After a long, hot summer in a cold office basement, I am back to the place I love best. When my children were younger, they'd come in, slam the door, drop their books, and get a snack: in that exact order. And they'd call out, "I'm home." Now that half of them are gone, and drive a distance to return, "I'm home" means so much more. After spending the entire growing season in an office, I'm home. The garden was a wreck, but laboring to restore the vegetable and flower beds is the most meaningful thing I've done all season.
The water spigot here represents the font of life for my little acre. One hundred-plus degree days took their toll, reducing cantaloupes and pole beans alike to wilting masses. Cucumber beetles reigned the day. Not spending time in the garden every day allowed huge swaths of weeds to annex my strawberry and raspberry patches.
A couple breezy days of work have mended the garden; several rows of lettuce--Bibb, Iceberg, and Black Seeded Simpson--are coming along fine. The sugar pea pods are a few inches high, and the spinach has passed the cotyledon stage just in time for the rabbits to arrive. Yes, I am home.
It's been a long summer of defending my pumpkin patch against squash bugs. At last count it produced 27 Sugar Pie pumpkins and 3 of the larger Jack O'Lantern variety. If you've ever made a pumpkin pie from scratch, you can attest to the work involved. But finding the canned type gritty and over-oxidized, I've grown to accept the chore in exchange for a year round supply of scrumptious pumpkin.
The Sugar Pie pumpkins-- smaller, darker, thicker--each make about two of the best pies you've ever eaten and are very much worth the work. There are endless uses for pumpkin puree: bread or muffins, biscotti, mousse, custard, and my favorite, the Pumpkin Torte with cinnamon whipped cream layers.
I usually process 3-4 pumpkins at a time. First, cut the pumpkins in sections, removing the seeds and scraping the inside smooth. Use a serrated knife and large cutting board for this task and proceed with care. The Sugar Pie has thick, meaty walls and is not very stringy. Bake the sections in a large covered pan for about an hour, or until soft. Scoop the soft meat from the skin and process the cooled pumpkin in a food processor 2-3 cups at a time, adding a small amount of water if the pulp is too thick. Then use or freeze. Don't forget to save the seeds; some for next year's patch and the rest to oven roast for snacks.
Note: If you've added water or thawed your puree to find it separated, just place it in a strainer, lined with a coffee filter, until it becomes the consistency of thick pudding. The USDA does not recommend canning pumpkin, and freezing works well.
