It was bound to happen. I love Halloween too much and accumulated way too many pumpkins. How could I let those precious orange treats go to waste? I couldn't. I had to cook them. And after all that effort, I confirmed what I already knew: I don't like pumpkin. Yup, I said it. Fall is my favorite season, Halloween my favorite holiday, pumpkins are my favorite decoration, and (obviously) I love to cook. Still, I don't like to eat pumpkin. I don't like savory pumpkin dishes, I can't stand pumpkin pie and hate pumpkin butter. I'm going to stick with other types of squash for the rest of the winter. Now, if only I can save myself from making the same mistake next year...
Even though I don't love them, I still wanted to know more about them.Pumpkin fun facts:
- Pumpkins are 90% water
- Pumpkins are fruit and are members of the vine crops family called cucurbits
- Pumpkins are thought to have originated in Central America
- The top pumpkin production states are Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania and California.
- Eighty percent of the pumpkin supply in the United States is available in October
- Pumpkins contain potassium and Vitamin A
- The largest pumpkin ever grown weighed 1,140 pounds
- The largest pumpkin pie ever made was over five feet in diameter and weighed over 350 pounds. It used 80 pounds of cooked pumpkin, 36 pounds of sugar, 12 dozen eggs and took six hours to bake
- Colonists sliced off pumpkin tops; removed seeds and filled the insides with milk, spices and honey. This was baked in hot ashes and is the origin of pumpkin pie.
Pumpkin soup with Parmesan & sage toasts
(adapted from The Silver Spoon)
Pumpkin with mushrooms over wild rice
(adapted from The Silver Spoon)
Roasted pumpkin seeds
(from Simply Recipes)
Bourbon pumpkin cheesecake
(from Gourmet Magazine, by way of Smitten Kitchen)
I also made some pumpkin brownies, but the pictures were lost when my hard drive crashed :(
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