Adventures in eating

 We acquired some pumpkins recently.  So far I haven't found anyone who wants them for their kids, so I decided to make a pumpkin pie out of one of the white ones.  Years ago I baked a pumpkin and used it for pies; it seemed like the pumpkin had too much water in it, so it was far more watery than canned pumpkin.    I wasn't doing much of anything today except fixing our dinner and washing dishes, so today's the day.  I figured it it's too "wet", it'll just be pumpkin pudding.  I did not make a crust.  I have a recipe for crustless pumpkin pie I used to use all the time, but the one I found online was somewhat different.  My original recipe called for some flour to be mixed into the filling so it would thicken up.  I wish I had used my old recipe.

I baked the pumpkin in the oven for about 50 minutes, then easily spooned it off the skin after it cooled.  Next, I put it through the food processor, which gets those rid of those little fibery strands and makes the puree smooth.  Here's what it looked like afterward:

Looks like applesauce, doesn't it?

And then, I went ahead and made the crustless pie, knowing it wouldn't be quite right, but also knowing Cliff and I will eat it.

Those holes had water perking up through the top while it was cooking.  As you can see, I got a spoon and tasted it:  Yep, pumpkin pudding.  But it's very good!  I did a search on the pumpkin being water-y and found you can add an extra egg to firm it up, or you can reduce the liquid by cooking it on the stove till it's the proper consistency.  I may try the latter, but if I do, I'll use either a double boiler or my heat diffuser so it doesn't stick.  Notice the little what-not above the pie... my mother-in-law, who died years ago, once went to Nashville with her two daughters, and she brought me that for a keepsake.   It says "from Loretta Lynn's kitchen", and came from a restaurant by that name.  I spend a lot of time in the kitchen, and I do use that souvenir to hold my messy spoons when I'm cooking; it makes me think of my mother-in-law.

I just went to take another bite; I'm telling you, it's delicious!  I might whip a little cream to put atop our pudding.  And yes, I'm going to try to reduce the moisture in the rest of the puree.  If that works, I may do one of those big orange pumpkins to put in the freezer.

Cliff had a doctor's appointment to take his annual physical this morning.  He's rather uncomfortable going to the doctor with Covid-19 going around; the numbers are really climbing in our county now.  I predict after this weekend it'll be above 500 cases since the beginning of the outbreak.  One kid in the Oak Grove school district was positive for Covid, but none in our small school so far, that I've heard.  I googled and found that so far, not one person has gotten Covid at a doctor's or dentist's office, although that was part of an article from August.  Cliff got his flu shot at the doctor's, then we went across the road to Walmart.  He stayed in the car reading his current book on his cell phone (Public Enemies, by Bryan Burrough).  He highly recommends it.  As I walked inside Walmart, there were two ladies giving flu shots, so now we've both had our flu shots.

I'll leave you with a photo of Blue the cat, who apparently intends to sail the high seas in his boat.  A friend of Arick's needed a place to store his boat, so it's out in the barn near where I feed the cats their dry food, and Blue has taken it over.  He naps there, but he woke up when I went to take a picture.  I'm sure a little cat hair will delight Arick's friend.

 

 

It's hilarious how cats think they can take over any territory they like.

Blue will lose his "jewels" next Tuesday.  I thought I could wait until he was eight months old to get that done, but Google tells me a male cat can be capable of impregnating a female cat at the age of four months!!!  If you don't neuter a tomcat, he'll end up dead meat in the middle of the road while searching for his next love interest.  Not to mention that stinking habit they have of spraying everything around them.

So long for now.  It's been a good day so far.  I hope you're having a good one also.

Sincerely,

Donna