Pumpkins!

Pumpkins and fall are forever intertwined.  We had fun with some pie pumpkins this week.

(Poor pumpkin. What a way to go.)

When I found pie pumpkins on sale for $1 each, I was inspired to try preserving some for the winter.  I've done this before, but have been less than pleased with the results.  This time worked much better.

I made sure to get out all the insides.  That was my biggest mistake when I last roasted pumpkins.  Those stringy bits never go away.  Ick.  The extra time scraping is worth it in the end
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Turn them upside down, add some water, and pop them in the oven at 350 degrees for about an hour.

Don't judge my dirty oven.  Feel free to clean it, though.

 

 

Here they are, all soft, roasted and smelling wonderful:

Once they cooled, I scraped out the flesh into a strainer and got out as much extra liquid as I could.  Thankfully these pumpkins didn't have too much liquid to strain out.  Some blending with my stick blender finished the job.  No strings here!

Now the puree is ready for the freezer.  I measured it out into 1 1/2 cup portions, trying to get close to the amount in a small can of pumpkin.

I ended up with 7 1/3 cups of puree from 3 pie pumpkins.  Not bad for $3.

Sandwich size Ziploc bags work great for the cooled puree.  The bags mash flat and fit nicely in the freezer.

And all this is left:

Next we'll fix yummy roasted pumpkin seeds!