AND THEN!!!!
Made it one of the BEST TASTING PUMPKINS in the world????
Welcome to the Jarrahdale Pumpkin, from the land down under, a new favorite at my busy and fun farm stand and a new favorite at the Blodgett/Herne house!
Someone had the brains, ingenuity and time to mix Hubbard Squash "blue" with pumpkin "orange" and came up with a gray/blue pumpkin with Seriously Delicious Orange Flesh.
OH MY STARS.
First, these bad boys (meaning the pumpkins, there are no true bad boys here, I reform them in my books. Don't try this at home, it does not appear to work so well in real life) have amazing density. They are heavy pumpkins because the seed cavity is about the size of a big butternut squash. The rest is food, so you can decorate through October... and then CONSUME THE DECORATIONS!!!
And it was as easy as cutting the squash in half.....
Scooping out the seeds.
Turning it on its side in a baking pan, added a thin layer of water to the bottom, and sealed with aluminum foil. (I didn't want to try peeling it, this way is so much easier!!! And look at the funky color the skin turns once it bakes... But inside: Dark orange pumpkin!
Baked at 350 for about 90 minutes.... so I made cookies at the same time, because why waste all that heat???
I scooped out the pumpkin from the shell... it took all of a minute. And then I tossed the shells into the garbage and ended up with a bowl of pumpkin.... over a quart, maybe a quart and a half??? Yes, about that, enough for two pies and 24 muffins... Not too shabby!
I mashed it with a fork and used it for pumpkin muffins.... (recipe here)
And I put a streusel topping on the muffins, and we loved them that way!
Streusel Topping:
8 oz. cold butter, cut up
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
Cut butter into flour/sugar/cinnamon mix using two knives (think ZORRO!!!!) or a pastry blender. (think "Ma Ingalls") :) Use to top muffins, pies, etc. So deliciously yummy!!!
Next stop: pumpkin pie, using the Jarrahdale.... Can't wait to see how it turns out!
And next Thursday we're going to visit with my buddy Stephanie Karfelt, another delightful writer... Stephanie is dealing with dementia, the sandwich generation, assisted living... the whole enchilada while dealing with her mother "Gummy"... and through Stephanie's poignant facebook posts, I've learned a lot about Gummy and orange cookies. Stay tuned next Thursday to find out more about why orange cookies are important in this see-saw world of caring for the old, the grown and the new...
While you're the "meat" in the sandwich of beautiful family.
Wow Look at all those blue pumpkins.
ReplyDeleteWe need to use them to make a birthday cake for Tina. Happy Birthday Tina.
Pumpkin cake!!!! DELICIOUS!!! Maybe a pumpkin roll....
ReplyDeleteThe blue pumpkins are amazing and probably not something you see a lot of in Arizona! But they came from Australia and that's kind of hot and dry, so maybe you can start your own garden, Sandra!!!
I think that's what I would miss most in AZ... I love gardens, I love trees, I love the Eastern woodlands and we know I love winter: Until March. And then I whine like crazy!
Have a pumpkin muffin, Sandra. They're delicious!
Happy birthday to Tina Radcliffe!!!!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday, Tina!
DeleteRuthy, I had no idea those gorgeous pumpkins would be good cooking pumpkins! Like you said, it's great to decorate and THEN eat the decorations . :) Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThese pumpkins look fabulous. I'll have to look for seeds for next spring!
ReplyDeleteWhen we lived in Indiana, I bought most of my garden produce from a conservative Brethren family down the Plymouth Highway. They would try the most interesting squashes and gourds. One year they had these giant squashes - I have no idea what the name was - so I bought one. I cut up and cooked that huge squash and had delicious frozen squash all winter long.
The next year they planted those goose-necked squashes (the first time I have ever seen them), but never had those huge ones again.
It's been sixteen years since we moved from Indiana to Kentucky, and I still miss their farm stand!
(Happy birthday to Tina!!!)
Okay -- so dumb question from the uneducated on pumpkin city girl. After you've cooked the pumpkin and scooped out the innards, how do you store it? And for how long can you store it? I've never cooked with fresh pumpkin and I'd like to give it a try but I'd never use it all up in one recipe and my days of standing in the kitchen mega baking all day are gone.
ReplyDeleteAnd that stuesel topping isn't just for the muffins, right? You'd have a ton left over? Would that just be stored in the fridge?
Love the crazy colour pumpkins. I haven't seen them around here at all. I'll have to ask at the market and see if anyone has heard of them.
And one last thing...I want to live in a hobbit house with a talking bird. :-)
LOL, Kav! I know which of Ruthy's books you just read!
DeleteWasn't it fabulous???
She was a darling character. :)
DeleteVery cool! I've always wondered what was inside these blue pumpkins. And I love Fall with a passion so that first picture of all the pumpkins stacked just makes my heart go pitter pat.
ReplyDelete