How to bake pumpkin guts! Sexy Vegetarian Thursday.

Hello, lovelies!

Decorating for fall and celebrating Halloween may have left you with some smaller pumpkins around the house. You can quickly turn those fellows into delicious roasted seeds to snack on and yummy puree to use for baking. Imagine how delightful your holiday pumpkin pie will be when made with homemade puree!

For a flavorful puree, you'll want to use pie sized pumpkins. I used two small pumkins to make just over 3 cups of puree.

Carve a small circle around the stem and remove it. Cut the pumpkin in half, remove pulp and seeds (set seeds aside!), and slice pumpkin into roughly equal wedges.

Place pumpkin wedges on an ungreased baking sheet. You do not need to put anything on the pumpkin; this way, you will get the purest pumpkin puree possible (yay alliteration!).  Bake in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes until tender.

Remove the skin from the wedges.

 Cut pumpkin into smaller chunks and place in blender or food processor. You may need to add some water as you blend to smooth out the puree. I needed almost 1/4 cup of water. Add 1 tablespoon of water at a time.

 Blend and scrape down the sides until you have lovely, smooth puree.

 You can use the puree right away or freeze it for later use. I found it was easiest to turn down the sides of a freezer bag and sit it upright to scoop the puree into it. I filled 2 quart size bags.

 Carefully lay the bags flat and press out the air before sealing. Now they're nice and flat so you can stack them in your freezer! I labeled how much was in each bag and when the puree was made.

Don't waste those seeds! It's so easy to roast them for a healthy, fall snack.

Rinse the seeds well after removing most of the pulp.

 Let seeds dry overnight on a baking sheet.

 Drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper; mix seeds to distribute.

 Bake for an hour in a 250 degree oven.

Enjoy! Store in an airtight container.

Have fun baking your pumpkin guts, and enjoy the delicious smell of autumn that will fill your house.

Now the question is, what will you use your puree for?

Looking for other vegetarian meal ideas? Look at these past Sexy Vegetarian Thursday posts:

Week 1: summer tomato pasta
Week 2: onion potato frittata
Week 3: grown up grilled cheese
Week 4: feta potatoes patties
Week 5: creamy tomato feta penne
Week 6: chilaquiles
Week 7: vodka sauce ravioli
Week 8: lime stir fry
Week 9: lemon tofu sauce with rice
Week 10: leek, spinach, & blue cheese frittata
Week 11: stuffed twice-baked potatoes
Week 12: garbanzo bean spaghetti
Week 13: sweet and spicy black bean quesadillas
Week 14: baked Italian eggs
Week 15: chickpea curry
Week 16: tomato basil pasta sauce

Much love,

Danni

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