Pumpkins and the New Toy

Dear Liza,

For Christmas, Grandpa Nelson got me (among other things) a food processor. You know, a big machine that chops, slices, shreds…a big kitchen toy. He got it for me after seeing how easily Auntie Katie made Latkes for Hanukkah… it usually takes me all evening and I’m dead at the end. So he got inspired. So I did, too.

My first thought was, “What am I going to do with this?” I have monkeyed a bit with it, but today it really earned its keep.

Way back in October, we went to Sauvie Island, just north of Portland, and bought two pumpkins as Halloween decorations. We didn’t carve them, and they have stayed whole and firm all this time. Last month I cut and roasted the smaller one. But the bigger one (called a Super Freak) was going to take some more work. I tackled it today.

I cut it in half and roasted each half at 400 degrees for an hour. I let it cool, then cut it into slices and, as easy as cantaloupe, removed them from the rind.

Then each slice got a rough chop and put into the food processor. A few noisy moments later, I had a bag of puree…then two, and finally six! That’s quite a few pies, or side dishes, or custards, just waiting in the freezer.