Pumpkin Puree

When I plant pumpkin seeds in the spring, the space I make available for them always looks so mammoth.  Year after year I second guess where I put the mounds, even though every year I eventually wonder whether I should extend the garden out another 5 feet to make more room for them.  When those first pumpkin flowers bloom, when the green bulbs form, and when one of the kids is the first to spot an orange pumpkin on the vine....it's the little things, right?  It never fails to make me happy. 

So pumpkin puree.  It's definitely less work to buy a can of it at the grocery store.  But I've never been motivated by what's less work.  If you've got muscle and time, making pumpkin puree is a snap.  And I like knowing exactly what goes into the food we eat.  For this, it's sugar pumpkin seeds, sunshine, water, and good ol' Iowa soil. 

Start by cutting your pumpkins in half.  I generally ask my love to take care of that part.  I'm all good with delegating manual labor like that.  And here's another way to delegate manual labor:  bribery.

(No child labor laws were broken in the making of this pumpkin puree.)  He needed to earn money for a school trip.  It was a win-win, friends.  Whoever takes care of it at your house, scoop out the seeds.

Poke a fork into each pumpkin a few times to vent steam, and place each half cut side down on a baking pan.  I like to cover my pans with aluminum foil.  I'd do that if I were you.  Unless you love to scrub pans.  I don't so much.

Bake the pumpkins at about 350 for about 30 minutes, or until the pulp of the pumpkins is soft.

Allow the pumpkins to cool a bit while you get another pan ready to put into the oven.  Then scoop the flesh out from each pumpkin into a bowl.  

When you have a bowl full of pumpkin, grab a potato masher or whatever kitchen implement you like best, and mash up the puree.  It's going to end up looking like this:

Pretty, right?  Oh, so pretty.  I scoop up about two cups of puree into each quart-sized Zip-Loc freezer bag.  Being a little OCD, I usually weigh my bags to make sure they're all about the same.  I also label the bags so I don't end up with pureed squash pie, or a side of pureed pumpkin with supper.  Toss them into the freezer (or lay them neatly, if you're like me), and they're ready to thaw when you need them.  Fun, right?  And well worth the time and effort it took to make them.