Well,
We ate the second stuffed pumpkin grown in our garden for dinner tonight. The only variation/improvement over the last one we ate was that we substituted mild pork sausage for the beef burger. Sauteed onions and already cooked rice were the same as last time. I think Mrs. Stone added some wine to the mix. We think a little (pure) maple syrup on top once the pumpkin is stuffed would be a great addition.


I now have enough pumpkin seeds to use...actually they are about to crowd me out of the house. So I looked up pumpkin seed roasting directions. They are pretty simple as I understand them.

wash seeds in cold water, drain in colander

spread on a cookie sheet and let dry

dip in a butter/salt solution, spread on a greased (spray stuff) cookie sheet

Bake at 300 for about 20 or 30 minutes, until 'golden brown.' Stir every five minutes or so.

Instead of using the butter and greasing the cookie sheet, I plan to use spray (like Pam) on the cookie sheet.

Instead of rolling the seeds in a butter/salt mixture, and instead of soaking the seeds in salt water overnight, I'll add 1/4 cup salt to 2 cups water boil a bit, then spread them out to dry overnight. One person talked about doing this until the seeds turned an 'ashen' color.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Anyone got any other variations on roasting pumpkin seeds?

Sparks

The pumpkin seeds came out dandy.
Boiled in 1/4 cup salt with two cups water for about 20 minutes (until they turn gray). Let them dry overnight (I put mine in the food dehydrator for a couple hours to dry the outside off). Baked them at 300-degrees stirring every 7 minutes until golden brown (about 30 minutes).

They say to have them "one layer deep." This was quite the chore until I figured out you just put them in the greased cake pan/cookie sheet and shake the pan...they naturally go one layer deep. I ran them into a corner of the pan and flipped them when I was stirring at the 7 minute intervals.

I'll continue this pumpkin saga toward the end of the month. Heading to Audie's tomorrow for some mixed bag game (ducks, geese, squirrels and whitetails). I'm pretty excited about that, for sure.

Sparks

Sparks,
Be safe travelling. Say hi to Audie for me. Once again I am sitting here with no shirt on to type this, window and door open to let in a little night air. Sweated some today walking to walmart and back.
Hombre del Bosque

Will do, Vollie!

You will be missed on this adventure, for sure.

I'm not sure how I would do without winter. Yea, yea, yea...I hear you saying, "this IS winter." But when I say winter, I want a MAN'S winter!

I just wish I had a wood stove in this place, one with a glass front would be nice. I sorely miss using the old splitting mall and wedges.

Sparks

Sparks iffen ya read this while at Audies ya might think of useing wild rice instead of plain white rice in the pumpkins, also white beans(Northerns or black eyed) along with the sausage would be nice n filling, a real "stick to yer ribs" type meal. I make a type of stew useing the sausage, wild rice n beans with yams added in, by useing the pumpkin to cook it all in would be simaler n sounds right tastey, might just try it myself, oh yea I sometimes use the water from boiling smoked ham hocks to cook the beans in, really adds a lot of flavor. Hope you guys have a blast this next week, hope ya brought rain gear too as it looks like a wet week to be hunting in.gonna miss coming over, maybe next year---YMHS Birdman

Pumpkin Bread
4 beaten eggs
2 C cooked pumpkin,fresh or frozen
2/3C water
1 C oil
2 C honey
2 tsp baking SODA
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
3 1/2 C unbleached flour
Beat all ingrediance together.Pour into two large oiled pans.bake 1hr 10 minutes at 350 deg. Makes 2 loaves.

for me its gettin near to punkinn dryin season, I buy a mess o' punkinn's after thanksgiving (theyre SUPER cheap then) and slice em into rings about 1/2" thick and hang em to dry, when bone dry, peel off the skin...
take a 'ring' and crush it up into your soup or stew, makes a good thickener and adds lotsa vitamins n good flavor too...
quik soup, 2 punkinn rings, 1/2 handful each of parched corn n dried peas, 'some' jerk, any wild greens you can scrounge, a bit of salt n maple sugar.. add water, boil till peas are edible... yumm...

Volat...here's a recipe for you.

Mexican Pumpkin Soup

3 cups chicken broth
1 cup whipping cream
2 cups cooked pureed pumpkin
3 TBPS dark brown sugar
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
3/4 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
Chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

Bring broth and whipping cream to a boil in a heavy pot. Stir in pumpkin, brown sugar, and the spices. Lower heat and simmer until soup thickens a little (about 15 mins). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with a little cheddar and cilantro on top.

I think I originally found this recipe in the Smoke and Fire news years ago. Very tasty and different.