Pumpkin Soup

When I need a quick dinner, soup often fits the bill. This pumpkin soup comes together fast and pairs well with BLTs or a salad topped with cranberries, pecans and blue cheese. It's also perfect for fall and I've even served this as a first course to the Thanksgiving meal.

I like the flavor of puree made from roasted pumpkin. If you don't want to make your own, substitute commercially canned pumpkin. If you're looking for a lighter soup, feel free to omit the milk or half & half. The pumpkin flavor is so delicious, you'll never miss it. Top the soup with roasted pumpkin seeds, pecans, hickory nuts or chestnuts.   

Cook the onions in margarine. Add a can of chicken stock. Cook until onions are
tender. Puree, add pumpkin, remaining broth and seasonings and simmer 10 minutes.

Add milk or half & half, if desired. Warm but do not boil. Serve.

Top with roasted pumpkin seeds or nuts. Perfect
accompaniment to a sandwich or salad.

Pumpkin Soup

1 cup chopped onion
2 Tbsp margarine

3 cups chicken broth, homemade or canned

15 ounces (scant 2 cups) pumpkin puree, fresh or canned
1 tsp salt
1⁄4 tsp ground cinnamon
1⁄8 tsp ground ginger
1⁄8 tsp ground black pepper

1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 cup milk or half and half, optional

Saute onion in margarine in a medium saucepan until tender. Add half of chicken broth; stir well. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes. Transfer broth mixture into the container of a blender or processor (or use an immersion blender). Process until smooth.

Add remaining broth, pumpkin, salt, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground pepper and brown sugar; stir well. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in milk or half & half, if desired. Heat through but do not boil. Ladle into individual soup bowls. 

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

If you're a follower of my blog, you know we grow and process our own pumpkins, which results in a lot of puree in the freezer. While I do like pumpkin pie, I've found other ways to incorporate the squash in both sweet and savory dishes. 

These whoopie pies are a fun change from a traditional pumpkin cake. They're portable and easy to eat. I especially like to serve them at a casual fall Supper Club where they can be enjoyed around the bonfire sans silverware. They also make a great addition to fall tailgates and school parties. Bonus: they can be made with whole grain flour.

The size of the cookies is up to you. I prefer a smaller size but you can make much larger. Just be sure to increase the bake time. 

Begin by combining butter, oil, sugar, molasses,
baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.

 Add eggs and pumpkin. The mixture may appear curdled. Don't worry -
the batter will come together with the addition of the flour.

Stir in flour, mixing just until smooth.

I have several dashers I use to make cookies,
but this is my favorite: 1 1/2 inch scoop.

Scoop batter onto cookie sheets. Instead of
parchment paper, I like using a silpat.

Bake 8-9 minutes. Let cool on the baking
sheet for 5 minutes before removing.

Combine filling ingredients and fill cooled cookies.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Adapted from King Arthur Flour

COOKIES
1/2 cup soft butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 large eggs
15-ounce can pumpkin purée (or a scant 2 cups if using fresh puree)
3 1/4 cups All-Purpose Flour or White Whole Wheat Flour

FILLING
8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
4 tablespoons soft butter
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Make the cookies: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease two baking sheets or line with parchment paper. Beat together the butter, oil, sugar, molasses, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, then beat in the eggs one at a time, until fluffy. Stir in the pumpkin.

Add the flour in two additions, mixing well after each addition. Use a small dasher to deposit the thick batter onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake until the cookies feel firm; a slight indentation will remain when you gently press them in the middle, about 8 -9 minutes. Remove from the oven, cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then move to a rack to cool completely.

Make the filling: Beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth and fluffy. Beat in the sugar in two additions. Add the vanilla and beat for 2 to 3 minutes, until very fluffy.

Assemble: Divide filling between half of cookies. Top with remaining cookies.

Yield: About 30 sandwich cookies.

Processing Pumpkins: Step-by-Step Videos

Recently Bren Haas and I got together to talk fresh pumpkin processing. Together we hosted #CanningLive: Pumpkin Edition. Our previous #CanningLive event covered applesauce making & preserving, but this time we thought it would be fun to share the process via Periscope videos.

In case you missed it, the videos are below. Each shows a phase in the process from fresh pumpkin to puree to pie. You can also check out my previous blog on pumpkin processing, plus lots of pumpkin recipes including pumpkin cinnamon rolls and my favorite pumpkin pie.

One big Fairytale pumpkins will provide you with pies all year!

How to prepare and roast fresh pumpkin.

Pureeing roasted pumpkin.

Draining pumpkin, my compost bin and messy countertops.   

Packaging the pumpkin puree for the freezer. USDA does 

not recommend canning pumpkin puree. 

Bonus: Making homemade whipped cream for your pumpkin pie!

Cinnamon-Swirl Pumpkin Rolls

Each fall we process our eating pumpkins and freeze to enjoy throughout the year. Depending on the growing season,  I usually have plenty of pumpkin puree. I use most of it in baked goods, but use to make bisque, oatmeal and pudding. 

These delicious breakfast rolls combine pumpkin, whole grain flour and dried fruit to provide a hearty start to your day. If you don't eat them all, they re-warm well in the microwave. I added the dried cranberries and swapped out the crystallized ginger for pecans.

Combine dough ingredients in a mixer until a shaggy dough comes together. 

Knead for a few minutes. Dough will form a soft, smooth ball.

Place in a greased bowl, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise.

Roll dough on a greased surface to 14" x 22" rectangle.

Top with cinnamon sugar and dried fruit/crystallized ginger, if using.

Starting at the short end, roll dough to form a log. Pinch seam to seal.

Slice log into 9 equal pieces. Place in a greased 9" pan. Cover and let rise.

Bake for 25-30 minutes at 375 degrees. Let cool 15 minutes.

Make glaze and drizzle over rolls. 

Cinnamon Swirl Pumpkin Rolls

Adapted from King Arthur Flour

Dough
1 cup canned or fresh pumpkin puree
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup lukewarm water*
1/4 cup soft butter
2 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 3/4 cups White Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, optional
3 tablespoons brown sugar, light or dark
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons instant yeast
*Adjust the amount of water by the time of year or your climate. For summer, or in a humid enivronment, use the lesser amount of water. In winter, or in a dry climate, use the greater amount. 

Filling
3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup minced crystallized ginger, raisins, or dried cranberries, optional

Glaze
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1 1/2 tablespoons milk, or enough to make a "drizzlable" glaze

Mix and knead all of the dough ingredients together — by hand, mixer, or bread machine — until you've made a soft, fairly smooth dough. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl, and allow the dough to rise for 1 1/2 hours, until it's almost doubled in bulk. Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased surface. Roll it into a 14" x 22" rectangle; the dough will be thin.

Make the filling: Combine granulated sugar and cinnamon. Spread over dough, leaving one short edge free of filling. Sprinkle with crystallized ginger or dried fruit (or both), if desired. Starting with the short end that's covered with filling, roll the dough into a log.

Cut the log into nine 1 ½"-thick rolls. Place the rolls into a lightly greased 9" x 9" pan that's at least 2" deep. Set aside, covered, to rise for 1 hour, or until the rolls look puffy.

Bake the rolls in a preheated 375°F oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until they're lightly browned and feel set. Remove them from the oven, and set them on a rack. Turn them out of the pan, and allow them to cool for about 15 minutes. Towards the end of the cooling time, make the glaze.

To make the glaze: Heat the butter and milk together till the butter melts. Whisk into the sugar.  Drizzle the warm rolls with the warm glaze. Sprinkle with chopped nuts, if desired.

Yield: 9 rolls.

CanningLive: Pumpkin Edition

Interested in learning how to process fresh pumpkins? Then join us for the second annual #CanningLive event on Saturday, October 3, 2015 from 1:00pm to 2:00pm EST as we live tweet the process. Although the event name suggests we'll be canning, the USDA recommends that pumpkin puree should be frozen (more on that during the event).

We'll live tweet, and post on Facebook, how to select, break down, roast and puree fresh pumpkin. By the end of the event you'll know how to make and store homemade puree perfect for pies, soups and side dishes.

Joining me in my kitchen will be Bren Haas, host of #GardenChat and local food enthusiast. If it's anything like last year's event, Bren will be furiously photographing, video recording and posting! 

Rather than a traditional chat with posted questions, we'll be tweeting and posting while we're processing. In addition to discussing pumpkins, we'll also post freezing tips, share pumpkin recipes and take food preservation questions. Followers can watch the process, join in the conversation and ask questions using #CanningLive.

Find Us:
Twitter: log on and follow us by using #CanningLive
Facebook: Join the group #CanningLive

Almost ready to harvest.

We grow several varieties of pumpkins and winter squash.

Lots of pies from a single pumpkin!!

Enjoy fresh pumpkin in baked goods, soups and side dishes.

Have questions about pumpkins or food preservation? Leave them in the comment section below.

Garden Goings On August 2015

This summer has provided a few gardening challenges. An unusually wet June and July led to standing water for several weeks. A recent stretch of dry, sunny days has helped some plants recover, but the tomatoes took a hit: we lost almost the entire crop of slicers.

On the upside, successful crops included sour cherry, eggplant, beets, cucumbers and peppers. Looks like the pumpkins and winter squash are bouncing back, tomatillos are filling out and the ornamental broom corn looks fantastic. We're hopeful for the fall harvest.

I should add that the chief gardener is a bit uncomfortable that I'm sharing these photos. Due to the rain, the garden is pretty shaggy. Weeks passed with no tending, and when we finally waded in, the voracious mosquitos drove us out. But this is gardening. We all have good and bad years.

I'd love to hear how your season is progressing. Leave me a comment below!

A harbinger of summer! This is the last of the sunflowers. 

The Fairytale pie pumpkins are doing well. Several applications of
fungicide have helped with mildew issues.

Acorn squash recently set fruit.

Young butternut squash. 

This is the rye cover crop that we didn't terminate this year (plus weeds).

Broom corn is about seven feet tall. Looking forward to using in our fall decorations!

Tongue of Fire shelling bean drying on the bush. 

All the peppers did well, but the banana peppers were the heaviest producers.

This was our best eggplant year with more coming on. LOTS of eggplant parm!

We love this arrowhead cabbage (var. caraflex). The small, compact heads
are the perfect size for the two of us - great for slaws & stir fries. 

Tomatillos are just about ready. Green salsa coming soon!

My Favorite Seeds

We start most of our garden produce from seed. Not indoors, but direct sowing some seeds as soon as we can get in the garden. Our attempts at indoor starting usually ends with non-germinating seeds, dead plants from a lack of water or, if they survive, spindly, leggy plants. Best to let Mother Nature take control.

Cold hardy greens, peas, radishes and spring onions are planted in March. Many of the other seeds we'll plant in May, just prior to the frost free date. Tomatoes and peppers are purchased as starts at our local greenhouse and planted after all danger of frost.

Below are a couple of my favorite plants we grow from seed. Many aren't available as starts or some seeds can only be found in catalogs. I have to give a shout-out to Johnny's Select Seeds. They're our seed purveyor of choice, with a huge selection for both gardeners and market growers.

Best spring sight! We'll direct sow these into the garden - some as early as March.

I've noticed some greenhouses now carry tomatillo starts. When we first started growing, they were a rarity. Tomatillos are super easy to grow and very prolific. Be aware: if left in the garden or added to the compost, seeds can winter over. We use tomatillos to make green salsa, which in addition to being a tasty dip with tortilla chips, is a great topper for chicken enchiladas.

We've been growing red broom corn for several seasons (best corn shocks ever). Broom corn is a variety of sorghum that is traditionally used to make brooms. I have friends who feed the seed heads to their hogs, but we just use it for fall decorations. The stalks are tall and strong and stand up to wind better than traditional shocks. FYI - the seed heads attract birds. Can't wait to mix the varieties this year!

Radishes are a sign the gardening season is open as they're usually the first food we harvest. D'avignons are long and slender with a crispy, not-to-peppery bite. I especially like them on vegetable platters as they're more functional than globe radishes when it comes to dipping and they're prettier. I hear the French enjoy them sliced lengthwise and spread with butter. In our house, we use them as a quick fresh side, a crunchy, spicy addition to a salad or roasted to enhance their sweetness. 

We grow lots of eating pumpkins which I process into pulp and use in baking throughout the year. I have a couple favorites, including this Long Island Cheese pumpkin. They're easy to grow and reliable. Just a few fruits is enough to keep you in pumpkin pie all year. I grow them alongside the Musquee de Provence (or fairytale) variety, which can be seen here. Both have a superior flavor and together make a fantastic pie, bread, cake, etc. And I enjoy watching them grow.

Sunflowers are so easy to grow and some newer varieties produce blooms all summer. I like how they look in the garden as well as my dinner table. Multi-colored Ring of Fire and Strawberry Blond are my favorite but sunflowers come in dozens of varieties from lemon yellow to almost black. I've often thought we should tear up a 1/2 acre and just fill it with sunflowers! Maybe next year.

What are you growing from seed?

Processing Pumpkins

One of my favorite garden goodies is pumpkin. Not the carving kind, but the sweet, delicious baking kind. Each year I browse the seed catalogs looking for new varieties of pumpkins to use in pies and other baked goods. Two of my favorites are Musquee de Provence and Long Island Cheese pumpkins.

Commercially canned pumpkin is nothing more that pureed pumpkin flesh. The homemade version is easy to make and preserve, and tastier. When selecting pumpkins, look for pumpkins labeled "pie" or "sweet". Seed catalogs will indicate pumpkin use and often suggest which varieties are best for baking.

Some recipes suggest preparing the flesh by boiling or steaming the pumpkin. I prefer roasting as it intensifies the flavor without adding additional moisture.

Once roasted and pureed, the pumpkin may need to be strained (some varieties have more moisture than others). Line a large strainer with cheesecloth or towel and allow to drain for an hour. Place drained puree in 2 cup containers (which is roughly equal to a 14 oz commercial can and the amount called for in most pie recipes) and place in the freezer. The USDA recommends pureed pumpkin be frozen, not canned.

Right: Long Island Cheese pumpkin. Left: mysterious volunteer pumpkin. 
Could be a cross as we didn't plant or compost this variety. 
I'll roast to see if the flesh is suitable for baking.

To prepare for roasting, cut in half and scrape out seeds.

This large musquee de provence had to be cut into wedges to fit into the oven.

Place cleaned pumpkins cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet.
Roast at 375 degrees for about one hour.
Pumpkins are ready when flesh can be easily pierced with a paring knife.
The musquee de provence was roasted for 1 1/2 hours as the flesh is denser.

Roasted pumpkins. Use a tablespoon to scrape the flesh from the skin.
Unfortunately, the mystery pumpkin wasn't as tasty as
the other varieties, so I didn't include the flesh in the puree.

Puree the flesh in a food processor. Process until smooth.

Place puree in a lined colander and let drain for one hour.

I usually give the puree a final squeeze just before placing into containers. 

Place puree in 2-cup containers and freeze. Use within one year.

What do I do with all that pumpkin?
I make pies, cookies and pumpkin casserole
(similar to sweet potato casserole). But one of my favorite dishes is pumpkin oatmeal.
It's delicious, comforting and I like that I sneak in a vegetable for breakfast! 

Pumpkin Oatmeal
This makes a generous amount of oatmeal. I like to make a batch early in the week and refrigerate leftovers. Then I heat a portion in the microwave for a quick, nourishing breakfast throughout the week.

2 cups fresh pumpkin puree or 1 (14-ounce) can pumpkin puree
2 cups water
2 cups milk
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2 cups quick cooking oatmeal (not the instant kind)
Optional toppings: Honey, maple syrup, brown sugar, cream, raisins, pecans, roasted pumpkin seeds

In large saucepan over high heat, combine the pumpkin puree, water, milk, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Bring to a boil. Add the oatmeal. Turn the heat down and cook according to your oatmeal instructions (about 5 minutes). Stir often. Serve with toppings. Refrigerate leftovers.