"pumpkin day" news and stories

Yesterday, slashfood was pulling a Charlie Brown, waiting for the Great Pumpkin. Lots of pumpkins all over the place, but here are a few we missed during the first course:

The most important thing in Nic's kitchen is the Baking Sheet, which turns out Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Also baking, but Baking Lowfat, Arienna makes Pumpkin Walnut Muffins, with a nutty, crunchy topping.

Joe, who gets Culinary in the Desert, also bakes with pumpkins and walnuts, but his focaccia bread is savory, not sweet!

Pumpkin Soup with Goat Cheese is Glorious Farm Food from Tana.

Becky might be working in Two Foot Kitchen, but she turns out amazing Sage Scented Pumpkin Bleu Cheese Custards.

That's the entire buffet for now!

My husband and my long-time ex-boyfriend have very little in common. One thing they do share, however, is an aversion to savory squash dishes. No matter how lovingly I'd prepare, say, acorn squash stuffed with lentils, or butternut soup flavored with paprika and cumin; they'd both turn up their noses. "Pumpkin is just for pies," each would say. My husband, the more generous of the two (hence his status as my husband), would gamely take a serving. And barely make a dent.

"I love you, I just can't eat savory squash," was the message. Come dessert time, the pumpkin pies and pumpkin cheesecakes would disappear in a whirlwind of whipped cream, my gourmet ways with squash finally appreciated. I wonder: is this a guy thing? Or do some people just come hard-wired to appreciate both the sweet and the savory aspects of these velvety winter veggies? Will you eat your pumpkin spicy?

I love pumpkin pie. I bake pumpkin pie, I eat pumpkin pie at every holiday gathering, I take home leftover pumpkin pie and have it for breakfast. In the time between the start of Halloween festivities (which seems to start earlier and earlier every year) and the holidays at the end of the year, I'll have overdosed on pumpkin pie, swearing that I'll never eat it again. (Until next October, of course.)

So in an effort to add some variety to the fall/winter dessert repertoire, I bake a pumpkin cheesecake at least once. It's a little more work than the evaporated milk and canned pumpkin that go into a pie, but what else would I be doing on a Saturday night?!

 I think our esteemed team leader down the pumpkin patch gulag was under the impression I was going to do a post on pumpkin AND chocolate!

Not on your life! Having already subjected my taste buds to such delights as Citrouille au Jammon De Bayonne and Nigel Slater's Spiced Pumpkin Soup with Bacon (have I mentioned that I really don't like pumpkin.. .or swede, or parsnips or mushy peas come to that??) there is only one thing that will save me know - Chocolate Pumpkin!

Oh yes baby... come to the scribbler....

(Orange flavoured chocolate pumpkin filled with orange and milk chocolate drops, £6.99 from Pa Pa Paa)

I've eaten my way through most of the squash alphabet, starting with "acorn" and "butternut" and working my way down to "spaghetti" and "turban." I've also sliced, peeled, and hacked my way into them. It's sometimes a challenge, and other times downright dangerous (but I still have all my fingers, so I've got that going for me). I've found a couple of things:

• most squashes are interchangeable in recipes
  
• most squashes are hard to cut
• all squashes can be cooked the same way, if recipes escape you: slice them in half, scoop out the seeds, place cut side down on a baking sheet, bake at 350 degrees until tender

Once the baked squash comes out of the oven, you can add butter and sugar, maybe nutmeg and cinnamon, for a sweet side dish; or fill with something savory, like lentils or rice pilaf. I love Indian and North African spices with squash; cumin, coriander, cloves, cayenne or chipotle pepper, ginger. I think squash is delicious, but I stay away from the big ones unless I'm making pies or soup for a crowd.