NCKAA: 26 Days Until Christmas

Waste not, want not ... right? Since Thanksgiving is over, Kevin's roommates are clearing their house of fall decorations. This includes the 3 large carving pumpkins they bought. Thinking of my baking, they sent the pumpkins my way and I've been working up a storm.

Generally, carving pumpkins aren't meant for baking. However, when you're poor like me, you make it work. A can of pumpkin costs about $1.50. Since a 5-pound gourd can yield the equivalent of 4 cans, I'm pretty excited. I cut into the first pumpkin yesterday and removed the seeds. Then, I peeled it, cut the meat up in small cubes and boiled it for about 30 minutes. The cooked pumpkin then found it's way into my blender. A few zaps in there and voila! Pureed pumpkin!

Here are the recipes I've already made:

Cajun-Spiced Pumpkin Seeds

1 cup pumpkin seeds
1 scant teaspoon Cajun seasoning, or to taste
paprika, for more color, if desired
a little salt, depending on saltiness of the seasoning
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 300°.

Rinse seeds well and get as much of the pumpkin pulp off of them as possible. Some of the small pieces are going to adhere so don't worry about perfection here. Pat dry with paper towels.

Toss pumpkin seeds with seasonings. Combine oil and Worcestershire sauce; stir into seeds until well blended and coated.

Roast, turning from time to time, for about 45 to 60 minutes, or until nicely browned and crunchy.

Egg Noodles with Pumpkin Sauce

1 cup onion, chopped fine
1.5 cup red bell pepper, chopped fine
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
1 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons almond milk
6 oz egg noodles, whole wheat
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan as an accompaniment

In a large skillet saute the onion, bell pepper, and garlic over moderate heat (use olive oil spray or water to saute), stirring, until the vegetables are softened, stir in the pumpkin, the broth, the water, the almond milk, and salt and pepper to taste, and simmer the sauce, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until reduced by a third. While the sauce is simmering, in a kettle of salted boiling water boil the noodles until it is al dente, ladle out the reserve about 1 cup of the cooking water, and drain the egg noodles well.

Add the egg noodles to the sauce, cook the mixture over moderate heat, stirring and thinning the sauce as desired with some of the reserved cooking water (I rarely have to thin the sauce), for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the pasta is coated well, and stir in the parsley. Top with Parmesan and cover skillet for 1-2 minutes.

Serves 4.
Nutritional Information: Amount Per Serving: Calories: 201.7; Total Fat: 2.9 g; Cholesterol: 4.9 mg; Sodium: 250.7 mg; Total Carbs: 39.6 g; Dietary Fiber: 6.5 g; Protein: 9.9 g

Peeling pumpkins is a HUGE pain, both literally and figuratively. For Pumpkin #2, I am going to try a roasting method instead of a boiling method to cook the pumpkin. All it involves is cutting the pumpkin into chunks and roasting it in the over at 375 or so for a more than hour. When the flesh is cooked, you apparently just scoop it out and puree or mash it. Since I've made roasted pumpkins like this for breakfast a lot this fall (just with tiny pumpkins), I'm pretty sure this will work out. I'll leave comments below to let you know how well it works.

For Pumpkin #3, I plan to make pumpkin flour. I did it once earlier this fall. To do it, you peel the pumpkin (boo!), cut the meat into quarter-inch strips and dehydrate them. Then, you grind the dried pumpkin into a fine powder. Though I haven't tried cooking with it yet, I understand you can replace 1/4 of the flour in most recipes. This is a big calorie saver!