Pumpkin Pies - But, First, the Pumpkin!

We had two good-sized pumpkins left after Halloween that we saved for Thanksgiving pies.  We cut them in half and, then, in eighths and cleaned them really good, scraping out the strings and seeds.  You can save the seeds, clean them, soak them in salt water and dry them for eating.  We didn't do that this year but we've enjoyed them in years past.

Here they are, all ready for the pot.

Some, I put in my big roaster and into the microwave for 25 minutes, covered.  

I had about one inch of water in the bottom of the pot.

 Most of the sections went into the oven, in three roasting pans, covered tightly with foil except for a little spout in the front, where I poured in about one half inch of water with my tea pot.

The ones in the oven took about 45 minutes at 350 degrees F., to become tender.  When you can pierce them effortlessly with a skewer, they're done.

They're very hot, so be carefull.

I lifted them out to a plate with a big plastic spider.

Scrape them along the ribs....

putting the scrapings in a big bowl.

Here's one section all cleaned out.

The pumpkin filled the bowl about half way up.....

and I used a hand-held blender to make the puree very smooth.  Fresh pumpkin can be a little grainy without the blending.

Out of the two pumpkins, I have enough puree for 15 pumpkin pies.  That should keep us through the winter, don't you think?

My favorite recipe is the one that's on the Libby's pumpkin can, which you can find HERE.

We share as much of our food as we can, this time of year. We know a family that likes and needs to have help this way, so they are the recipients of all we can find that is extra.

The Last of the Garden - Marinara Sauce

We're finally getting some really cold temperatures and I can't find anything else to pick, ripen, can or freeze.....except a few apples.

 The last tomatoes.....

 have ripened....

 and the last green and wax beans have been canned.

 We had a really nice garden this year that yielded all the beans, tomatoes, squash, and carrots we could use. I made some Marinara Sauce to can.  I cut up the tomatoes.....

and put them in a large stock pot over medium high heat with a cup or so of water in the bottom.

I used a head of fresh garlic.....

separated and peeled the cloves....

put them, one-by-one, in my handy-dandy crusher.....

like so....

and squeezed....and squeezed....

until they were all crushed....

nice and juicy.

I used the garlic with 2 T. sugar, 2 T. Italian Seasoning, 1/2 t. black pepper, 2 t. salt and 1/4 c. lemon juice in the recipe.

I covered the tomatoes until they started to cook, then.....

uncovered them and let them come.....

to a boil.  When they were all cooked a little and the juices were released, I put them through a machine to remove the skins and seeds (or you could use a ricer).  I mixed the salt, pepper, sugar and lemon juice with the sauce and put it back in the pot to reduce by about 1/3.  Then, I added the herbs and garlic and let it cook about 3 minutes, until the garlic was very fragrant.  I ladled it into clean pints and processed it 10 minutes in a boiling water bath.  Now I have some Marinara Sauce for my pantry.

In the hard times that might come this winter and in the future, you never know when you will need to rely on what's in the pantry.  Dried, canned or pouched foods are great, but canned fruits, vegetables and soups or stews are so little fuss when things are not quite ideal, weather-wise or money-wise.

Stay safe, sisters, and keep the home fires burning.  You are the center of the home universe!