This week we've had pumpkin granola, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin soup, pumpkin oatmeal, and yesterday afternoon I popped two loaves of pumpkin bread into the oven.
Remember last month, I bought about 6 (I'm not even sure any more, there have been just so many pumpkins in my kitchen) sugar pie pumpkins at the produce stand, to add to my 5 pumpkins from the garden. And then on Black Friday, making my usual Black Friday rounds, I picked up 10 sugar pie pumpkins, absolutely FREE! I have spent years cultivating my knowledge of all the Black Friday freebies. Our first stop is a multi-purpose store that offers free donuts, coffee and juice. Yes, please! We go, have our free breakfast and watch all the semi-sane people fill their carts with all kinds of stuff they may or may not really need. It's great entertainment! I also pick up socks for the family (always a half price deal on Black Friday at this store) and check around for any outstanding deals on items I've been looking for.
Then right across the street is a nursery/decor store that puts on a fabulous Christmas display each year. In order to transition over to Christmas, they have to unload all their autumn decor, which includes a bunch of squash, pumpkins and corn stalks. Black Friday is the day I cruise by to see if they have any pumpkins out for the taking. And again this year, they had a huge pile of sugar pie pumpkins with a big FREE sign. I took 10. That was about all I really wanted to have to deal with this year.
So, I've been cooking all these pumpkins up, two at a time. Then after baking, I put them in the fridge and the next day bake two more. This way I can run 4 pumpkins through my food processor at a time. Then only have to wash up the machine once for those four. I should be done with the pumpkins in another week. I have frozen several containers of pumpkin puree to use later in winter. I've also have been using it in our everyday meals, as another way to sneak in a vegetable. But the truth is, we love the flavor of pumpkin!
So, the other day I was making muffins when my son came in. He asked what flavor they were. I answered, "pumpkin! Is there any other flavor?" His reply, "well there's turkey." Don't know how well turkey muffins would go over. If I try them, I'll let you know.
