We love pumpkins this time of year, whether we are carving them into jack-o’-lanterns or mixing them with coffee for pumpkin lattes.
The pumpkins that we use for cooking are not the ones we choose for carving. Whether we use pumpkin from a can or cook a fresh one at home, winter squashes are the best for pies, soups, cakes, cookies and beverages. Jack-o’-lantern pumpkins have big smiles, but are stringy and tasteless.
Americans have enjoyed eating hard squashes for hundreds of years, so there are many to choose from at local farm markets. Squashes originated in the Americas, and have hard skins that allow them to keep for a long time without spoiling as long as they are kept in a cool, dry place. Popular varieties include butternut (a favorite for soup), buttercup, acorn, celebration, delicata, spaghetti, kobocha, turban and sweet dumpling.
All of the hard winter squashes contain vitamins A and C and some B vitamins, are a good source of fiber and have only 100 calories per cup. For Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners I bake acorn squash, then remove the pulp from the rind and mash it with a drizzle of maple syrup. It’s a vegetable I can make ahead of time and warm up just before serving, adding butter as it warms.
We can thank Native Americans for teaching settlers how to grow and cook winter squashes. Long before the Pilgrims came to this country, they were eating squashes and their highly nutritious seeds. They likely served it at the first Thanksgiving in 1621, but it wasn’t until the 1800s that pumpkin pie became a staple for the winter holidays.
Pumpkin is easy to cook with when pureed because it blends well into recipes such as this one for muffins from tasteofhome.com. Enjoy the pumpkin season.
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 cups sugar
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin
1 ½ cups cooking oil
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, pumpkin and oil until smooth. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt; gradually add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full.
2. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 to 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.
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