Carotene

It's rather ironic, orange has never been one of my favorite colors. In fact, I rather dislike it. But one of my very favorite veggies is squash AKA pumpkin. This is the one time of year I LOVE orange. The deep, glowing type of orange that comes over a ripe pumpkin. Pumpkin is packed with carotene and all kinds of stuff that's good for you. I like it just plain baked or steamed. Adding sugar and spices puts it in the realm of ambrosia.
We can store pumpkin in the basement, but if someone happens to leave the window in the storage room open (ALL MONTH) it will freeze and deteriorate into a very uneatable form. Yep, it happened. So this year we're canning it, just to make sure we have it when we want it.
We grew sugar pumpkins this year, just for this occasion. I like the smaller size of this type, they are easier to cut in half than the monster field pumpkins. And easier to disembowel.

Ah, there you are, my little pretties. YOU, my dears, are destined to become a most scrumptious, nutritous snack.

I put the pumpkin halves cut side down on cookie sheets, baking about 45 minutes at 350.

After baking, they have to cool just a bit to handle. Then the innards are scooped out.

The next step is to plop the pulp into the food processor, and voila', a velvety fragrant thick puree of orangy goodness.

Here we are again - hot jars, hot puree which has been thinned just a bit with hot water, hot lids, and my trusty canning cup.

Because pumpkin is such a dense veggie, it must be pressure canned. Or frozen. But we like the idea of not using extra power via the freezer when we have an option, so we can. Besides, frozen pumpkin is a bit more watery when thawed, whereas the canned stuff is thick and ready to rock and roll in our favorite pumpkiny creations.

The pressure canner is a real time saver, you just have to be brave the first time you use one.

Some scary stories out there. But it's easy, honest. Just have to keep an eye on that gauge during the time required for whatever you are canning. For pumpkin puree? 11 lbs for 65 minutes. Packed chunks, which can be done too, only need 55 minutes. I had some sweet potatoes that weren't getting used quickly enough, so I steamed them long enough to slip the skin, cut them into chunks, packed them in jars, covered with boiling water, lidded and processed them with the pumpkin in the last load. Multi-tasking, that's what we're all about here on the farm!

And here we are. 13 pints of pumpkin puree, and 3 pints of sweet potato cubes. All tucked in for winter.

The pumpkin will ultimately morph into pies (yeah, baby!), and one of the family favorites, Squash Biscuits. Not one single person doesn't like those biscuits, and for good reason. They are GOOD!
The sweet potato cubes have a great destiny, too. I like them with cooked cold green beans and chopped egg on a romaine salad. With a pear-avocado dressing. Oh boy. Now I'm hungry.

There is just nothing to compare to growing your own food, preserving it for winter, and then EATING it!

Here's a yummy soup, using pumpkin puree. Just in time for Thanksgiving!

ROASTED PUMPKIN AND CARROT SOUP (about 4 servings)

Bake two small sugar pumpkins (halve, seed, rub skin with olive oil and lightly sprinkly with sea salt; bake about 40 minutes, cut side down on baking sheet, at 375 degrees). Cool.

(OR, use a pint jar of your home canned pumpkin puree!)

In medium pot, saute: 1 small onion, chopped

2 T. oil

After about 2 minutes, add: 3 - 4 carrots, diced

pinch of salt

grated zest of 1 lemon

Saute about 2 more minutes.

Scoop pulp from pumpkins, add to vegtables in pot. Add:

2 c. water

1 c. plain soy milk

Cover and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low, cook until carrots are quite soft, about 25 minutes.

Blend soup in small batches in blender or processor. Return to pot, over very low heat. Simmer 3-4 minutes to thoroughly heat.

Serve garnished with pan-toasted pumpkin seeds and minced parsley.

The Squash Biscuits would be tasty with this soup, if you don't mind a monochromatic meal.

In a hurry? I just use Bisquick, and use pumpkin puree in place of most of the liquid. You kinda have to go by feel, but if you have made biscuits, you'll figure it out.

You could even have Pumpkin Pie for dessert.