pumpkin?

we have developed a love for squash. our favorites right now are acorn and spaghetti.  im in the mood for pumpkin but ive never cooked a pumpkin that didnt come from a can. i also read its a great food for babies.  any recipies out there?  

[TrudieC]

If you scan through the archives you'll see a squash soup that I posted.  It can be made with butternut squash or pumpkin (fresh or canned).

[swampcritter]

Just some basics...Swampy doesn't make a lot of squash dishes.

If you want to work with whole pumpkin, find a smallish "baking" one. Yes, you can use the larger one as well, but Swampy finds the smaller ones handle easier. If all you can find is a large one, Swampy recommends freezing what you don't use.

Now you can turn from a mild mannered human into an aggressive beast! Wack it open with the largest meanest knief in your kitchen. Save and roast seeds (yum!).

Cut the peel off until you have pumpkin cubes. Put them in your vegetable steamer and steam them for 8-10 minutes and they will be soft. You can puree it, or mash with a little salt and butter. You can add all the normal spices you do for pumpkin pie -- a little ground cloves, a pinch of cinnamon, or try some fennel seed or some anise too. Or if you want to eat like Swampy, cardamom. Swampy can't resist cardamom.

Most common things made from pumpkin (aside from pie, of course):

Pumpkin kibbeh is a Lebanese dish made by making a dough of pumpkin with flour and spices and then filling with chickpeas and walnuts. You can google for this recipe, its relatively complicated, but it is very good. Sometimes it is deep fried, but often today it is baked.

Many times, squash is combined with kale -- the bland full squash taste contrasts nicely with the crunchy greens. Swampy will warn you though, it is an acquired taste. Google squash and kale and you'll get a ton of recipes. Squash and kale soup is also known as "Good and Evil" soup in some circles.

[gracefromHHP]

http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/11/pumpkin-and-roasted-corn-soup.html  I've made this one before and liked it. I was too lazy to go buy canned chiptole so I just cut up a dried serrano pepper I had here at the house ( it's the time of year to buy those if you live near a farmer's market - like $3 for a quart of them, wash thoroughly, spread on a cookie cooling rack until all shriveled up and then store in an air tight container ).    I also usually go to market and buy my long neck pumpkins fresh, peel them, seed them, cook them until soft and then puree them and freeze it in 16 oz servings for use in the winter. I grew up on pumpkin like that so to me, the canned stuff tastes icky. Oh and I didn' t use unsweetened soymilk either - just used regular milk because that's what I had.  

grace

[mirabella45]

I make all my pumpkin pies with acorn squash..It is yummy..Just cut your acorn squash length wise in half. spoon out the seeds and cook in a shallow pan with 2 inches of water..covered for about an hour until soft..375 degrees.  
let me know if you want my pie recipe.

You can also cook those seeds and eat them..delicious