From Halloween to Thanksgiving...

Halloween is officially over and Thanksgiving is quickly approaching.  And around here that means fresh baked, homemade pumpkin pie!!!  And no...none of that canned stuff.  My pies are made from fresh pumpkin!

You know...I blame my parents for this.  I grew up spoiled to say the least.  I remember the story of the pumpkin field.  I say field because the pumpkins took over the WHOLE field.  I was really young, maybe under the age of 5?  Anyway, it was gardening time.  And of course being the "big helper" I was I insisted on helping plant the garden.  So, my father (being supper smart), created me a special row.  Marked it off and everything.  Then he gave me a packet of pumpkin seeds and showed me how to plant them neatly down the said row.  He showed me how to cover them, keep then neat and straight...then put me to work while he worked in another section.  A little while latter I proudly showed him my neat row of pumpkin seeds.  He and mom were so proud!

Fast forward a few months.  My pumpkins were growing rather well in my neat little row... as well as in the corn, in the green beans, in the potatoes, in the...well, you get the idea.  We had a lot of pumpkins that year!  To bad the flood washed most of them away.

My next memory is of my mother cutting up the pumpkins and cooking them in the oven until they were tender...oh the house was smelling so good...yet, not the smell we were waiting on!  She would grind the pumpkin through the colander, then pour the smashed pumpkin into clean, sterile jars, then process them...all in preparation for the next step...pumpkin pie.

Now fast forward a few more years.  I am a mother of a few beautiful children.  They are rather young themselves.  We wanted to start our own Halloween tradition, but I didn't want to give my children a knife, and they wouldn't stick their hands in the pumpkins.  Really, no fun for them.  So, we started a tradition of painting our pumpkins.

We painstakingly explore the pumpkin patch for the perfect pumpkins.  Next we look for our inspiration and then we paint!  (we use a washable paint...which kinda sucks when it rains...)  After that they get used for decoration on the front porch.

After Halloween I take over.  I wash the paint off, cut the pumpkins in 1/2, and scoop out the insides with an ice cream scoop.

Next I place the pumpkin 1/2s in a baking pan and add about an inch of water.  Pop them in the oven and bake at 350* for about an hour.  Sometimes it takes longer, sometimes not so long.  Cook them until you can poke a fork in through the shell.

After the pumpkin is cooked remove it from the oven and let it cool.  After it has cooled enough to handle just peel the shell of the pumpkin off!  Smooth! 

Next, dig out the food processor and puree the cooked pumpkin.  I let it puree for a couple of minuets just to ensure that everything is cut up well.

After it is pureed I put the pumpkin mush through a sieve.  This allows me to make sure there are no unprocessed parts and no parts of the shell that may have ended up in by mistake.  If the pumpkin is thin and watery I just tap the sieve on the side of the bowl, letting the pumpkin just slide through all on it's own.  If it is a ticker puree I use the back of a spoon to push it through.  Either way...all the unwanted parts doesn't make it through!

Finally I measure it out into freezer bags.  My recipe calls for 2 cups of pumpkin puree.  Since I double my recipes I go ahead and measure it out into 4 cup increments.  Seal the bags, label them, and pop them in the deep freeze.  I now have fresh pumpkin for pies, breads, and even fudge (I haven't tried that one yet!!!!).

When it is time I dig out my trusty The Good Housekeeping Cook book and turn to page 512 and bake up a batch of our favorite Pilgrim Pumpkin Pies.

Pilgrim Pumpkin Pie (remember I double mine, but this is the original)

1 9-inch unbaked pie crust (I purchase 3 deep dish pie crusts from the store...I can't make a pie crust to save my life!!!!)
2 cups of pumpkin
1 13-oz can evaporated milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon (I ALWAYS add more!!!  lol)
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 425*
In large bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat pumpkin with next 10 ingredients until well mixed.  Place pie plate on oven rack; pour pumpkin mixture into pie crust; bake 15  minutes.  Turn oven control to 350 *and bake 35 minutes more or until filling is set.  Cool.

Now, as I said, I double my recipe.  This will fill 3 - 9 inch deep dish pie crusts.  Before I fill the pie crust I cut foil to fit around the edge of the crust to keep it from burning.  Then I fill the pie crusts and bake.  It takes me longer than 35 min to bake...so bake until a knife stuck in the middle of the pie comes out clean.  Just make sure you don't stick your knife all the way through the pan!!!!

So, we have gone from Halloween to Thanksgiving!  Enjoy!!!!!