Pumpkins - not just for pies and front stoops anymore

Posted by Jamie Oberdick on 10/14, 2011 at 08:00 AM

However, if you get into gardening and look at seed catalogs, you know that pumpkins come in all sizes and colors. Some examples:

• The old-fashioned traditional look of the Connecticut Field Pumpkin, an old jack-o-lantern favorite.
• The Cinderella’s carriage shape and red-orange color of the Rouge Vif d’Etampes, a French variety.
• The what’s-wrong-with-that-thing warty look of the Galeuse d’Eysines, another French variety that is delicious in soups.
• The black color and delicious taste of the Thai, yes, Thai Large Pumpkin.
• And my personal favorite, the afore-mentioned Amish neck pumpkin, which as any Amish baker will tell you is superior to others for pies, cakes, and other baking. It gets its name due to looking like a stretched out butternut squash.

Pumpkins are not just for pies and a quick search on the Internet on pumpkin recipes will land you a variety of ideas from non-pie desserts to soups to main courses. I didn’t get as many this year as I have in the past in my garden, but with the amount of pumpkins I normally harvest, I usually am looking for unique pumpkin recipes.

I enjoy making soups out of them, making casseroles, and pumpkin chili. What? Pumpkin chili?

Yes, that’s right, pumpkin chili. It’s a delicious twist on the usual chili, and quite easy to make - all you need to do is add one to two cups unsweetened pumpkin puree, either from your garden or via a can, to your standard chili recipe. The pumpkin adds a slight sweet flavor and very nice texture that is quite good.

In fact, nothing beats a football game and a bowl of pumpkin chili on a fall day.

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