SHONA WATT
  • Home
  • TinyHomestead.ca
​Paragraph section header text

Pumpkins

10/31/2011

0 Comments

 
Picture
Roasted pumpkin seeds
Happy Halloween! This year, I was a circus ring leader, and I decided to keep with the theme of the year: eating what's in season. Pumpkins aren't really used that much in typical North American cuisine, besides the staple pumpkin pie. I'm familiar with carving pumpkins...but with so many pumpkins around, I knew there had to be something else I could do with them.
This season, I discovered two excellent pumpkin uses: roasted pumpkin seeds, and stuffed pumpkin.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
It seems like everyone has known about roasted pumpkin seeds besides me. I had bought them in a store before, but I had no idea how easy they are to make (especially when you have just carved a pumpkin and have tons of pumpkin guts everywhere). Apparently my family completely bypassed this Halloween tradition. Just in case you didn't grow up with this either, here's how to make them:
Step one: Get a pumpkin. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
Step two: Carve the pumpkin and take out the seeds. Rise the seeds in water to get the pumpkin guts off of them.
Step three: Oil a baking sheet. Place the seeds flat on the baking sheet.
Step four: Sprinkle salt on the seeds. Almost any other herbs or spices will work too - just salt and oil is great, but curry and sugar is amazing.
Step five: Bake for about 45 minutes, checking on them periodically. They're done when they're crispy and slightly brown.
Ta-da! Deliciousness.
Picture
Stuffed Pumpkin
Yeah Shona, you say, but what do we do with the rest of the pumpkin, now that it's hollowed-out and seedless? Stuff it with rice, vegetables, apples, nuts, and spices!
I found this recipe on a Mother Earth News blog last night, and the writer made this stuffed pumpkin as the main course instead of a turkey. How about that, vegetarian friends? Since I never follow recipes exactly, I changed it a bit. Here's my version:

1 medium pumpkin
~2 cups chopped veggies (carrots, zucchini, celery, peppers, eggplant, whatever you have in your fridge)
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup cooked rice
1 tbsp sage
1 tbsp oregano
1 tbsp thyme
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup raisins
3 apples (chopped)
1/2 tsp parmesan
2 tbsp mozzerella

Preheat the oven 350 F.  Hollow out the pumpkin. Put about 1 tbsp of butter or margerine in the bottom. Jab slits with a knife throughout the pumpkin. Put the pumpkin's top back on. Leave it in the oven until the pumpkin flesh is tender when you poke it.
In a frying pan, sautee onion and garlic together. Add celery, zucchini, peppers, etc. After about 5 minutes, add the cooked rice and sage, oregano, thyme, and a little bit of salt and pepper. Chop apples and sprinkle the cinnamon on them. When the rice has heated up, add the parmesan, apples, walnuts, and raisins. Keep this on low until your pumpkin has finished cooking.
If you have tons of time, you can cook the vegetable stuffing by leaving it in the pumpkin for about three hours. As I made this on a Sunday night and didn't feel like spending the entire day making supper, I cooked the vegetables and rice in a frying pan and them added them to the cooked pumpkin, putting the top back on the pumpkin.I left mine in there for 15 minutes, but  I think the longer it stays cooking in the pumpkin, the better. But come on people, we all have other things to do.
I took the top off and put grated mozzerella cheese on it in the last 5 minutes.
When you are tired of waiting the flavours to mix together in a steamy, buttery pumpkin bed, take the pumpkin out and cut a bigger hole in the top so you can scoop it out. Make sure you scrape off some of the pumpkin on the side!
If you tried it, let me know! Also tell me if you made any modifications that improved on it.
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    About Shona

    I'm an eco-conscious girl from Montreal, Quebec. I'm currently an adjunct science professor at Champlain College of Vermont (Montreal Campus). I'm interested in any opportunities to expand my experience with grassroots activism, climate change legislation, or environmental education.

    Picture
    Hiking on Fox Glacier in New Zealand

    Archives

    March 2016
    May 2015
    January 2015
    September 2014
    March 2014
    November 2013
    September 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    April 2013
    January 2013
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011

    Categories

    All
    Apiary
    Apples
    Beekeeping
    Bees
    Blackoutspeakout0d4a817be2
    Blueberries
    Blue Oyster Mushroom
    Books
    Climate Change
    Compost
    Co-op La Maison Verte
    Ecological Footprint
    Events
    Freezing
    Garbage
    Garden
    Independence
    Meat
    Permaculture
    Sheet Mulching
    Snacks
    Upcycling
    Vegan Food
    Walk
    Zero Waste

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • TinyHomestead.ca