Pumpkin Season ALL Year Long???


I LOVE Pumpkin Season! And love all things pumpkin. So, I'm so glad that I learned early on (from my mom) how to 'put up' pumpkin (PA Dutch term). If you haven't 'put up' your own pumpkin before, let me tell you how easy it is! Then you can easily have Pumpkin ALL year long!

 My home state of PA grows this squash called Long Neck Pumpkins. The bulb end has all the seeds, and the 'neck' is all meat! If you have small round pumpkin pie pumpkins, you can 'put them up' the same way. When I moved to NY and found they had no idea what a long neck pumpkin was, I set out to grow my own. A local farmer in PA was kind enough to instruct me on how to start my seeds inside, since upstate NY has a shorter growing season than PA.

 I'm back in PA again and don't have to worry about growing my own if I don't want to. Every local farmer grows my favorite Long Necks!

 So, to start, I do wash the outside of my pumpkins. Then I cut them in 1/2 or in 1/3's length wise, depending on how big the pumpkin is. (like my crude drawing?)
Each of those sections are cut in 1/2 so you have the inside meat exposed. Scoop out the seeds from the bulb end. If you want to save your seeds to grow next year, rinse them and dry them out before you seal them in a bag. Or you can rinse them for a pumpkin seed recipe. Preheat your oven at 350*. Grease a cookie sheet and place the meat side down/skin side up on it. Bake your pumpkin. Here's where you just need to keep checking your pumpkin. I don't have an exact amount of time that it takes. Bottom line is you need your pumpkin to be soft enough that a fork easily pokes through when you stab it.

 Pull it from the oven at that time and let it cool some before you start scooping out the meat with a spoon. Place the scooped out meat in a blender or food processor. Blend/process on high til you have a nice puree! Then I place mine in 2 cup containers. (PB jars work great!) Allow them to cool completely before putting the lids on, make a label for your lid, and then freeze them. Voila!! Now you have pumpkin that you can use all year long!!

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