Comment from Bex
Time: August 31, 2007, 12:05 am

Pumpkin is very popular in Australia (i think its a bit ew) so there is heaps o’ recipes for it. Pumpkin scones, roast pumpkin, pumpkin + sweet potato + chickpea casseroles (morrocan flavoured), pumpkin + spinach + feta in filo parcels etc etc.
I think some people sub it for sweet potato or potato in recipes….

Comment from Laura
Time: August 31, 2007, 12:06 am

That sounds like a wonderful day … thanks for sharing it with us! :)

Comment from Tam
Time: August 31, 2007, 12:12 am

We use pumpkin all the time in the same way you would use potatoes, but not to make chips.

Comment from Alex
Time: August 31, 2007, 12:23 am

The one time I bought a pumpkin, I only managed to use half of it too. I just followed the recipe on the back of the label, courtesy of Tesco. Rather tasty; I think I wrote it down somewhere. It was basically oven roasted with olve oil, herbs (sage possibly?) and (fake) bacon bits. The other half got pureed and frozen, gradually making its way into a couple of pumpkin pies and several batches of pumpkin pancakes.

Comment from DropKickGrl
Time: August 31, 2007, 12:27 am

I hadn’t thought about the moon phases. My knitting (and sleeping) had been completely thrown off and I had no idea why. I blame the moon, and being a sun sign, myself, it makes even more sense.
Glad things are looking on the up and up now! And my knitting is back to normal, you’ll find your groove again.

Comment from Kim Hoch
Time: August 31, 2007, 12:29 am

Re: the pumpkin - You can make pumpkin burritos - peel it, cube it and roast in the oven until nice and soft. Mash slightly. Add some sauteed onions, green chiles, cumin and any other seasoning you want and wrap up in a warm tortilla w/ beans, sour cream, cilantro, etc. Can also make w/ butternut squash. In fact, you can substitute pumpkin pretty much anywhere you can use butternut squash.

Comment from Catherine
Time: August 31, 2007, 12:36 am

I have a fab recipe for pumpkin soup that I will pass on to you. It’s so tasty and has a real kick to it - perfect for those autumn/winter evenings…I must try the above recipe for burritos, it sounds yum! x

Comment from Shana
Time: August 31, 2007, 3:42 am

mmm.. pumpkin. Every fall I usually roast one or two small pumpkins in the oven for pie. Just cut them in half, scoop out the seeds, and place them face down on some parchment paper and bake at 350 F (175? C) until they’re really soft. When they’re cool, peel the skin off and mash. I let it drain in the fridge overnight, either by placing the mashed pumpkin in a colander set inside a larger bowl, or tied up in cheesecloth. Then you can use it just as you would use canned pumpkin. Make bread, pie, muffins, pancakes… I freeze whatever is left in small portions, and it keeps for a few months.

Comment from karen
Time: August 31, 2007, 5:27 am

after you roast the pumpkins a la shana, you can also eat it with plain yogurt and brown sugar or maple syrup…sounds a bit odd but it is good (although better with sweet potatoes I must say)…kind of a decadent breakfast. Thanks for that burrito recipe Kim!!

Comment from moiraeknittoo
Time: August 31, 2007, 5:28 am

I’ve learned to go with sugar pumpkins if doing anything with fresh pumpkin. I love pumpkin butter and pumpkin bread, myself. I think you can also use it as a substitute for butternut or acorn squash in a lot of recipes.

Comment from Elin
Time: August 31, 2007, 6:02 am

Thanks for the comment on my Briar Rose! I’m looking forward to the Stripy posts (if only my yarn would arrive!)

Oh, and I totally want your pink scales. So much better than my boring digital scales (although they’re very useful for weighing yarn).

Comment from sheila Bingham
Time: August 31, 2007, 6:15 am

Pumpkin pie, and pumpkin bread with walnuts or pecans. pumpkin bread is sooo good and surprisingly easy to make. i did mine from a recipe for zucchini bread and you substitute pumpkin. i love your blog! I’d mail you something if I knew your address. I live in Arkansas (home of Bill Clinton) in the USA

Comment from Judy G.
Time: August 31, 2007, 6:49 am

A swift goes really well with a ball winder. I love my combo, although because of the lip on the table, I have to open the table where the leaf goes and attach both swift and winder on the inside edge. Awkward but fun.

I don’t know what your available freezer space is, but if you make pumpkin soup, muffins, bread, whatever with your pumpkin, you could freeze them and have them in the dead of winter. I stockpile soup in the fall; it always tastes better in January and February.

Comment from Eva
Time: August 31, 2007, 6:54 am

I recommend using the pumpkin in a coconut milk curry (Thai style), or in risotto. Both are quite delicious — the sweetness of the coconut milk really accents the sweetness of the pumpkin while still being a savory dish. If you do the risotto, you can either keep the pumpkin in chunks, as you would with many other vegetables or meats, or you can add it as pulp, which turns the entire dish a gorgeous golden orange color.

Comment from Heidi
Time: August 31, 2007, 8:18 am

I completely understand the full moon thing. It always plays tricks on me! And I didn’t get much sleep last night either. And the ball winder. I deliberated a very long time before I got one. Mainly because I thought it was a lot of money for a small piece of plastic. But, oh, it’s so worth it! I’m never going back to winding skeins by hand!

Comment from Anne-Marie
Time: August 31, 2007, 10:12 am

I really really really want a yarn winder!

RE: The pumpkin, it make cakes really moist, I made an american recipe for pumpkin cake bars, which I found online but I cant remember where.

This is what I usually make - its a multi purpose food that sometimes tastes exactly like Korma sauce, but makes a good stew or soup. The recipe is all over the place as I like to experiment and I will throw in whatever is in my kitchen.

I chop an onion (sliced, diced, or however you like) fry this a little with salt, pepper, maybe some garlic, a sprinkling of sugar (I always sprinkle a little sugar on onions, it makes them so much tastier) in a little oil or margarine or whatever, I then add cubed pumpkin or squash (upto about an inch cube), a generous shake of cumin powder (seeds would be good too) saute this for a little while, then add a little stock (to half cover it), simmer until the pumpkin is soft, then add milk (or coconut milk), sometimes I add coconut, cashews, raisins, a few ground almonds, a little cream, creme frache or yoghurt, and i just warm it through, mash or blend half of it, check for seasoning, add coriander or parsley or whatever you like and serve either with rice and naan or with roast vegetable cous cous, or as a soup with crusty bread.

If I use a large squash, I can usually get curry, stew and soup out of it, by adding more milk or other things the following days.

Comment from Glenda
Time: August 31, 2007, 11:39 am

Pumpkin Pie is what I thought of when you mentioned extra pumpkin… also, check out Martha Stewart’s website for more recipes… I bought pumpkins to make pie last fall, and had loads leftover, so I went looking for recipes. She has one for Pumpkin Raviolis that looks amazing!

I like to just cut the pumpkin into wide slices, with the skin still on, then roast it in the oven on a pan, skin side down… a little brown sugar sprinkled on top makes it sweeter, especially if its not a sweet pumpkin to begin with. Then just scrape it off the rind and mush it with some butter. mmmm…. (but this could be an acquired taste - my fiancé won’t touch the stuff!)

Love the yarn cakes too! :)

Comment from Webbo
Time: August 31, 2007, 12:02 pm

Pumpkins are lovely with a bit of spice. There is a fab recipe in the Cranks Bible for pumpkin noodles, which I can’t remember but can dig out if you fancy it. I also like the way of serving a roast squash with lots of feta cheese and pasta: it’s a combination I first had in a restaurant, and it works supremely well. The sweet flesh of the pumpkin, the salty tang of the cheese, and big fat flat ribbons of pasta… lovely.

Comment from Clare
Time: August 31, 2007, 2:49 pm

Pumpkin sure is common in Australia. I didn’t realise the rest of the world didn’t eat it as much as we do. Can’t you buy it pre-cut into smaller chunks? Everywhere here does that - from the supermarket to the regular vegetable market we use.

Pumpkin is very, very nice in a red curry (red curry paste and coconut milk). Especially with green beans, or lentils.

Or roasted and put in pasta with feta cheese and almonds and something green (broad beans, wilted spinach, whatever)

Comment from Laura
Time: August 31, 2007, 7:22 pm

Pumpkin pie is the only way to go. It’s all delcious and cinnamon-y and good. The trick is to add loads more spices than the recipe.

Comment from Elizabeth
Time: August 31, 2007, 9:24 pm

Pumpkin sweets are fabulous, but there are tons of wonderful spanish recipes that use pumpkin in a savoury, spicy-ish way.

Comment from Birgitte
Time: September 1, 2007, 8:54 am

I loved to read about your day - and the quiet Sunday a while ago. Thanks for sharing it. I am a knitting student too (assuming you are still studying although you graduated?) and it’s always nice to read about people you can relate to, isn’t it?
Looking forward to following your blog in the future.

Birgitte
Copenhagen, Denmark

Comment from jo
Time: September 1, 2007, 10:45 pm

I’m also from Australia - pumpkin is a bit of a staple. I second the recommendation for red curry pumpkin with green beans, but it is fab if it is cooked in the pumpkin itself (cut the top off, scrape the seeds out, score the flesh, fry up curry paste with whatever you want, add coconut milk, pour into pumpkin, add beans, put in a baking dish, put the top back on and bake it in the oven). V tasty - looks great when you take it to the table - but not the kind of dish you’d make just for yourself (unless it’s a very little pumpkin).

Comment from charlotte taylor
Time: September 2, 2007, 8:01 pm

after staying with a friend in Rome I discovered pumpkin risotto - probably still a bit early in the year as its a perfect autumey comfort dish

Comment from Jodie
Time: September 11, 2007, 6:59 pm

Pumpkin goes really well in Thai curries. You can use up other veggies with the curry also! Just find a basic curry recipe and add whatever veggies you want. Yum!

Comment from Mama Urchin
Time: September 11, 2007, 10:14 pm

Anything that calls for a pumpkin puree is really better with canned pumpkin. It’s almost impossible to get a smooth texture at home. But… you can use pumpkin just like butternut squash. My favorite is to roast it then use it in a hash. We make ours with sausage but you could skip that and I bet it would be just as good.

Comment from Judy G.
Time: September 13, 2007, 12:37 am

Pressed coffee is the best. It can even make (mostly) decaf coffee taste like an indulgence.
I love your slouchy tam. I would feel silly in it, but you do it with such panache!

Comment from Tricia
Time: September 18, 2007, 3:33 am

Here is my favorite pumpkin recipe…even though it calls for canned pumpkin, you can use fresh…I believe 16 oz is the same as 2 cups. Hope you like it.
Pumpkin Squares

4 eggs
1/2 c. oil
1 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. white flour
1 c. wheat flour
1/2 c. applesauce or oil
1 tsp. baking powder
1 Tbl. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
(1) 16 oz. can pumpkin
raisins (optional)

Mix all ingredients together thoroughly.
Pour into oblong pan and bake at 350° F. for 20-25 minutes.
Cool and frost.

Frosting:
Mix together till creamy 8 oz. cream cheese, 1 stick (1/2 c) margarine, 3 c. powdered sugar, and 1/2 tsp. vanilla till creamy. Keep refrigerated.
Now, try not to pig out on it LOL