ to 2 hours or until soft.

The first pumpkin creation we tried was pumpkin pasta and it was delicious. The pumpkin recipe we used was this, but you can find several variations online. Since we don't all love sage we substituted for basil and it turned our really well.   

We then decided to get a little more traditional with a simple pumpkin pie recipe. Unfortunately, the actual pie was gone before any pictures could be taken. As many of you know, nothing can make or break a pie faster than the crust. However, this really is the prefect pie crust and super easy.

Next came pumpkin ice cream. Not too sweet and a hint of spice served with a ginger snap. Once again, there are so many recipes to pick from. We picked this one.

Finally, our pumpkin extravaganza came to a slow down. While we still have so many pumpkin recipes to try we decide to take a little break from pumpkin. Not before we make homemade pumpkin scones with spiced glaze though. Recipe here. They went perfect with morning coffee.

For a little extra flavor, a dash of real maple syrup was add to the spiced glaze.

In the future we have pumpkin bars, pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins with cream cheese frosting, and so much more. That's all the pumpkin for now though!