Baking a Pumpkin!! (Making Pumpkin Puree)

I was always afraid to bake my own pumpkin and I would usually always use Libby's Pumpkin from a CAN to make all of my pumpkin recipes like pumpkin pie, yum! But my massage therapist totally convinced me to make my own, she made it sound super easy so I decided to give it a go and it turned out perfect! It was so amazing and delicious, I can't wait for you guys to try it!



PUMPKIN PUREE!!!!

INGREDIENTS:
1 small cooking pumpkin (There are TWO different types of pumpkins the ones for jack-o-lanterns, which are BIG and not as sweet and small ones used for cooking that are sweet and tasty)

4 cups water

DIRECTIONS:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 deg C
2. Wash the pumpkin in luke warm water
3. Cut the stem off the pumpkin
4. Cut the pumpkin in half
5. Place the pumpkin face down on a cookie sheet (yes, seeds and all)
6. Place the cookie sheet in the oven and pour the water on the cookie sheet, my cookie sheet was large enough to hold the 4 cups, if you are using a smaller cookie sheet just make sure the water covers about an 5-10 cm of the pumpkin this will prevent the pumpkin from drying out.
7. Bake in the oven for 60-70 minutes or until it is soft enough for you to poke a fork into the pumpkin. **NOTE: The time may varying depending on the size of your pumpkin so just keep an eye on it.
8. Let cool for 5-10 mins.  The pumpkin will be very soft and tender, so I would recommend lifting it off the cookie sheet with a spatula to a plate or cutting board.
9. Scoop out all the seeds and fibrous material from each pumpkin half and throw away or place it in your compost :)
10. Scoop the flesh out of each pumpkin half.
11. You can now puree the pumpkin flesh in the food processor or if it is soft enough you can just mix it with a spoon and use it as is. 

PICS OF THE PROCESS:

Chop, chop, chop!



Adding the water, this was probably the trickiest part!

 

After an hour of baking.... notice the fork pricks!



Scooping out the seeds! It was so soft, the skin was pretty much just peeling off it!

Pumpkin Puree! Blend in the food processor or use as is!


Making my own puree was really fun! Even though it was so simple to do I felt so accomplished doing it, it's nice to be able to stay away from the canned stuff and make my own puree.  Don't get me wrong, the canned puree is SUPER convenient and I will probably keep using it from time to time but the taste of freshly made puree is so much more delicious it's definitely worth making it from time to time.