Day 4: Pumpkin Pi with Walnut and Brown-Sugar Topping

A six year old at my church, told me the following joke:

Question: What's the ratio of a pumpkin's circumference to its diameter?
Answer: Pumpkin Pi

Let's forget about the joke for a minute, and wonder.... when you were six, were you using words likes circumference and diameter? Seriously? Or was I just THAT far behind everyone else?

Now as far as the joke goes.... I'm not sure it's the funniest one I've ever heard from this particular kids mouth... but it DOES make for a great lead into today's post!

Pumpkin "Pi" with Brown Sugar-Walnut Topping














What you'll need:

1 Deep "pi" crust (I don't judge... use a store bought one.)

For "pi":
1 Cup packed light brown sugar
2 Large eggs
1/2 Teaspoon salt (I used 1/4 Teas)
1/2 Teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 Teaspoon ground cloves (I can't stand cloves, so I used 1/4 Teas Allspice)
(I also added 1/4 Teaspoon nutmeg)
1 Cup pureed pumpkin
1 Cup heavy whipping cream

Heat your oven to 350*. Prebake your frozen crust for about 15 minutes or until golden brown; I suggest putting it on a cookie sheet for easier handling down the road.

For your "pi" -- combine sugar, eggs, and all the spices on low with your hand mixer. Add the pumpkin and the whipping cream and beat on high for about a minute. Pour filling into crust. It will be FULL (hence, the need for the cookie sheet). The recipe says to bake for 30 minutes. That's a funnier joke than what the six year old told... I had that baking for about an hour and 35 minutes before I put the topping on it.

For the topping:

Combine 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts, 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. When your "pi" has cooked long enough to be firm, sprinkle your topping evenly over the top. Return to the oven and reduce the temperature to 325*. Bake for another 15 minutes or until the "pi" is set and slightly puffed up in the center.

If at any point, your crust begins to burn, you can cover the edges with foil.

I didn't love this "pi." I'd probably give it a B, B- and my husband would probably give it a solid B. The pumpkin "pi" filling part, was delish! But I wasn't a fan of the brown sugar topping... too sweet (a gasp fills the room... never did they imagine that Trish would name something "too sweet"). I suspect the theory is, that the brown sugar melts into the "pi" (is that getting old yet? No?) like this:














See that dark area in the middle... that's yummy. The crunchy, grainy, brown sugar on top... not so much.

But alas, it did not keep me from eating my pi...

Day 3: Southwest Pumpkin Soup

You know you live in Arizona (and I can say this, cause we used to live there) when:

The best parking spot is determined by shade instead of distance. You learn that a seat belt buckle makes a pretty good branding iron. The temperature drops below 95 and you start to feel a little chilly. You discover that in July it only takes 2 fingers to steer your car. You break into a sweat the instant you step outside... and its only 7:30 a.m. The idea of running out to the car without putting your shoes on... is absurd. And when you need to cool down, you stand behind the motorcycle exhaust for some reprieve. And then...

...there's this soup. It's hot. It's Arizona hot.

And spicy... like J.Lo spicy. The recipe was originally printed in Bon Appetit in the most recent issue... but I've made so many changes, that I'll just write out how I made it, and let you look up the original yourself!

What you'll need:

5 Cups organic chicken broth
2 Cups half and half
2 Teaspoons brown sugar
3 Teaspoons cumin
2 1/4 Teaspoons chili powder
1 Teaspoon coriander
1/2 Teaspoon nutmeg (don't leave this out!!)
1/4 Teaspoon black pepper
2 Chilpotle peppers (chopped) in adobo sauce plus 1 Tablespoon adobo sauce

2 1/4 Cups pumpkin puree!!!

Sharp cheddar cheese
Cilantro (for garnish)

Bring chicken stock, half and half, sugar, and all spices (including peppers and adobo sauce) to a boil. Whisk in pumpkin and reduce head to simmer. Cook about 25 minutes, whisking every five minutes or so. Ladle into bowls and serve with sharp cheddar cheese and cilantro.

Note: If you don't like things spicy, reduce the chili powder to 1 1/4 Teaspoon and cut down to one chilpotle pepper.

I give this an A for flavor and texture. It's a little thin, but dunk some crusty bread or a grilled cheese sandwich in it, and it's Divine! My husband would probably give it an A- because the spice gave him the undereye sweats. And that made his makeup run. (I'm kidding! Geeze!)

What Does It Take To Puree A Pumpkin?

If you've never pureed a pumpkin, let me be the first to say... the "can" is a lot easier. And I hate to admit it, but it pretty much tastes the same too.

But now honestly, do you feel as accomplished? As connected to your forefathers and foremothers? As "salted to the earth?" As domestic? When you simply lift the lever on your automatic can opener and wait 30 seconds for the tell-tale click of readiness? No. I don't think so.

So pull your sleeves up... and let's get started.

First, pick out pumpkins that are small. The most recommended pumpkins, are called Sugar Pumpkins or Pie Pumpkins. Pick ones that are deep orange with few blemishes and no soft spots. Remove the stems and slice them in half. Clean out the guts with an ice cream scoop or a metal tablespoon:

They should look a lot like this:

Line them up on a cookie sheet with a lip, and add one or two cups of water. Just pour it right on top of the pumpkin halves. Stick them in an oven that's set at 350* like so:













These guys will cook for about 55 minutes, and when you take them out, they'll be floppy and soft, and look a little something like this:

Scrape all the goodness out of the middle and throw it all into a very large bowl. You'll need all that extra room to control the splatters. And yes, I use the word "control," loosely. Make sure you don't get any of the rind... and if you find some of the pumpkin to be tough, just pull it out.













Using a hand mixer, puree until smooth... you shouldn't be able to see the fibers anymore. I hand mixed for about 3-5 minutes depending what type of pumpkin was being pureed.

You can freeze pureed pumpkin for up to six months! And if you're wondering what 80 some-odd pumpkins looks like after its been whipped into submission and stored away like last years fashions? Well, it looks a lot like 50 some-odd cups of orange goo, crammed into every plastic container I own:

Day 2: Pumpkin Cranberry Walnut Bread

I like a dense, desert-y sort of bread. Banana bread, coffee cake... things like that, are right up my alley. I have an intense sweet tooth, and those sort of breads satisfy... so this was the perfect way to start, as I worked my way through the puree in my freezer.

Now that I've made my first submission using the puree, I am aware of just HOW MUCH of the stuff I have. This bread... this PUMPKIN bread... only used one measly cup of puree. One. Bright side? Only 52 more cups to go!

I found this recipe via Epicurious.com, but it was originally printed in Bon Appetit (October 2003).

What you'll need:

2 Cups all purpose flour
2 Teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (I didn't have any, so I made my own.)
1 Teaspoon baking powder
1/4 Teaspoon salt (I omitted this, as I almost always do... but would actually suggest adding it.)
1/2 Teaspoon baking soda
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1 Cup sugar
2 Large eggs
1 Cup pumpkin puree
1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 Cup buttermilk
1/2 Cup dried sweetened cranberries
1/2 Cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350* and butter your 9x5x3 loaf pan. Line the bottom and the two long sides with waxed paper. Leave enough excess so you can use the wax paper as handles, and the bread just lifts right out. Easy peasy.

Whisk flour, spices, baking powder and baking soda in bowl to blend. Using hand mixer, beat butter until fluffy and gradually add sugar until blended. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat in pumpkin, then vanilla. Beat in dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk in two additions. Now quit beating. Fold in cranberries and nuts. Pour all this in to your pan, stick it in the oven, and wait. The smells will drive you batty!

You'll be cooking this bread for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. When the tester comes out clean, let it cool in the pan for 10 or 15 minutes. Pull the bread out using your nifty waxed paper handles and let cool completely before you try to cut it. (Just made myself laugh! Since when has a loaf of bread sat long enough to cool completely?!)

Enjoy!














I give this bread a B or B+ in taste and an A- in texture. It has a nice, tough and chewy outer crust, but it's just a tad dry inside. And though the initial taste is B, the aftertaste is definitely a B+! Both my husband and I loved the aftertaste!

Day 1: Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Oh, did I forget to mention that I separated the seeds from the first two bags? Yeah. I did.

Don't EVER ask me to do such a thing again. If you think waiting for paint to dry or leaves to fall so you can rake them, or watching the grade school band attempt to play their way through Phantom of the Opera... sounds tedious... I've got a topper. Pull the seeds from 60 pumpkins and see if raking leaves actually sounds like fun? (By the way, my hands have a permanent orange tint to them.)

Sixty pumpkins, and this is what we got. A small bread plate full of seeds.

Cinnamon and Sugar Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

What you'll need:
Clean seeds from 8-12 Sugar Pumpkins
2 Tablespoons butter
1 Teaspoon cinnamon
1 Teaspoon allspice
1/2 Teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 Teaspoon salt (I use sea salt because I like the course texture.)

Preheat your oven to 375*. Dry your seeds. The web site Pumpkin Patches and More suggests using a hair dryer... and I love it! If you're impatient, it's perfect. The site also has some great tips on how to clean and separate your seeds, in case you're wondering.

Melt your butter in the microwave. Add all your spices except the salt and stir. Add your dry seeds and stir to coat. Using a spatula (so you can get all the good stuff at the bottom of the bowl) spread out the seeds on a cookie sheet. I suggest using a cookie sheet with a lip, to make stirring when things are hot, easier. Add your salt, according to your taste.

Cook for 15 minutes and stir. Cook for another 30 minutes stirring every 5-10 minutes. The seeds will deepen in color and start to sound like glass, when you stir them. This means they're done! Let cool completely on the cookie sheet and store in an airtight container.

Ear Full of Pumpkin and Other Unmentionables

My husband and I serve churches, who have a pumpkin patch each year to raise money for mission and outreach ministries. We go through a company called Pumpkins USA and it works like this -- they send you a variety of pumpkins with no upfront cost, you sell as many pumpkins as you can, you get to keep a percentage of the profits, and on October 31st you have to figure out what to do with the leftover pumpkins.

This year, we decided to live by the ol' adage: Waste not, want not. I will tell you, by the end of all this, "want not" may be a very apt sentiment.

So between the two of us, we brought home three bags -- hefty, stretchy garbage bags -- of Sugar and Baby Pumpkins. And for the past week, my husband has been de-stemming them and cutting them in half... and I have been gutting them, roasting them, separating them from their skins, and pureeing the living daylights out of them.

If you've ever pureed a pumpkin, you know it can be sort of a mess. The stuff is slippery and slimmy and tends to spatter. Now times that by 80, and you know what my kitchen looked like. I've got pumpkin in places I shouldn't mention in a public forum. And yes, that includes my ear. And I spent a good chunk of time last night with my Magic Eraser trying to remove the hardened fibers from my countertops -- my husband was a bit jealous!

Now my freezer is full of pureed pumpkin... LOTS of pureed pumpkin. How much, you ask? Try a smudge over 53 cups! That's like 25 cans of Libby's!! I've tried to pan it off on church folks, and received very few takers. So... I've decided: I WILL POWER THROUGH.

For the next thirty days, I will make one recipe a day, which will include pumpkin puree. Some of them I'll glean from the Internet and my cookbook collections... others I'll wing! We'll see how this turns out...