Saturday, November 10, 2007

I Love Pumpkin . . .

I love baking with it - pies, cheesecake, muffins. I just made some really good pumpkin muffins. Nice and cinnamony and warm. Yum! I will be making at least one pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving - if there were going to be more of us, I would make a cheesecake. Dad gave me a pumpkin cookie recipe that I also have to try soon. And I have a pumpkin and black bean chili recipe I want to try...Ahh, pumpkins!

I love the way sugar pumpkins look - all orange and round. They are smaller and cuter than jack-o-lantern pumpkins. Ever since I bought my first pumpkin at the farmer's market in Walla Walla, I have only used real pumpkin - none of that canned stuff for me. I sort of bought that pumpkin just because the guy selling them was really cute, but after the first pie, I was converted, cute guy or no. It isn't difficult to use fresh pumpkin instead of canned, but it does take a few extra steps of preparation. You have to first bake the pumpkin (see Joy of Cooking for directions) and then puree the flesh before you can use it. But it is very worth it!

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