I woke up one morning recently to begin my day as always and there was a chill in the air, almost a cool fall chill. I even had little goose bumps on my skin telling me I was cold. I peered out the window and watched the breeze blow off golden yellow and red leaves from the once vibrant green trees of summer to the ground. I looked down to where the leaves landed and saw that there were more leaves in my front yard that were beginning to pile up. I thought, “Yes, the cold weather is just around the corner.” Then I shivered at that thought as I quickly walked away from the window to get ready for the day.
While driving I noticed store fronts advertising Halloween costumes and sale signs in windows for Halloween décor. Department stores had dedicated isles with shelves of brightly festive bags of Halloween candy, chocolates, lolly pops, peanut butter cups, sour candies and much more. Home and lawn decorations, movable scary plastic sculls that light up in the dark, witch broom sticks, ghosts, haunted house sound effects, plastic pumpkin buckets for candy, pumpkin and apple pie scented candles, and Happy Halloween signs to hang on the door. When did all of that happen? Did the Autumn fairy go around in the middle of the night, wave her magic wand and say, “Puff! Autumn has arrived!”?
As much as I don’t want to see the cold weather again, it is going to happen; it is part of life and part of the changing seasons here on the East Coast. Apple picking season is winding down and pumpkin season is in full bloom. Homes are filled with the sweet aroma of baked pumpkin, pies, and soups. Pumpkin flavored everything including donuts, muffins, coffee lattés, cakes, pies, cookies, breads, beer, and even Halloween Oreo cookies are in every store, café, bakery, and restaurant. Grocery stores have their pumpkins lined up neatly on display next to the corn stalks and mums. It is raining pumpkins as far as the eye can see.
Although pumpkins are fun to carve on Halloween, they are also good for eating. They are a fruit and belong to the same cucurbitaceae family as gourds, cucumbers, melons and winter squash. There are different varieties, such as the carving pumpkin (the jack-o-lantern) and the cooking pumpkin. The carving pumpkins are much bigger in shape, have a thinner shell, less flesh and they are often more stringy. Cooking pumpkins, also called sugar pumpkins, are smaller, have more flesh, are less grainy and they’re sweeter (which is preferred by most cooks). Carving pumpkins can be cooked and eaten as well, the difference being in taste and texture. Both types of pumpkins are delicious.
Pumpkins can be fun and easy to cut open and cook—simply get out your apron, newspaper, bowls, and cookie sheets (since they can be quite messy when cutting them open). First, cut the top off with a sharp knife, then scoop out the slimy and stringy guts. Put it on the newspaper until there is only the delicious meat of the pumpkin left (you may have to use a spoon to scrape the inside). Then, simply put the guts in a colander and separate the slimy orange strands from all the seeds, and rinse them good (the seeds can be baked with various seasonings for a yummy snack).
Once the pumpkin is carved, pre-heat the oven to 350º Fahrenheit and cut the pumpkin into quarters. Put the pieces on a cookie sheet with foil and the meat facing down. Put a little water on the bottom so the pumpkin doesn’t dry out, and bake for about a half hour (depending on the size of the pieces). It will be done when you can easily stick a folk through it and the meat is soft. Let the pieces cool and simply scoop out the flesh. When that is done, here is what you can do with them. This is a delicious recipe that will get everyone talking on Halloween (or any time of year)!
PUMPKIN BARS
Ingredients:
15 oz can white beans (or black beans for a richer consistency)
1/2 cup or a little more of fresh pumpkin (see notes above for how to prepare) or canned puree
2 whole ripe bananas
1 tsp of cinnamon
1 tsp of nutmeg
1 tsp clove
1/3 cup of pure maple syrup
¼ cup of apple sauce
2 tbsp. spoons of peanut butter
½ cup instant oats
2 tbsp of pure cocoa powder (if you want them chocolatey)
Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350º F. Drain and rinse beans good.
2. Put all of the ingredients except the oats in a food processor and blend until creamy.
3. Stir in oats and then put in a square baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let them cool. They will firm up as they cool. Keep in refrigerator. The pumpkin flavor intensifies the longer they are allowed to sit in the refrigerator.
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