By Sherrie Norris
Has one of the season’s favorite flavors already grabbed hold to your taste buds and decor, like it has for so many others? Of course, we’re talking about the great pumpkin! Hardly a restaurant menu or store display anywhere misses out on spotlighting the pumpkin as a special feature this time of year.
I usually don’t “go pumpkin” until October, but I’d likely be too late if I wait much longer. Like everything else, it seems to be rushed this year.
Apparently, the giant colorful gourd has grown in abundance around these parts once again — huge piles are showing up on roadside stands everywhere.
A little history-digging reminds us that pumpkins are believed to have been first cultivated in Central America, and that Spanish and Portuguese explorers carried pumpkin seeds back to Europe in the 14th century. However, In North America, Native Americans grew pumpkins for food long before the first Europeans arrived on the continent in the 1600s.
The pumpkin certainly has its share of lore associated with it, and even beyond that, its orange coloring indicates a high content of carotene pigments such as lutein, alpha-carotene and beta-carotene, which becomes vitamin A in the body.
Pumpkins are ever more popular in the coming weeks, as Halloween wouldn’t hold as much mystique without the ancient Celtic custom of carving them up as “lanterns,” nor would Thanksgiving be the same without a big ol’ pumpkin pie.
We’ll revisit the great pumpkin, I’m sure, as those events draw nearer, but for now, we’ll just dive into a few recipes for the fall favorite on the early side of the season.
Pumpkin Soup
2 lbs. fresh pumpkin, peeled, cut into chunks, seeds removed
3 cups milk or half-and-half, scalded
1 Tbs. butter
2 tsp. maple syrup
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
Steam fresh pumpkin until tender; mash or puree. Stir into the hot milk; stir the remaining ingredients. Heat through and serve immediately.
Easy Pumpkin Spice Muffins
(No eggs, no oil!)
1 spice cake mix
1 (15 oz.) can pure pumpkin
1 tsp. cinnamon
Chopped nuts, optional
Mix together spice cake mix and pumpkin, stir in cinnamon and nuts.
Spoon into muffin tins and bake at 325°F for 25 to 28 minutes.
Pumpkin Squares
Crust:
1 ½ cups quick cooking oats
1¼ cups flour
¾ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. soda
¾ cup butter, room temperature
Filling:
2 cups pumpkin puree (16 oz. can)
2/3 cup milk
1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
Combine oats, flour, ¾ cup brown sugar, ½ cup chopped pecans, ½ tsp. salt, baking soda and butter; beat until mixture is crumbly. Reserve about 1½ cups of the crumb mixture and press remaining mixture into a lightly buttered 13x9x2-inch baking pan.
Bake at 375° for 10 minutes.
Beat filling ingredients until well blended and smooth. Spread filling over the crust; sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture. Return to oven and bake 25 minutes longer. Cool and cut into bars.
Pumpkin Walnut Bread
1/3 cup butter, softened
11/3 cups sugar
2 eggs, beaten
¼ cup water
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 2/3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. cloves
½ cup chopped walnuts
¼ cup chopped raisins, optional
Preheat oven to 350°. In a mixing bowl with electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light; set aside. In another mixing bowl combine eggs, water and pumpkin; mix well. Add creamed butter; blend thoroughly.
Sift dry ingredients together into a separate bowl. Add about one-third of the dry ingredients at a time to pumpkin mixture, stirring well after each addition. Mix in walnuts and raisins. Bake pumpkin bread in greased 9x5x3-inch loaf pan for 55 to 60 minutes.
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Crust:
1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup granulated sugar
Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine cracker crumbs, butter and sugar in medium bowl. Press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of 9-inch springform pan. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes. (Don’t brown.) Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes.
Cheesecake:
3 (8 oz.) pkgs. cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 can (15 oz.) 100% Pure Pumpkin
2/3 cup evaporated milk
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground nutmeg
Beat cream cheese and sugars in large mixer bowl until fluffy. Beat in eggs, pumpkin and evaporated milk. Add cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg; beat well. Pour into crust.
Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until edge is set, but center still “wiggles” just a little.
Topping:
2 cups (16 oz.) sour cream, at room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Combine sour cream, sugar and vanilla in small bowl; mix well. Spread over surface of warm cheesecake. Bake for 5 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Remove side of springform pan when set. Store in fridge.
Note: This can also be prepared in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish and served like a delicious, creamy cake.