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Autumn Harvest Blog Hop – Yes, I Murder My Pumpkin

Katherine Kingston Posted on by

I’m taking part in the Autumn Harvest Blog Hop!

For more information on the hop, including the other authors participating, click here.

For years now, I’ve recycled my Halloween pumpkins into pumpkin bread, muffins, and cookies.  When my kids were younger I had to be sneaky about it. It upset them to see Mom carve up that jack o’lantern into pieces with the largest carving knife I had.

They soon learned to appreciate the results, however.  There’s just something special about pumpkin bread made from real pumpkin—the one that sat on the front porch a few days ago, particularly.

It’s not hard to turn the pumpkin into a mash that works great for baking.

The day after Halloween I bring in the pumpkin, rinse it off in the sink, then cut it into pieces, either four or eight, depending on the size.  I put the pieces skin-side down on a foil-lined pan and put them in a hot (450 degree) oven for about an hour or however long it takes for them to get soft enough that you can insert a fork with no trouble.  You’ll usually see little puddles of liquid pooling the pieces when they’re ready.

I take out the pan, let it cool off, then slice off the top layer and the crispy edges.  Slice the meat off the hard rind, discard the rind and crisp edges. Put the meat into a blender and mash it for a few seconds, as long as it takes to get fairly smooth.  I measure it into one and two cup containers and store in refrigerator or freezer until I’m ready to use it.  It freezes nicely and can be used for several months.

Here’s my favorite recipe for pumpkin bread:

Pumpkin Bread

3 cups self-rising flour (or 3 cup plain flour + 4-5 tsp. baking powder and 1 tsp. salt)
3 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups cooked, mashed pumpkin
1 cup melted butter

Sift dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
Form a well in the center and eggs, pumpkin, and butter.
Stir until moistened.
Pour into 2 well-greased loaf pans.
Bake at 350 degrees, 45 – 50 minutes.

What’s your favorite fall food?

Since this post is part of Carrie Ann’s Autumn Harvest Blog Hop, I’ll choose a winner from among the commenters here, who’ll receive their choice of one of my books, plus a few other goodies.

Comments

Autumn Harvest Blog Hop – Yes, I Murder My Pumpkin — 40 Comments

    • Yum! I love pumpkin pies too. I prefer real whipped cream when I can get it, but it’s a lot of trouble.

  4. I don’t have favorite but I love anything with zucchini, pumpkins, cranberries, apples, I really love making food in autumn 🙂
    swordlily_girl[at]yahoo[dot]com

  5. Thanks for the giveaway!! Super excited for this bloghop.
    I love the autumn!! I love every kind of food during the fall, from pies to turkey, corn, potatoes, apples, etc…They’re all delish.

    kp_kazamei(at)yahoo(dot)com

  6. The best thing about autumn is . . .apples! I love them and all the things they are in, applesauce, apple pie, apple fritters! YUM!

    susanmplatt AT hotmail DOT com

    ps> Had to just say that I LOVE your books!

  7. Autumn is my favorite season! I like all the beautiful colors outside and the weather is not that hot anymore but not freezing cold either. It’s just perfect! Thank you for the giveaway!

    verusbognar (at) gmail (dot) com

  8. I love pumpkin pie , I can eat it morning, noon and night

    vampiremistress2010(at)gmail(dot)com

  9. My favorite is between Pumpkin Pie and my Mom’s dressing.
    Thanks for the giveaway
    crystaley73 at yahoo dot com

  13. I love reading about things that go bump in the night (with a touch of romance) this time of year. thanks for the fun!

    zenfoxflowerATyahooDOTcom

  14. I adore autumn because of the amazing colors, bundling up in sweaters, Halloween and my birthday! Autumn also means cuddling up with a good book and a cup of cocoa!

    grapeapril75(at)gmail(dot)com

    I love the hops cause of all the awesome new books I find to add to my to read list!

    Love the recipe! My fav fall food is a tie between candied yams and pumpkin roll!

  18. I love chili in the fall, and its actually Graf with pumpkin bread, which I also love. Thank you for the recipe, and for participating in the blog hop!
    brendurbanist at gmail dot com

  19. Apple crisp. In the fall my mom used to make apple dumplings from scratch. They were so good. I never had the time to master that recipe. Maybe I should learn before the 2 of us get much older.

  20. I would have to say pumpkin pie. I still haven’t tried making one from fresh pumpkin.
    bituin76 (at) hotmail (dot) com

  21. Fall means pie to me. Apple pie, pumpkin pie, pecan pie…all sorts of yummy things stuffed into a piecrust. And I agree, fresh pumpkin makes such a difference!

    dancingcelt at gmail dot com

  25. My favorite thing about Autumn/Fall is the changing color of the leaves. They are so pretty. My least favorite thing is raking up those pretty leaves. LOL I love to curl up by the fire and read a hot romance book on a cold fall evening. Thanks for being part of the hop and for the chance to win.
    reneebennett35 (at) yahoo (dot) com

  26. Apple cider donuts – and at the farm near us, you can buy them freshly made and warm 🙂 Thanks for being in the hop!

    jochibi AT yahoo DOT com

  27. Apple pie or pumpkin bars! Great recipe!
    I love the fall because of the football games and tailgating! And of course having a campfire with roasted hotdogs! Thanks for the chance to win a great giveaway!
    kacidesignsATyahooDOTcom

    kacidesigns@yahoo.com

  31. Yippee I got two recipes to try out for pumpkin bread…

    Thanks for sharing

    BeckeywhiteATgmailDOTcom

  32. I love Autumn for the leaves. I read lots of books as it gets colder.

    smurfettev AT gmail DOT com

  33. Thanks for joining in the hop. It was great to be introduced to your work.
    My favorite part about autumn is that the cool weather gives me the perfect excuse to keep my oven full of yummy deliciousness that I really can’t do during two of the three other seasons. I love the feeling of being able to have yummy stuff baking while I nestle in with a good read.
    planterofhope(at)aol(dot)com

  36. My favorite fall food is Pumpkin Pie! It is just delicious! Though that Pumpkin Bread sounds yummy too. 😉
    I will have to try it.
    Thank you for sharing and also for the giveaway.
    trb0917 at gmail.com

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