Did you know that 99% of all pumpkins in the United States are marketed for carving jack-o-lanterns? Bright orange pumpkins (and some really cool white ones) are everywhere this time of year, and if you’re not into carving but still feel the urge to buy one every time you go to the grocery store - DO IT! There are a lot of other good reasons to bring one of these bad boys home with ya! 

Pumpkins are an excellent, low calorie source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, potassium and fiber. And as a bonus, pumpkin seeds (also called pepitas) give your diet a boost with a good amount of omega-3 fatty acids and several important minerals like magnesium, manganese, iron and zinc!

I’m not really into carving pumpkins, but I’ll tell ya, a few years ago, my coworkers and I entered a carving contest at the place where we used to work, and we did some pretty amazing work! If you’ve ever seen the various books by Joost Elfers, you’ll know what we did to win that contest! I’ll try to dig up a photo later and repost.

What I liked best about carving close to 20 pumpkins for our winning “scene” was bringing home an obscene amount of pumpkin seeds! One of my favorite treats this time of year are roasted pumpkin seeds, and they’re so easy to make!

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Photo Credit: Eric Snowdeal III

Directions 

1. Scoop out the seeds from the pumpkin
2. Wash off all the pump and stringy stuff – or don’t. They actually taste really good when you roast them with some of the bits and pieces of pulp. Just remove the bigger chunks and leave some on there for some great flavor!
3. Toss them in a bowl or plastic bag with a bit of butter or some oil and seasonings of your choice (some of my favorites are chilli powder, or some salt and pepper, or a teeny bit of cumin and garlic)
4. Spread onto a baking sheet and bake at 250-275ºF for about 1 hour, turning the sheet half way through that time.
5. Enjoy them piping hot or let them cool and scoop some into baggies for handy, healthy snacks

I also love to use pumpkin to make muffins or pumpkin quick bread. I’ll be honest with you though, the carving pumpkins are usually not the best for using in recipes. They’re not very flavorful, and they’re very stringy. The best use for them in the kitchen are the roasted seeds. If you’re patient enough to bake the pumpkin in pieces for over an hour, and still have patience left to puree it for use in soups, stews and baking recipes, you may get some use out of them. Still, you’re better off buying sugar pumpkins, which are a smaller, more flavorful variety. It will make a big difference in your recipes both in texture and flavor.

I’m a big fan of Hungry Girl, and about two years ago, in one of her daily emails she included a pumpkin soup recipe sent in by one of her readers. I tried and loved it, and I’ve been making it ever since. With  much respect to Lisa at Hungry Girl, I’m posting that recipe here, but please definitely check out her website (and her cookbook, too!).

Sassy Salsa Pumpkin Soup
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

Directions:

And finally… it wouldn’t be the beginning of the holiday season without a pumpkin-flavored sweet treat! Whole Foods Market comes to the rescue with a recipe for some Mini Pumpkin-Gingerbread Cupcakes! I made this recipe last year and it was a hit!

Whole Foods Market Mini Pumpkin-Gingerbread Cupcakes
Makes 32 cupcakes

Whole Foods Market Mini Pumpkin-Gingerbread Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup packed natural cane sugar
• 1/2 cup expeller pressed canola oil
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup pumpkin purée (fresh or canned)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a miniature muffin pan with mini cupcake liners or spray and flour the pan using canola or olive oil cooking spray. Set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together flours, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and sugar. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together oil, eggs, vanilla and pumpkin, then add to flour mixture and stir to combine.
3. Spoon batter into prepared pan and bake for 15 minutes, or until done when tested with a toothpick. Allow cupcakes to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then continue to cool on wire racks.

Last Modified : October 30th, 2008 Filed under : Eat Navigate : Previous post / Next post