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| Thursday, October 29, 2009 |
| Turn Your Jack-O-Lantern into Healthy Food |
I love pumpkin! Maybe it has something to do with the fact that it’s orange. Or maybe it’s because the first nutrition book I read informed me that vitamin A is made of carotene which is an orange pigment that can easily be hidden under the green pigment chlorophyll and all that good stuff was good for my skin too. Orange has always looked good on me. Mind you, I have about 20 orange tops and 10 different pairs of orange shoes! More than that, today I have on an orange top and orange paint on my knee. Yesterday I was painting an orange background for the African giraffes. Even more than that, when I first walked into Sensei’s office to interview for this position, to my surprise the whole office was painted orange. If that wasn’t a sign, I don’t know what was.
But besides all my “orange” stories, we all know that we have to eat a colorful diet and fall is full of wonderful edible (and not so edible) colors. For years I have been making pumpkin soup, pumpkin muffins and pumpkin jam. Since I lived in St-Lucia, I also added mashed pumpkin to my repertoire. If I had to choose my favorite of all pumpkin dishes it would have to be the pumpkin jam. I don’t really have a recipe because it is so easy and like the soup, I just eyeball it as it depends on the actual amount of pumpkin used. Of course, I could use the canned pumpkin, but it’s the season and I just “have” to cook a pumpkin. So keep your Jack-O-Lantern and transform it into healthy dishes.
Always keep in mind that baking is an exact science but cooking is not. So use what you have available, use more of less of anything, and make it personal by adjusting according to your personal taste and preferences.
How to cook pumpkin?
The easiest and safest way to collect the pumpkin flesh is not to peel it. It is so difficult and risky to peel and chop fresh pumpkin. Save yourself time and effort by baking it first. CAREFULLY cut the pumpkin in half or quarters depending on the size. Remove the seeds and stringy parts, spray the inside with non-stick cooking spray and set on a baking sheet skin down. Cook on the lower rack of a 375 °F oven for about an hour or until the flesh is soft when testing with a knife. I prefer cooking it skin down as some of its liquid evaporates and creates a denser texture. When the flesh is soft, simply scoop out the insides and transfer into a large sauce pan and get cooking.
Pumpkin Soup
Again, the amounts will vary depending on how much cooked pumpkin you have and if you want to make a big pot of soup and freeze some extra or if you want to keep some cooked pumpkin for another recipe. If you don’t have time to make the soup now, simply freeze the cooked flesh for later use. But please don’t throw away the pumpkin…it’s food.
Ingredients
4-6 cups of vegetable or chicken broth
4-6 cups of cooked pumpkin flesh
2 leeks or 1 medium onion, chopped
2-4 garlic cloves
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional: 2-4 celery stalks, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 potato, diced
1 Tbsp yellow curry powder
Pinch of nutmeg
Fresh thyme or parsley
1 cup milk
Put all ingredients in a large sauce pan and cook for about 30-40 minutes over medium-low heat or until vegetables are tender. Add curry powder, salt and pepper to taste. Use a hand-held blender and purée the soup. You may also use a blender or food processor and purée in small batches. Stir puréed soup, taste and adjust seasonings. You may add milk at this point for a nice creamy look and taste.
Pumpkin Jam
If you want to make pumpkin jam, simply put some of the cooked pumpkin flesh into a medium sauce pan over low heat with about a third of the pumpkin amount of sugar. For example, if you use 4 cups of cooked pumpkin add 1 1/3 cups of sugar and let simmer until the natural juice evaporates and jam starts forming. Mash with a potato masher. You may add some extra flavor using lemon or orange zest, grated ginger, pumpkin pie spices, cinnamon or even rose water. Taste and see if it needs more sugar. Most jam recipes recommend the same amount of fruit and sugar. I don’t believe this is necessary so I suggest a third as the cooked pumpkin flesh will concentrate and so will the sugar. You will probably need to add a little more sugar, but it’s better to add then to fix an over sweet jam. Also, consider that when the jam is cold it will not taste as sweet as when it’s warm.
The final product should be a jam that doesn’t accumulate water or liquid when the heat is turned off. If there is still liquid, then it needs to cook longer to evaporate the liquids. Keep the cooked jam in an airtight container in the fridge. My favorite way to eat it is on a pumpkin muffin sliced open, smothered with cream cheese (or the “Better than cream cheese” soy substitute) and then topped with jam. For those nostalgic of afternoon tea in England, put it on a scone smothered with Devonshire clotted cream and that should do the trick.
Like I said, cooking is not an exact science. So play with your food, find different ways to prepare them and amaze yourself. It’s all a wonderful learning experience. You become a good cook by modifying recipes, not copying them.
Have fun!
- Josée
Labels: healthy eating, Healthy Recipes, holiday ideas, Josee
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posted by My Sensei @ Thursday, October 29, 2009   |
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