Seasonal Grub: Uses for Leftover Pumpkin

     So you've just shut the kids (or the wife, if she's anything like mine) up by carving a Jack O' Latern for 'em. Now your entire kitchen is strewn with those slicker-than-owl-shit seeds, fibrous pumpkin guts, and the "sawdust" that results from using a carving kit rather than a good, old-fashioned knife.  You probably also have a substantial amount of pumpkin flesh from the cap, eyes, nose and mouth left over.
    The seeds you can roast and salt. They're tasty, nutritious, and widely believed to be good for the prostate. Unshelled, they're a good source of fiber. Moreover, in some cultures, they're a reputed aphrodisiac. (Not that I'd have any way of knowing. Being a 24-7 horndog as-is, I can't tell the difference. You could feed me two dozen oysters on the half-shell, a goatweed salad, and enough fly agaric to kill a horse, and I'd be no more -- or less -- a pervo than usual.)
     The guts and "sawdust"? You're on your own, chief. I'd recommend just leaving 'em, though. Eventually, someone will get sick of looking at 'em, and clean up the mess for you.
     The extra flesh, you can put to good use in the following  recipe:

"Bashed Neeps" Deluxe
3 potatoes
3 carrots or parnsips
2 small turnips or one medium rutabaga
I petrouchka (optional)
Leftover pumpkin from Jack O' Lantern
2 cups water
2t raw rice
2 cups chicken broth
2T brown sugar
2T butter
1 bay leaf
Salt
Pepper
Nutmeg
Pinch of cinnamon
Parsley (fresh or dried)

    Wash and peel, and cut root vegetables into 1" cubes. Pare skin from pumpkin chunks. And cut into 1" cubes.  
    Heat two cups salted water to boiling. Add rice and turnips. Parboil for five minutes. Drain, rinse, then discard rice. (This process leaches some of the bitterness from the turnips.)
     Heat two cups chicken broth to boiling. Add bay leaf, diced vegetables, and a pinch of salt. Return to boiling, cover, reduce heat, and let simmer until vegetables are tender, 30-40 minutes.
     Pour off stock and reserve. Discard  bay leaf. Puree vegetables with a querl or potato masher, adding stock if necessary.
     Stir in butter, pinch of cinnamon, and brown sugar until butter melts and sugar dissolves.
     Season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Garnish with parsley, and serve warm.

Comments

[Aaron]

Hey-

tried to call, couldn't get through.

I'm in Afghanistan. Shoot me an email when you get a chance. love y'all.

[Dave]

Will do. I was wondering if you'd gone back over. Hadn't heard from you in a while.