Mama, where'd my pumpkin go?

[mamagotcha]

I'm puttering around the kitchen for a holiday event later in the day, and having a wonderful time (despite that little unit-confusion incident mentioned earlier).

I'm baking up a batch of Dorie Greenspan's World Peace cookies while the nog is cooling in the fridge, and eating a piece of toast slathered with homemade pumpkin butter. I was inspired to try this after kightp mentioned it last week, and boy am I glad I did! (ETA: well, I thought it was Pat, but now I can't find the post... now I really AM starting to doubt my sanity...)

My method: Halve, mercilessly eviscerate and bake the three cute little pie pumpkins that have been hanging around since October, decorating the porch and being bowled by toddlers. Discard the toddler's favorite pumpkin due to questionable bruised spots. Bake until soft, then scoop out the mushy meat into a pot -- you're aiming for about 4 cups total. You could also take a short cut and use canned pumpkin, but DON'T use pie filling!

I added about a tablespoon of lemon and orange zest (the long strings) that had been boiled in about a cup of water, then minced (I might have used the Microplane, but I don't have a strainer fine enough, and I was too lazy to dig up the cheesecloth). Not sure why the recipe I was riffing off of called for that, because it seemed all the citrusy goodness was left behind in the boiling water, but it did mellow the zest a lot and made the house smell fantastic... or maybe that was the point? Any insights out there?

I also added the last cup of mulled apple cider we made last week, with all its spicy yumminess (here's that recipe... but I cut the booze and honey, and added at least a cup of water, or else it gets too concentrated. And yes, I have a congenital defect that makes me physically unable to follow a recipe as written. It's hard enough for me to write this down without resorting to phrases like "throw in about yea much" of any particular ingredient. Does anyone else out there have Nanny Ogg's cookbook? She's my kind of kitchen wench). Add the juice of the zested fruits, 2 cups of brown sugar, a heaping teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. of ground allspice, about a teaspoon of grated fresh ginger, and a pinch of ground cloves.

I simmered the whole thing for about 45 minutes, on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Don't worry if your pumpkin starts out all chunky; it falls apart as you cook it. Yours might cook down faster or slower, depending on the amount of moisture in your squash and how much liquid you add (the apple cider was my idea, and made things pretty juicy)... you'll know it's done when it's all smooth and more like something to spread on bread instead of like a stew. I was also considering adding about half a cup of toasted and finely chopped pecans, but it's so yummy right now I don't want to mess it up.

It appears that pumpkin butter doesn't have enough acid in it to safely can it, which is a bummer because I'd thought maybe I'd pass some out as holiday gifts. Oh, well. It keeps fine in the freezer or refrigerator, so you can bring it as a hostess gift, at least.

It's amazing how prolific I can be when I need to vacuum. Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend!

Comments

[kightp.livejournal.com]

I made pumpkin jam last week, and thought I'd mentioned it either in my LJ or my food blog (http://marketcook.wordpress.com/), but I can't find the post either. Hell, I can't even find the recipe. Yet I have a pint of the stuff in my refrigerator, and it's delicious.

I know I used pureed roast pumpkin from the freezer, sugar, candied ginger, and the juice and zest of a lemon.

Maybe we're both losing our sanity.

[mamagotcha.livejournal.com]

Yes, pumpkin jam! And it WAS you... but you didn't delete a post? How very odd... perhaps you mentioned it in the comments of a mutual friend's journal? Either that or we've got some Cosmic Mind Meld going on. Well, we'll be eatin' good in our rubber rooms, anyway!

[kightp.livejournal.com]

Nope, didn't delete anything. I suspect I *did* mention it in somebody else's journal, probably with a link to the recipe. But damned if I can remember who.