Pumpkin

I recently became slightly distressed that it is only the very beginning of November and I am down to only a few cans of pumpkin. I had my mom and mother-in-law bring me some on their recent visits here, but my supply has been dwindling since I love to bake...

Anyway, it wasn't until I was talking to my new friend this past weekend that my hopes began to perk up. She is an American who has been living in England for the past 3 years and she knows the tricks of the trade. I guess I should say that it is possible to get pumpkin here, but it is close to £4 a can which in my opinion is a little too pricey. And only one place in town carries it and once the shipment comes in, it is gone because there are so many Americans living here. So she suggested that I make my own. I was thinking, well I am no Martha Stewart and that probably would be way too big of a mess for me.

But today I was bored so I decided to give it a try and I might never buy another can of pumpkin ever again. It was so easy and you get a LOT of pumpkin puree from one pumpkin. In case you too would like to be adventurous, here are the steps to take:

1. Cut the pumpkin in half and stick a half in the microwave for 10-15 minutes. You might want to cover it if you don't like things splattering.

2. The flesh should now be really mushy. If it isn't, then pop it back in the microwave. If it is then you can start scraping it out into a bowl.

3. Now, grab your blender and blend for maybe 15 seconds.

4. Voila! You now have LOTS of pureed pumpkin and you can make lots of pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, or pumpkin whatever.

I have even heard that you can freeze it which is awesome because if you are craving pumpkin bread in April, then you can have it.

Can you even believe how easy that is??

*You can also avoid the microwave if you prefer using the oven. Just bake the pumpkin for 1 hour at 325 degrees and you should have the same outcome.