Grandma Ganyard is here visiting and says this is the easiest way to cook that pumpkin!

1. Take one well scrubbed pumpkin and cut deep slits (about 6-8) around the top of the pumpkin.

2. Sit pumpkin on saran wrap and pull it around to the top like a sack.

3. Microwave until soft.  Let cool, and then remove seeds and skin.

4. Put pulp in food processor and pulse until smooth.

Pumpkin seeds can be roasted and make a fun snack. Separate the fiber from the pumpkin seed and place the seeds in a colander and rinse thoroughly with water.

Place the seeds in a saucepan and cover with salted water using 1/4 cup salt to 2 quarts water. Bring the seeds to a boil and simmer about 2 hours. Drain the seeds and dry them on absorbent paper.

To roast, place seeds in a shallow pan in a 300 degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown. Stir occasionally.

Remove the seeds from the oven and add one teaspoon of melted butter or margarine to each cup of seeds. Salt to taste. When cool, store in an airtight container. If they will be stored longer than 10 to 14 days, place in the freezer.

Salt may be omitted in the cooking water and other seasonings can be used. Simply sprinkle the cooked, drained seeds with onion or garlic salt before roasting.

Hulled seeds may be mixed with vegetable oil (two teaspoons oil to each cup of seeds) and seasonings and then roasted. Place in a 300 degree oven for five to ten minutes.

Pumpkin Puree

Making your own puree is really an easy task. It is surprising that more people do not do this. If you have ever made fresh squash from a butternut, hubbard or other squash, you can follow the same process.

Here is our recommendation for making pumpkin puree(or pulp as some call it):

1. Select a ripe and firm medium pumpkin. Larger pumpkins can be used, but they begin to take on a grainy texture the larger they get.
2. Cut open the pumpkin and remove the seeds and fibrous strings.(We call them pumpkin brains)
3. Cut the pumpkin into four to eight pieces.
4. Line a large baking pan aluminum foil. This will minimize the cleanup task.
5. Place the pumpkin pieces onto the baking pan.
6. Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for one to 1 1/2 hours, or until pulp is soft.
7. Remove the pulp from the rind with a spoon and discard the rind.
8. Blend the pulp until smooth using a blender, food processor or mixer.
9. To create a really thick puree, put the pulp into a cheesecloth and squeeze out excess water.

Make and use fresh puree whenever possible for the best taste and freshness. Leftover puree can be frozen for a short period of time. Canning of pumpkin puree is not recommended by the USDA.

BUTTERSCOTCH HAYSTACKS

These are easy, fun, and oh-so-sweet for children to make!

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 2 minutes

Cool Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

11 oz package Nestle Toll-house Butterscotch Morsels

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1 can (8.5 oz.) or 2 cans (5 oz.) chow mein noodles

3 1/2 cups miniature mashmallows

DIRECTIONS:

Line trays with wax paper.

In microwave safe bowl, melt butterscotch morsels on medium-high (power level 7) for 1 minute.  STIR WELL. If morsels are not completely melted, continue microwaving on medium-high for 10 second intervals followed by stirring, until melted.

Stir in peanut butter until well blended.  Stir in noodles and marshmallows until coated thoroughly. Drop by rounded Tablespoons onto tray. Cool in refrigerator until hardened – approximately 30 minutes.

HAVE FUN AND ENJOY!!

We love to share our recipes with you!  And we invite you to send us your favorite recipes for posting — especially pumpkin recipes!  We’ll aware free tickets to the farm to the best pumpkin recipe submitted this fall!

As for chicken recipes…we want to make it abundantly clear that NONE of the Ganyard Hill Farm chicks are used in testing (or tasting!) any of the recipes in this category.

Origionally published in Bon Appétit in November 1995

From www.AllRecipes.com

(A favorite of our WebDiva’s!)

Flan is an elegant, incredibly delicious dessert that is fairly easy to put together. If you have no experience with the hot-water-bath cooking method, be sure to read the instructions carefully so that you have a complete understanding of the process. It isn’t rocket science, but it’s better to know what to do in advance than try to figure it out as you go.

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 5 eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup pumpkin pure (canned or fresh cooked)
• 1-1/2 cups whole milk

First, make a hot water bath for the flan by setting a 9-inch cake pan in a larger pan (like a roasting or broiler pan). Hold down the cake pan so it won’t float, and add enough hot water to the larger pan to come three-quarters of the way up the outside of the cake pan. Then remove the cake pan and put the larger pan of water in a preheating 350°F oven while you mix the flan.Melt the 1/3 cup sugar directly in the cake pan the flan will be baked in. To melt evenly, hold the pan securely (wear a good oven mitt or use tongs) over or just resting on a burner. Shake and tilt the pan, rather than stirring the sugar. Watch carefully. Once melted, the sugar will caramelize and begin to brown quickly. As soon as it turns golden brown, tilt the pan so that the entire surface is covered. Remove from heat. The caramel will harden and crack, but that’s okay.

Beat together the eggs and the 3/4 cup sugar. Add the salt, water, cinnamon, vanilla, pumpkin and milk. Set the caramel-lined pan in the middle of the hot water pan in the oven. Carefully pour the egg mixture into the cake pan. Bake for 25 minutes. Test doneness by gently pushing custard in center with back of a spoon — when done a crevice about 3/8 inch deep will form.

Carefully remove the flan from the hot water and chill at once. (As the flan cools, the caramel dissolves.) When cold, loosen custard edge with a knife, then cover pan with a rimmed serving plate. Holding plate in place, quickly invert. The flan will slowly slip free and the caramel sauce flow out. To serve, cut in wedges, spoon on sauce. Makes about 8 servings.
From www.TexasCooking.com

1 medium sized pumpkin from Ganyard Hill Farm (cooked, seeds removed, smushed nicely)
1 box chicken broth (not cooked from one of our farm chicks!)
curry powder

Slowly blend broth into pumpkin in a saucepan.  Simmer on low until thoroughly heated.  Add curry powder to taste.  Yummy and different (says Henny Penny!).