Garden Harvest: Pumpkins

Every year for at least the past four years, I have tried my very best to grow pumpkins. Some years I got none at all, and then others I have gotten a couple but not many. I have had the most success with mini decoration pumpkins. However, this year I finally grew a perfect pumpkin!

I grew a long island cheese pumpkin. There are still others growing currently, but I was excited to pick the pumpkin as soon as it was ready!

My child was so excited about the pumpkin that the very first request was for us to make a pie. We cut up the pumpkin, removed, washed and dried the seeds for later roasting. Then we baked the pumpkin cover in tinfoil for 2 hours at 350º. This helped soften the pumpkin for the puree needed for the pie.

We waited 15 minutes to blend the pumpkin in the blender after it was pulled out of the oven. We let in cool in the jars. We actually filled about 8 jars. So, 4 went into the freezer to be stored until we are ready to use them. We roasted the seeds for a snack and gave the loose insides of the pumpkin to the chickens and dogs.

I had my husband make whipped cream early on in the process so it would be nice and cold when it was time for pie.

I used our blender to make the pie crust because it is super easy that way. Then I refrigerated it for about an hour. I used half of the dough for the pie and then saved the other half in the freezer for future use.

This pie tasted super yummy and was made even better by the fact that I grew it. Nothing is more exciting than harvesting and using fresh produce right away!