GLORIOUS PUMPKINS YOU WILL LOVE THIS, recipes for muffins and soup! and leftovers!

P as in Pumpkin. Grow from a vine and are carved on Halloween. Pumpkin Cupcakes and instructions in “How to Skin a Pumpkin, or any hard type squash for that matter, without skinning yourself?”  In other words YOU CAN avoid an ER visit and YOU CAN avoid pain. 

 

3/4 cup butter, softened
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 (15 oz) can solid-pack pumpkin (in order to reduce recycling (I have to drive 3 miles to the local recycling, I suggest using whatever you have, for instance, this is October, and I have a pumpkin from my CSA, so entering a grocery store can be avoided!!!!!  Bake the pumpkin (about a 4 to 6 pound one), by putting it in the oven, after you have skewered it a half dozen times so it won’t explode, advice from Fran, then turn on the oven to 350 F, oh by the way I have a drip sheet that is ok to 500 F on the bottom tray, because I don’t like messes…oh lazy days of cooking…, then turn on a timer for an hour, while you get other stuff done, like go for a walk, talk to a friend, check out Facebook, etc., then when the time is up, take the pumpkin out….with oven gloves of course, put it on the table top to cool, or wait a day, don’t rush anything, so whenever you decide to make DELICIOUS PUMPKIN MUFFINS, cut the pumpkin in quarters, about 2 cups pureed per quarter, easily peel off the skin (easy because you baked it), take out the seeds so you can roast them when you bake the muffins, great decorations, cut the pumpkin into chunks, then pulverize them in a food processor until they are a puree, I simply put them in my 20 dollar Ninja processor and pulsed away, the chunks are kind of al dente, that’s ok because the result is INCREDIBLE, you need 15 ounces, well that’s 2 cups in my book)
2 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk (ok so who buys buttermilk and keeps it on hand for the right time?  All you have to do is take a cup of 2% milk and add a Tbsp of lime juice or lemon or a tsp of vinegar=instant buttermilk, mmmmmmm)

For the frosting:
8 oz cream cheese, softened (so you’re going to make these the day after you went grocery shopping, just don’t put it in the frig, there you have it, “softenend”, do the same with the 2 sticks of butter)
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp good maple syrup
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Preaheat oven to 350. Line 2 cupcake tins with paper liners and set aside.

In a medium bowl combine flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk (whatever, a fork is ok if you can’t find the “whisk”) to combine.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (I really don’t have one of these either, just make sure you stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl a few times, same difference)  , cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and add eggs, one at a time, combining well after each addition. Add pumpkin and vanilla and mix to combine.

With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing just until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl (actually you have to do this a few times or the butter and cream cheese and sugar will blob up on the bottom of the bowl) and mix for 15 seconds longer.

Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 20-22 minutes (I don’t know about you, but with REAL pumpkin moistness, this took twice the time to bake ‘til brown and until when you pressed your finger in the top it bounced bake, in case, like me, you keep forgetting where the toothpicks were “conveniently” stored), or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

For the frosting, cream the butter and cream cheese in a stand mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add the sugar until incorporated. Then add the cinnamon, vanilla, (secret ingredient=almond flavoring half the amount of the vanilla), and maple syrup. Mix for 10 seconds, until evenly combined. Frost cupcakes as desired.

DECORATE WITH PEPITAS (roasted pumpkin seeds you put in the oven on a parchment baking paper, until BROWN).

TESTED OCT. 20, 2013, FARGO, by my great coworkers.

PUMPKIN SOUP (LACTOSE FREE)

Caramelize an onion, first sauté with butter a Tbsp and 2 Tbsp brown sugar after about 20 minutes

Chunk up a quarter of the pumpkin, 2 cups or 15 ounces, you know how.

Bake pumpkin seeds (350 F until browned, see above)

Add 1 Tbsp cinnamon

10 flakes of Red Pepper

Coarsely ground salt and pepper to taste

3 cups coconut milk (stores forever before opening, won’t curdle, better than water, I like the carton not the can so it is “waterier”)

TURN ON CROCK POT TO HIGH

After it is close to boiling, turn to low and cook 6 to 10 hours (whatever is your work day, mine is about 12 hours, so I have to cross my fingers). 

Use immersion blender so you don’t burn yourself. 

Decorate a lovely pumpkin soup with pepitas, mmmmm. 

GUESS WHAT!  YOU STILL HAVE ½ A PUMPKIN WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?

You’re tired of it, want it for later, dehydrate or freeze and use later, or deep fry it as you would a sweet potato and have it for snacks!!!