Pumpkin, Pumpkin

Shortly after it started getting cold outside, Andy stopped by a roadside veggie stand.  They had a plethora of pumpkins, pie pumpkins, squash and gourds, and since it had already frozen out once or twice, they were looking to get rid of them for a really reasonable price.  Andy had originally stopped because the squash called out to him, but upon further inspection, the squashes weren’t holding up well to the cold weather.  He almost walked away empty handed, but then he spotted the pie pumpkins.  After a bit of haggling, he walked away with four of them for just two dollars.   Four pie pumpkins, as it turns out, is quite a bit of pumpkin!

I took an afternoon and dispatched them all.  I saved all the seeds for roasting the next day, but my primary focus was to get all the pumpkins roasted, pureed, and tucked away in the freezer for when a pumpkin hankering called.

All told, I put  20 cups of pumpkin puree in the freezer.  It was as simple as roasting the pumpkins until soft, and then I scooped out the flesh.  I gave each pumpkin a whir in the food processor to make sure it was uniformly smooth, and then popped it in containers to freeze.  We love to use pumpkin puree here.  It’s such a generous source of vitamins, that I’ve taken to adding it in places one wouldn’t normally.   One place I hide pumpkin in is in chili.  I never would have, except that I had made a Pumpkin and Black Bean Chili that was spectacular, and ever since, I add a cup of pumpkin to almost every pot of chili.  It adds a touch of sweetness, but for the most part, you don’t even know it’s there other than the added pile of antioxidants that you soak up from it.

Another recipe that I haven’t made in a while that uses pumpkin is these Black Bean Enchiladas with Spicy Pumpkin Sauce.  I’ll be adding those to the menu in the near future.

Oh! I forgot about these Pumpkin Spice Waffles! I’m sensing a breakfast-for-dinner night in the near future as well.

But the recipe I made over the weekend was a recipe for a Pumpkin Bar-like thing.  The recipe was called Pumpkin Brownies, but it was definitely more like a cake than a brownie.  It reminded me very much of Pumpkin Spice Bars, only mine had a different blend of spices, and I added milk chocolate chips.  Still delicious, still full of yummy pumpkin flavor, and I’d totally make these again if I was craving something sweet and had pumpkin on hand.

Pumpkin Bars

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 1/4 cup All-Purpose Flour

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, raisins or chocolate chips

Directions:

Spray a 9x 13 pan with cooking spray and preheat the oven to 375ºF.

In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients, except the nuts, raisins or chocolate chips, and mix until well combined, using a hand mixer.

Fold in the walnuts, raisins or chocolate chips and pour into the prepared pan.

Bake at 375ºF for about 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars.