Pumpkin
Toasted pumpkin seeds
Don't throw away the pumpkin seeds. Separate them from the bulk of the pumpkin pulp, let them dry for a while, then put them on a baking tray and mix them with a little oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. You can add chilli powder or other spices if you like. It doesn't matter if there's still some pulp attached if you don't want to mess about too much. Cook at 125C for about an hour, stirring every 15-20 minutes. The whole seed can be eaten. You can cook them at a higher temperature and for less time but watch they don’t burn.
Pumpkin soup
This has been a favourite at Action 21's pumpkin days for years. You don't have to follow the veg quantities exactly as long as you have plenty of pumpkin. The curry powder is what really makes it special. I don't know why!
1 tsp sunflower oil
1 large onion chopped
1 stick of celery
1 carrot grated
1 large potato peeled and cubed
1-2 cloves crushed garlic
1 flat tsp mild or medium curry powder
2lb 900g pumpkin flesh, cut into cubes
Salt and pepper
3-4 cups water
Sweat chopped onion and celery in oil until soft. Add crushed garlic and carrot and potato. Mix in the curry powder and allow it to toast a little. Add pumpkin and potato and stir all together. Then add water till it covers the vegetables and simmer til soft. Blend to a creamy consistency.
Pumpkin puree
Simply peel the pumpkin and roughly chop it. Put in a pan with a little water at the bottom, and cook on a medium heat until it is soft. The normal round orange pumpkin contains a lot of water, so once it¹s cooked put it in a colander and drain as much of the liquid off as you can. Then mash or puree in a food processor or with a hand blender. The puree can be stored in the fridge or frozen.
Perfectly Plump Pumpkin Muffins
The recipe uses American-style measuring cups - lots of places have them, and kitchen equipment is always turning up at the Recyle Warehouse or the Re-Useful Centre
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp salad oil
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup pureed pumpkin (I froze some in the autumn)
1tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
handful of raisins
Cream sugar and oil. Add egg and milk. Add dry ingredients, sifted. Add pumpkin and mix all together and spoon into paper cases. Bake for 20 minutes at 190C and frost with white frosting (icing sugar). Yields 12 medium-sized muffins.