Cooking with pumpkin

There’s a hint of fall in the air, and my thoughts turn to pumpkin. I’m not into pumpkin-flavored coffee or candles that smell like pumpkin pie, but I like both sweet and savory dishes made with this versatile winter squash.

I bought a magazine with pumpkin recipes at the grocery store and found another pumpkin cookbook at the library. So many tasty dishes to choose from! Some of the recipes call for canned pumpkin and some for fresh. I really hadn’t thought about using canned pumpkin for savory dishes, but it’s used commonly in soup, stew and pasta.

After careful study, I narrowed my list to the following:

  • Pumpkin and Italian Sausage Soup
  • Pumpkin and Beef Stew
  • Kale and Pumpkin Soup
  • Lentil Pumpkin Soup with Spinach and Smoked Sausage

I bought a cooking pumpkin at the farmer’s market, so that was sort of my turning point. I wanted to make something with big chunks of fresh pumpkin and went with Pumpkin and Beef Stew.

The recipe is also an opportunity to use the Instant Pot as a slow cooker, something I’ve been eager to try.

Anyway, the stew is cooking now. I started it early so if the slow cooker doesn’t work to my satisfaction, I have time to finish it on the cooktop. I made a fresh loaf of sourdough to go with.

I had some leftover beef but not enough to save for anything special, so I decided to cut it in chunks, brown it and then freeze it for stock later. It’s in the pan cooling now, and Dale walked upstairs and said he’ll just have that. I asked if he had a bite and he said, “Oh yes. Several.”

Nothing like little nibbles of hard-seared meat.

I like the recipes in the cookbook from the library, but I refuse to buy another cookbook! I think I’ll photocopy those that appeal to me the most.

Other recipes I want to try include Pumpkin Fudge, Wild Mushroom Pumpkin Risotto, Cheddar-Pumpkin Tart and White Bean, Chicken and Pumpkin Chili. I suppose we run the risk of getting pumpkined-out, but I’m willing to take a chance.  

Yesterday, I was talking with my golf buddies about what we’ve been cooking. It seems like a happy and politically neutral topic to me. They’re both men who don’t cook, so I probably need to find new material. One guy said, “I can’t believe you’re not as big as a house.”

I said, well, some of it is genetics, I guess, but a lot of it boils down to the choices we make. We both exercise and are careful with portion control. We haven’t eaten fast food in 15 years or so. Haven’t had a soda for at least that long. We eat almost exclusively at home and make most things from scratch. I can’t remember the last time I had a store-bought cookie.

They both looked at me like I was nuts. And so it goes. Another feeble attempt at being social. I believe I’ll go back to, “Nice putt.”

12 thoughts on “Cooking with pumpkin”

    1. 😄
      I’m with you on not buying anymore cookbooks. However, I sometimes have trouble finding recipes that I copy and can remember the cookbooks with favorite recipes. But then again you can usually find most recipes by googling.

  2. I very recently found out that the InstaPot makes for a crappy slowcooker. You have to put it on the highest heat setting and it still is not equivalent to a standard crockpot. After my near cooking failure I googled it and there are many search results that confirm this.

    1. I read in my Instant Pot Indian cookbook that you had to slow cook at high in the IP to get something close to the same effect as a Crock Pot. My stew came out great, but I would still be cautious if I decided to use that feature again. I might look into converting slow cooker recipes for the pressure cooker.

  3. I’m inspired by your pumpkin recipe endeavour and look forward to reading more details — and seeing photos!
    Most of all, I’m inspired by your healthy eating habits. When my youngest son was in daycare the teacher made cookies with them one day. He came home with his eyes as wide as saucers and said, “Did you know you can make cookies in the oven?!” Totally busted! 😀

    1. That’s funny. I suppose we aren’t the healthiest eaters — way to much cheese and a fair share of sugary treats for me. And we love our carbs. However, I think we get away with it because we mostly make it ourselves and don’t indulge in fast food, processed food, etc.

  4. Yes to pumpkin and all things winter squash! I recently saved a recipe for pumpkin butter – something I have never had but sounds kinda interesting. Have you ever made/eaten pumpkin butter, Donna?

    Deb

    1. Both the magazine and the cookbook have recipes for pumpkin butter. I’m not sure I’ve had it, but it sounds good. I can’t quite see it on toast, but I could imagine it on a biscuit or a bagel.

  5. I wonder if your golf partners have someone else cooking them meal as which are as tasty as yours?

    I am always amazed to hear of someone not liking to cook.It’s a pleasure for me.Of course there are days I need it to be simple, and I plan “leftovers” to give me some breaks from the stove, but overall, I just don’t LIKE the food in most restaurants, the noise, and especially, the COST.I am partial to my own cooking, always have been. And my time cooking is “my time”—i really don’t like people to “help me” in the kitchen.

    Cookbooks: I whittled down my collection when we downsized but I have to stop myself from adding to it all the time,again!! LIBRARY!!

    1. My one golf buddy is 85 and said neither he nor his wife like to cook. They do take-out most of the time. I’m with you — we are spoiled by our home cooking.

      Our library is small but has a great section with tons of cookbooks. Very fun.

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