Happy Halloween

Three Cheers to pumpkin pie, ok, maybe only two then you are bored with it. I suppose the most obvious usages of this wonderful fall squash revolve around toasted pumpkin seeds and a pumpkins soup. I will do my best to stay away from those two ideas while coughing up a few more unique ideas. I’ve made a baked pumpkin and rice custard, where I used pumpkin puree, a few egg yolks, and cooked rice, all mixed up and baked for 20 minutes, it turned out rather well when I spread some toasted nuts over top. I have made a special risotto over the past few years where I shred some pumpkin and cook it right with the arborio rice to make Pumpkin Risotto, I use apple cider as the cooking liquid so it’s a vegetarian option until the butter and cheese at the end, oh you devil. You can cook down your pumpkin just like you are making apple butter, over very slow heat, until the liquid is almost all gone, then add some sweetener and save that for your bagel. It will never get as tight as apple butter without pectin, or try adding a few apples in, I’ve not tied that yet. Well, I wasn’t about to tackle chocolate, so here is my ode to Halloween.