Mom Is Teaching

Last year I made a real pumpkin pie. Not from a can, but from a real pumpkin. It was something that I hoped to do again this year, I even grew small sweet pumpkins in my garden lookig forward to those pumpkin pies. Unfortunately something got ahold of my poor little pumpkins and killed them off before I could save them. Still, eating a real pumpkin pie is something so delicious that everyone should try at least once. You will never be able to look at the canned stuff or another frozen store bought pie again.

To begin you will want to buy a pie pumpkin. They are smaller and sweeter than the pumpkins sold for Jack O’Lanterns at Halloween, generally only about 8 inches in diameter. Be sure when you are buying your pumpkin that you get one made for pies. Take your pumpkin and cut it in half down the center. This makes it easier to scoop out all of the seeds and the stringy mess that is inside. Be sure to save the seeds for roasted pumpkin seeds later!

Preheat your oven to 400*F. Place your pumpkin halves on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for an hour. You want the pumpkins to be soft and moist. Once baked, scrape the pumpkin from the skins into a blender. Puree until smooth. Now you are ready to make your pie.

• 1 medium sugar pumpkin (about 4-5 lbs)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp ginger
• 1/8 tsp cloves
• 1 can evaporated milk
• 2 eggs
• ½ tsp salt
• one 9 inch piecrust

Preheat oven to 425*F. Mix the spices and salt with pureed pumpkin. Add the eggs and then the evaporated milk. Stir until all of the ingredients are well blended. Pour the pumpkin pie filling into the crust. Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees. Then turn the oven down to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 40-45 minutes or until a knife inserted about 1 inch from the edge comes out clean. Serve with vanilla ice crean or whipped cream. Or even by itself!

And while you are enjoying a slice of that delicious, homemade pie here are some links you can browse through:

• History of the pumpkin pie
• History of the pumpkin
• Nutritional information on pumpkins
• How to grow pumpkins
• And, if you’re not a pumpkin pie lover how about a recipe for pumpkin chocolate chip cookies

recipes, pumpkin pie, pumpkins