August 5, 2009: It's Pumpkin Day in August!

I finally found time to work on that big old pumpkin today, so I called grandson Kevin to come help me. He was ready and willing, with visions of pumpkin pie dancing in his head.


He scraped.....


And scraped.....


And pulled out the seeds and fibrous mush.....


And soon he had it cleaned out.


I hate to admit Mr. H was right, but in this instance he was. This pumpkin wasn't ripe! It thudded right. It passed the color test. It passed the thumbnail test. But is just wasn't ripe. Kevin and I decided we'd make a pumpkin custard out of it and run a taste test before working on a pie. I made the pie filling, using brown sugar for more color, and then put some in a custard cup and zapped it in the microwave for about a minute. When it cooled enough to take a bite, we grabbed our spoons and dug in. It tasted just fine, so I whipped up a pie crust and in about an hour, Kevin got his pie.



Kevin's pie, with lots of pumpkin left to cook.


After he got a big slice!


While the oven was hot, we toasted the seeds with canola oil, salt and garlic powder.


I then began cutting, peeling and cutting the pumpkin into chunks, which were placed in my microwave steamer with a bit of water in the bottom.


Each batch took about 15 minutes at full power.


Then the cubes of pumpkin were pureed in the food processor.


I poured the puree into a collander and let it sit and drain while I prepared the next batch for cooking.


A lot of juice drained off. I got probably 1-1/2 cups of liquid from the entire pumpkin.


When I finished, I had enough pumpkin for four more pies (8 cups) and some small containers for the grandbaby who came to visit while I was prepping it. She thought it was good stuff, so she'll have a few meals of pumpkin from her mama's freezer.


Pumpkin Pie

* 3/4 cup granulated sugar (I used brown, firmly packed)
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
* 2 large eggs
* 1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin (2 cups)
* 1 can (12 fl. oz.) evaporated milk (I use fat free)
* 1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell
* Whipped cream (optional)

Directions:
Mix sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.

(I just put everything in the food processor and mix it well.)

Pour into pie shell.

Bake in preheated 425° F oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° F; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Top with whipped cream before serving.



21 comments:

  1. The pie looks wonderful. Pumpkin pie is one of my absolute favorites. The largest of my pumpkins is changing colors already too.

    Kevin is a darling. Lucky you to have such a great helper in the garden and kitchen.

    ReplyDelete
  2. KitsapFG, There are two pieces left. If I hadn't run out of whipped cream, those would probably be gone! I have the other half of the pie crust in the fridge, and I left a package of pumpkin unfrozen. Methinks there will be another pie tomorrow, when Kevin's dad comes to get him.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yummmm! Pumpkin pie is one of my favorites. What a nice treat to have it in August!

    ReplyDelete
  4. That's a lot of pumpkin from one pumpkin (!). I'm looking forward to pie this fall. I'm a stick -in -the -mud.......pumpkin pie is a fall food for us. I have no idea why I do this!
    The pie looks scrumptious, and you have a great helper!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Will you please, please, please be my Granny too?

    Fanfortony

    ReplyDelete
  6. Are those food saver bags? I have food saver envy!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks for the tutorial, now I will know what do to if a nice pumpkin finds it's way to my counter top!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Pumpkin pie and pumpkin cake are two of our favorite dessert. Yum. I'm hoping that squash is good enough since I've given up trying to grow pumpkins here.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I like my pumpkin roasted, actually, but I like the pictures of your pie.

    Got my first Delicata last night. Wonder what we should make of it.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Ribbit, it tasted just as good in august as it does in October!

    ********

    Sue, If I'd ever grown pumpkin before, I'd have known not to plant it in April! I will have some for fall though, as that one vine probably has another 4-5 small green pumpkins developing on it. I figure it will give me about 9-10 pumpkins in all!

    ********

    Fanfortony, you betcha I will! Uh...are you a good pumpkin scraper?

    ********

    Erin, I wish. No, it's an old (1985) Dazy Micro-Seal that I found stored in the garage with two unopened boxes of the plastic rolls. When the bag material is used up I'll not be able to find replacements, then I'll be forced to spend a fortune on the vacuum sealer that I really want.

    ********

    Kelly, you're welcome. Actually pumpkin is supposed to be baked, but Dan microwaved his with good results, so I tried it. I'll definitely go that rout with the others.

    ********
    Daphne, next year I'll just grow the butternut squash, which is also good for "pumpkin" pies as well as for baking for dinner. As fun as it was to grow the pumpkin, it really took up a lot of room as well as the powdery mildew problem.

    ********

    Stefaneener, I roast pumpkins in the winter months, but when it's 99 degrees outside, a microwave is perfectly fine with me! It was bad enough having the oven on for 1-1/2 hours to bake the pie and roast the seeds.

    I want to try Honey Bear acorn squash next year.

    ReplyDelete
  11. It looks like all of Kevin's hard work paid off...and now I'm craving pumpkin pie. :)
    Kim

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thanks for the tutorial there Granny! Now I know what to do with mine! I really thought all you cooked with was the gooey inside. I didnt realized you pealed it and used the sides. I thought it was like a watermelon where if you get that close to the rine, it is icky! lol

    I bought one of those vacuum thingies from Reynolds Wrap or something like that. It wasn't near the price of those big contraptions and with the bags, it seals really great. I think the vacuum thingie was around $9 or $10 and the bags run around $4 or $5. Kinda pricey for bags, but I figured it was easier to pay out a little at a time, then to buy the whole big thing at once with the high possibility that I wouldnt use it again LOL

    Jen (aka JenGC. I couldnt post under my google account)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Kim, come on over...I'm baking another one this afternoon!

    ********

    Jen, I have one of those. Now the stores near me don't sell the bags, they've switched to the new Zip Loc vacuum bags. I bought a box of them, I haven't yet tried my Reynolds battery operated pump on them yet. When I bought the Reynold's, I thought I could remove food from the bag and then reseal it...it doesn't work. Once they were REsealed, the air slowly seeped back into the bag.

    Better yet, my neighbor has the vacuum sealer and says I can borrow it any time ;-) I haven't tried it yet.

    ReplyDelete
  14. What is wrong with you? Don't you know that by posting gorgeous pumpkins and pies and custards that my thighs and bum begin expanding just from me reading it?!?!? GAAAAHHHHHH!!!! Barstool breaking!!! AAAHHH!!! Seriously though - that looks divine. I'm very impressed with your pumpkin size! And I love that your cute grandson was there to help! I love reading your blog...it really gives me the motivation to keep at this gardening gig! Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Give me directions. I'll bring my own fork. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  16. That is a lot of puree, many future pies for sure! Your pie looks great too, I will have to try the recipe this fall, maybe with some of my red kuri squash.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Kate, you made my day! If I can keep you motivated, it's worth all the work!

    ********

    Kim, go due west until you hit Oregon. Turn north, cross the Columbia Riverinto WA and continue north for 27 miles. Take the first exit to your right after crossing the blue bridge.... LOL!

    ********

    Dan, I think winter squash pies taste sweeter than pumpkin pies...I like them better!

    ReplyDelete
  18. What a nice post Granny!

    Please tell your grandson... that as a mother of a son his same age... I am duly impressed by his pumpkin cleaning skills... and more importantly... his "sticktoitivness!" Wow!

    That pie sure looks good!!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Thank you, Toni. I can always count on Kevin to help me when he comes over. It's funny, he won't do a darned thing for his Dad, but he does everything Grandma asks him to do, and doesn't give me any sass about it.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Sorry I'm late for the pie. I had to stop for gas 30 times...ran out of money getting there :(

    Kim-Pennsylvania

    ReplyDelete
  21. Kim, you lucked out! I got too busy to bake that second pie, so I'm doing it this morning. HURRY!! Gosh, my best friend just left PA and is heading back this way....you could have hitched a ride with her ;-)

    ReplyDelete