FRESH pumpkin!

So I've been thinking..."What am I suppose to do with all these (13 to be exact) pumpkins?" Well I'm going to bake them of course! What's better then canned pumpkin? FRESH PUMPKIN PUREE that's what! I've seen that sugar pumpkins are the most commonly kind of pumpkins to use for baking however any kind of pumpkin will do! Any size and variety can be used. While I'm on the hunt for a multitude of pumpkin recipes to experiment with, I need to get the pumpkin ready. So I've decided to roast it and I tried 2 different ways to see what works best.

First, cut open your pumpkins and remove stem. Scrape insides to remove seeds and pulp. Save seeds for roasting later! Then either pick Option A or Option B.

Option A: Cut each pumpkin in quarters, arrange on baking sheet or roasting pan, and brush with olive oil or water to keep from drying. Roast on 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until tender. Once the pumpkin is fork tender, remove from oven and cool. Once cool enough to handle, scrape out the pumpkin.

Option B: Cut pumpkins in halves, place cut side down in roasting pan, add 1 cup water, and roast at 350 degrees for 60-75 minutes or until tender. (This one worked best for me, it may have taken longer but the pumpkin was easiest to remove). Once fork tender, remove from oven and cool. Once cool enough to handle, scrape out pumpkin.

Pumpkin will look like this once roasted! Place scraped pumpkin flesh into a food processor and pulse, stopping frequently to scrape down sides. Puree until smooth, this will have to be done in a few different batches. Most recipes call for 15-ounce can of pumpkin, use 1 3/4 cups of puree, a 29-ounce can contains 3 1/2 cups puree. I measured out bags of 1 3/4 cups puree.

Store in freezer safe resealable bags or containers leaving 1/2 inch of headspace for expansion while freezing. Label and date the bag or container. Pureed pumpkin can keep in the refrigerator for 1 week or up to 9 months in the freezer.

And now we're ready to start baking....

Next up: Pumpkin Spiced Muffins, Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese