The Great Pumpkin Arrives

If we haven’t figured out that fall is in the air, roadside pumpkin stands popping up around The High Country would be a big hint. While easily grown in these parts, pumpkins are believed to have been first cultivated in Central America. History tells us that Spanish and Portuguese explorers carried pumpkin seeds back to Europe in the 14th century. In North America, Native Americans grew pumpkins for food long before the first Europeans arrived on the continent in the 1600s.

For a bit of pumpkin trivia, read on:

· The vivid orange color of pumpkin indicates a high content of carotene pigments such as lutein, alpha-carotene and beta-carotene (which turns in to vitamin A in the body).

· Using pumpkins as lanterns at Halloween is based on an ancient Celtic custom brought to America by Irish immigrants. All Hallows Eve on October 31st marked the end of the old Celtic calendar year. On that night hollowed-out turnips, beets and rutabagas with a candle inside were placed on windowsills and porches to welcome home spirits of deceased ancestors and ward off evil spirits and a restless soul called “Stingy Jack.”

· In 1621, at the first Thanksgiving celebrated by the Pilgrims in Plymouth, Massachusetts, to give thanks for their first successful harvest, they ate a pumpkin custard flavored with maple syrup and spices baked in pumpkin shells. The beloved Thanksgiving pumpkin pie evolved from this treat.

· Surprise! The pumpkin is actually a fruit, a member of the Cucurbitaceae family of plants with trailing vines.

· Gerry Checkon of Altoona, Pennsylvania grew a pumpkin weighing 1,131 pounds from Atlantic Giant seed stock on October 2, 1999.

· As reported in USA Today November 2004, “The biggest pumpkin pie on record weighed 418 pounds and was made by Windsor Farmers Market and Windsor High School Culinary Arts program in California.

Pumpkin Soup

2 lb. 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 the fresh pumpkin until tender; mash or puree. Stir into the hot milk; stir the remaining ingredients. Heat through and serve immediately. Serves 6.

Traditional Pumpkin Pie

One 9-inch unbaked pie shell
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups pumpkin puree or 1 can (16 oz) solid pack pumpkin
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. ground nutmeg
2 Tbs. melted butter or margarine
1 cup skim milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 425°F. In a large bowl, add filling ingredients in order given. Mix well with electric mixer or by hand. Pour into pie shell. Bake 15 minutes. Then reduce oven temperature to 350°F and continue baking for an additional 45 minutes or until knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool slightly and serve warm or chilled. Makes one 9-inch pie.

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 ounce 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.
Prepare filling. 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.

 

Don’t forget your copy of “Lovin’ Spoonful . . . Cooking With Family and Friends,” a compilation of nearly 400 mouth-watering recipes by Sherrie Norris. It is available at all locations of High Country Media – Boone, Banner Elk, West Jefferson, and at The Avery Journal in Newland, all Boone Drugs, Black Bear Books, Trailway Laundry, Wilcox Emporium,( top level, booth 312-W,) and beginning June 15 at Mast Store locations.