Gourd gracious!

If you think the title of this post sounds like a cheesy newspaper headline ... well, I get paid to think up cheesy newspaper headlines, so nyah.

I never got around to carving my Halloween pumpkin, so it has sat on the porch for several weeks as a more general "harvest" symbol. Its physical as well as symbolic longevity was improved by remaining intact, it seems, for it was still hale and hearty when I took it in this afternoon. Inspired by stories of Indians who would fill pumpkins with milk and spices and then roast them, I decided that I, too, would make something of my curcurbit.

So I cut it up into bits and stuck it in the oven at 375. When it's done, I'll puree it and ... I'm not sure what. Maybe I'll make cookies, or possibly muffins. Perhaps both; I think I'll wind up with quite a bit of pumpkin puree. After putting the pumpkin in the oven, I went to the store to pick up some ingredients that might go well with such things (chocolate chips, dried cranberries, apples, etc.), so I have several options. There's something appealing about making pumpkin apple walnut muffins. (Apples, "a-peel-ing"? Oh, dear - pun ABSOLUTELY not intended.) Anyway, if you have suggestions (requests?), do let me know.