Pumkins are FOOD
Nov. 1st, 2004 10:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kukla_tkoI want to make some buttons or t-shirts or something. Possibly some LJ icons.
They will say, "Pumpkins are food."
Here's the definition of "Pumpkin" from the online Webster's:
Main Entry: pump·kin
Function: noun
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: alteration of earlier pumpion, modification of French popon, pompon melon, pumpkin, from Latin pepon-, pepo, from Greek pepOn, from pepOn ripened; akin to Greek pessein to cook, ripen -- more at COOK
1 a : the usually round orange fruit of a vine (Cucurbita pepo) of the gourd family widely cultivated as food b : WINTER CROOKNECK c British : any of various large-fruited winter squashes (C. maxima)
2 : a usually hairy prickly vine that produces pumpkins
Get that? Winter Squash. Why do they call it that? Well, if you don't puncture them, get them wet, or expose them to extreme heat, they keep for months. Harvest them with the rest of the crops and set them aside.
How does one eat a pumpkin?
If your only answer to that question is "pie", you're not part of my "Pumpkins are food" movement.
If your only answers are "Pie" and "bread", you're not part of it, either.
Wanna join the movement? Post a recipe or a link to such for a pumpkin dish that you have eaten or prepared (or both.)
Here's mine:
There's a story. In 2001 I was working in HELL for the DEVIL and it included a pumpkin patch. I bought several largish pumpkins and brought them home, but we never had time to carve them with the kids.
So after Halloween, my SO is looking at the winter squash sitting on the front porch, and says, "Let's eat one."
I was intrigued, since I didn't know how to prepare any kind of squash.
"How?" I asked.
"Well, let's make a stuffed pumpkin."
I thought that he was referring to an old family recipe or some favorite treat of his.
Nope.
Like Shakespeare, he was making this crap up as he went along. Also like Shakespeare, he cranks out pure genius when he does this.
We did it twice, and after experimenting a little, we came up with the following:
By the way, with very little adjustment, this can become a fantastic Thanksgiving feast for vegans!
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thesigother's Stuffed Pumpkin:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Start with 1 pumpkin. Make sure that it will fit in your oven. Wash the outside. Cut off the top and scoop out the guts, like you would for a Jack-O-Lantern.
Place the pumpkin on a cooking tray into the oven.
While pumpkin is pre-cooking, prepare stuffing as for a turkey. Stovetop stuffing is acceptable, or go dig up your favorite "from scratch" recipe. We used a generic "turkey" dressing, but added the following:
Water Chestnuts (Oh, yes. Always add these to any stuffing.)
Pecans or Walnuts, or what the hell: Both.
Raisins or other dried fruits. I want to try dried apples or even fresh ones.
Celery, diced up.
Sausage bits. We used an Italian sausage since regular sausage is difficult to find with no MSG in it. (No MSG for me, thanks. I don't want my pumpkin to make my butt explode.)
Season to taste. Lots of salt and pepper, parsley, etc.
Pre-cook the pumpkin shell for about an hour.
Pull it from the oven and start shoving the stuffing into it. Fill the little bugger right up to the top, it can be a little over-full if needed.
Carefully place the lid on top, and return the whole thing to the oven.
Bake for 1-1.5 hours. Remove carefully, allow to cool for a bit.
This thing never makes it to the table.
Serve with a large, metal (preferably sharp edged) spoon. When scooping out the stuffing, be sure to get some of the flesh from the Pumpkin in the mix. Just carve it carefully from the side, not piercing the outer husk.
Feeds a medium sized Italian family.
Also, there's a great story about an unusual use for a pumpkin.
My Papa was at a random gathering with the neighbors. The neighbor's father was present and telling great stories from "the farm." At some point the subject of pumpkins came up (this may have been when my family was growing pumpkins in the back yard.) Everyone said that the only thing pumpkins were good for was Jack-O-Lanterns and pie, and pie was too much trouble.
The old farmer chuckled to himself and spoke up.
"Punkins are good eatin'," he said. "You can do lots of things with 'em."
He then went through a list of things that you could do with a pumpkin (including stuffing it) and then got nostalgic.
"But the best thing to do with a punkin' is to make punkin' wine."
Of course, they asked how to make pumpkin wine.
"Well, first you cut a little plug out of the side of the top, see, about yay big. Then you pour yer sugar and yeast into the hole. Plug the hole back up and seal it with candlewax, but stick a straw in it first so it can breathe. Then ya hang the punkin up in the barn for a couple of months, give it time to ferment. When it's ready, ya take it down and pull the plug back out, strain the juice into bottles and seal 'em up. Then ya throw the punkin to the hogs. They like that a lot."
They will say, "Pumpkins are food."
Here's the definition of "Pumpkin" from the online Webster's:
Main Entry: pump·kin
Function: noun
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: alteration of earlier pumpion, modification of French popon, pompon melon, pumpkin, from Latin pepon-, pepo, from Greek pepOn, from pepOn ripened; akin to Greek pessein to cook, ripen -- more at COOK
1 a : the usually round orange fruit of a vine (Cucurbita pepo) of the gourd family widely cultivated as food b : WINTER CROOKNECK c British : any of various large-fruited winter squashes (C. maxima)
2 : a usually hairy prickly vine that produces pumpkins
Get that? Winter Squash. Why do they call it that? Well, if you don't puncture them, get them wet, or expose them to extreme heat, they keep for months. Harvest them with the rest of the crops and set them aside.
How does one eat a pumpkin?
If your only answer to that question is "pie", you're not part of my "Pumpkins are food" movement.
If your only answers are "Pie" and "bread", you're not part of it, either.
Wanna join the movement? Post a recipe or a link to such for a pumpkin dish that you have eaten or prepared (or both.)
Here's mine:
There's a story. In 2001 I was working in HELL for the DEVIL and it included a pumpkin patch. I bought several largish pumpkins and brought them home, but we never had time to carve them with the kids.
So after Halloween, my SO is looking at the winter squash sitting on the front porch, and says, "Let's eat one."
I was intrigued, since I didn't know how to prepare any kind of squash.
"How?" I asked.
"Well, let's make a stuffed pumpkin."
I thought that he was referring to an old family recipe or some favorite treat of his.
Nope.
Like Shakespeare, he was making this crap up as he went along. Also like Shakespeare, he cranks out pure genius when he does this.
We did it twice, and after experimenting a little, we came up with the following:
By the way, with very little adjustment, this can become a fantastic Thanksgiving feast for vegans!
thesigother's Stuffed Pumpkin:Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Start with 1 pumpkin. Make sure that it will fit in your oven. Wash the outside. Cut off the top and scoop out the guts, like you would for a Jack-O-Lantern.
Place the pumpkin on a cooking tray into the oven.
While pumpkin is pre-cooking, prepare stuffing as for a turkey. Stovetop stuffing is acceptable, or go dig up your favorite "from scratch" recipe. We used a generic "turkey" dressing, but added the following:
Water Chestnuts (Oh, yes. Always add these to any stuffing.)
Pecans or Walnuts, or what the hell: Both.
Raisins or other dried fruits. I want to try dried apples or even fresh ones.
Celery, diced up.
Sausage bits. We used an Italian sausage since regular sausage is difficult to find with no MSG in it. (No MSG for me, thanks. I don't want my pumpkin to make my butt explode.)
Season to taste. Lots of salt and pepper, parsley, etc.
Pre-cook the pumpkin shell for about an hour.
Pull it from the oven and start shoving the stuffing into it. Fill the little bugger right up to the top, it can be a little over-full if needed.
Carefully place the lid on top, and return the whole thing to the oven.
Bake for 1-1.5 hours. Remove carefully, allow to cool for a bit.
This thing never makes it to the table.
Serve with a large, metal (preferably sharp edged) spoon. When scooping out the stuffing, be sure to get some of the flesh from the Pumpkin in the mix. Just carve it carefully from the side, not piercing the outer husk.
Feeds a medium sized Italian family.
Also, there's a great story about an unusual use for a pumpkin.
My Papa was at a random gathering with the neighbors. The neighbor's father was present and telling great stories from "the farm." At some point the subject of pumpkins came up (this may have been when my family was growing pumpkins in the back yard.) Everyone said that the only thing pumpkins were good for was Jack-O-Lanterns and pie, and pie was too much trouble.
The old farmer chuckled to himself and spoke up.
"Punkins are good eatin'," he said. "You can do lots of things with 'em."
He then went through a list of things that you could do with a pumpkin (including stuffing it) and then got nostalgic.
"But the best thing to do with a punkin' is to make punkin' wine."
Of course, they asked how to make pumpkin wine.
"Well, first you cut a little plug out of the side of the top, see, about yay big. Then you pour yer sugar and yeast into the hole. Plug the hole back up and seal it with candlewax, but stick a straw in it first so it can breathe. Then ya hang the punkin up in the barn for a couple of months, give it time to ferment. When it's ready, ya take it down and pull the plug back out, strain the juice into bottles and seal 'em up. Then ya throw the punkin to the hogs. They like that a lot."
