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The great thing about buying canned pumpkin in the store is that you can get it all year long. But when you have fresh pumpkins available in the fall, why not make your own? It's fun, it's not hard, and it gives you an excuse to dry the seeds and eat them too!
Ingredients
- Pumpkin, preferably a "sugar" variety but any will do
- Water
Get Steamed
There are several ways to go about getting pumpkin flesh for recipes. The easiest is probably to steam it in a microwave.
Cut the top off the pumpkin, and scoop out the guts. Save the seeds to roast and eat later.
Microwave
Cut small pumpkins in half, or cut larger ones into quarters. Cut really large ones into wedges that you can easily fit into a baking dish. Put the pumpkin bits in a microwave save baking dish or bowl.
Add 1/2 - 1" of water in the baking dish. Nuke on high for 5 minutes, and then turn. Keep nuking for about 20 minutes, or until the flesh is soft and tender. Add more water if necessary.
Oven Method
Put the pumpkin chunks into an oven safe baking dish, add an inch or so of water, and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, or until the flesh is tender.
Alternate Stovetop Method
Fit a steamer basket onto a large pot of boiling water. Add the pumpkin chunks, cover, and steam for about 30 minutes or until the fleesh is tender.
Whip It Good
Scoop the hot flesh off the rind with a big spoon or a small sharp knife. Put the flesh into a blender or a food processor, and puree until it is all smooth and even.
Can be stored in the refrigerator for a couple of days. Be warned, however, that pumpkin contains large quantities of sulfur, and after a day or two this will begin to smell really bad. It hasn't gone bad, it's just natural pumpkin chemistry, but you probably won't want to use it in any baking after that happens, because it'll smell like rotten eggs.
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