Pumpkin Soufflé or Winter Squash Soufflé

Brilliant Use of Leftover Pumpkin

Recipe from The Classic Zucchini Cookbook

For the past year I’ve been obsessed with soufflés. After the classic cheese soufflé, the golden delicious apple soufflé, and my recently posted acorn squash soufflé, I have one more recipe to explore, this time with leftover Winter Luxury pumpkin from Argentine beef stew in a pumpkin, pureed and frozen.  Any kind of cooked, pureed winter squash, or even canned pumpkin, will suit the recipe. It’s that late winter/early spring time of year, when I’m using up the rest of the winter squashes from last year’s farmers’ markets. Alas, I’m recycling the same old soup and baked squash recipes. This recipe can the antidote to baked squash ennui.

Moroccan Pumpkin Soup

Leeks on Top for Color Contrast

Recipe from Dan Musicant’s sister

Looking for creative uses for leftover pumpkin from the delightful Argentinian beef stew in a pumpkin recipe, I came across a recipe I printed out way back in 2011 when I first started this blog. I’ve already blogged a more elaborate Moroccan Butternut Soup as well as a Savory Roasted Pumpkin Soup and a Chunky Ginger Pumpkin Soup, but the addition of allspice makes this recipe unique. So I adapted it for the amount of leftover pumpkin that I had, and added some extra chickpeas, since my husband isn't a fan of super-smooth soups. I also chose to serve the sautéed leeks on top, instead of pureeing them with the pumpkin and spices, for variety of taste and texture.

Chilean Pumpkin or Winter Squash Casserole

Oldie But Goodie Vegetarian

Recipe from Moosewood Cookbook

Way back in 1974, Mollie Katzen hand-wrote, illustrated, and published the first Moosewood Cookbook, with recipes she and other Moosewood Restaurant cooks dreamed up. It became an instant classic for creating satisfying vegetarian meals. Both the restaurant and cookbook have survived the intervening 40-plus years. Many new revised editions have been published, but this recipe, from my original handwritten edition, is delightfully old-school. It's a tasty way to use up leftover pumpkin, either from autumnal displays or from a recipe like Argentinian Beef Stew in a Pumpkin.

Carbonada en Zapallo: Argentinian Beef Stew in a Pumpkin

Pumpkin and Beef Stew: A Delightful Combination

Adapted from an old Pumpkinnook.com Recipe

What is in an Argentinian beef stew? First, top quality beef: grass fed, organic, and humanely raised. Next, bell peppers, corn, sweet potato, and a sweet stone fruit. Add some typical US ingredients: onion, garlic, potatoes, and tomatoes. This masterpiece of flavors is stuffed inside a pumpkin and baked to perfection. It’s served by scooping out the stew along with some pumpkin. This is a wonderfully festive meal for a family gathering, or what my buddy Jon the Baker calls Friendsgiving celebrations.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins

Perfect for Potlucks

Recipe from Melinda

My colleague Melinda brings the most exquisite treats to share with us at the library. Her recent muffins disappeared in record time, being an unusual combination of seasonal pumpkin, spices, and chocolate. I scaled her recipe down to mini muffins, which were a big hit at game night. Their small size works well for holiday potlucks and parties for the same reason—when there’s ample food, just a small muffin (or two) will suffice. Also, the small size makes them easy finger foods for cocktail parties, crowded events, and gaming tables. These muffins are not too sweet, so chocolate and spice take center stage.

Pumpkin Flan (Flan de Calabaza)

Smooth, Refreshing Pumpkin Flan

Recipe adapted from About.com and CubanFoodMarket

It’s almost spring, and time to use up the last of the pumpkins and winter squash from last fall’s harvest. But pumpkin pies and breads seem wildly inappropriate for the season. To the rescue: Cuban flan de calabaza, roughly translated as pumpkin flan. Flan came to Cuba via Europe. In the Middle Ages flans were popular throughout Europe during Lent, when meat wasn't eaten. Flan's eggs and milk provided protein to the faithful. So what could be a more seasonally appropriate use for pumpkin in March?

Savory Roasted Pumpkin Soup

With Green Onions and Yogurt

Recipe by Melinda

My friend and work colleague Melinda is a fabulous cook. Not that I’ve tasted anything that she’s prepared, but we do exchange recipes. After enjoying her amazing Moroccan Butternut Soup, I was excited to try her pumpkin soup. One key to its deliciousness is, like Zach’s Butternut Sage Soup, the squash (pumpkin) is roasted rather than boiled. Celery and onion provide classic aromatic flavors, and a touch of tomato paste zests up the soup in a unique way. Half and half adds creaminess. Finally, a touch of honey, salt, and pepper, to enhance the flavor of your particular pumpkin.

Chunky Gingered Pumpkin Soup

Pumpkin Soup with a Difference

Recipe by Robin

There are tons of recipes for smooth and creamy pumpkin soups, and my husband is bored by all of them. “What could you put in there to make some texture?” he asks. Interestingly enough, pumpkin naturally has a stringy texture, which most recipes puree into submission. When cut into chunks the strings make an agreeable bumpiness, not unlike chunks of spuds in potato salad. Add some ginger and turmeric, and voila, a unique pumpkin soup with an earthy heartiness that even a hefty he-man can love.

Spiced Squash Pudding or Pumpkin Pudding

Beautifully Butternutted

Recipe adapted from Yankee Magazine

Love pumpkin pie, but hate the calories? Unsatisfied with commercial piecrusts, but don’t have time and/or skills to prepare them yourself? Is preparing pumpkin too time-consuming and messy, yet you eschew the can? Looking for a new twist on old-fashioned flavor with easy preparation? I have good news for you. This recipe adds an unusual spiciness to an easy-prep butternut squash pudding. Although Yankee magazine fashioned this pudding to stand on its own, adding a pastry or crumb crust isn’t out of the question, nor is substituting fresh or canned pumpkin for the squash.

Maple Pumpkin or Butternut Oat Muffins

Muffins Almost Ready to Eat

Recipe adapted from Slim and Scrumptious

In my quest to eat lighter foods to prepare for the inevitable holiday indulgences, I perused Joy Bauer’s Slim and Scrumptious, a collection of easy and healthful family meals. You might know Joy from her TV show Good Food, Good Deeds, where she teams up with Florence Henderson to create healthy meals for seniors. Joy’s recipe calls for canned pumpkin, but I substituted leftover butternut squash. Butternut won the pumpkin vs. squash pie smackdown last year, and it performed just as beautifully in the muffins, adding just a touch of extra sweetness to this low sugar recipe.

Curried Pork and Pumpkin Stew

Sunshiny Color & Spicy Flavor

Recipe adapted from Sweet Onions and Sour Cherries

Happy 2013! Lest you think that I was dissing the humble pumpkin in our pumpkin vs. butternut squash pie smackdown on Christmas, I offer you this pumpkin-based winter stew. True that butternut is easier to make into pies than pumpkin, looks brighter, tastes sweeter, and is preferred by most diners in desserts. However, since pumpkin is more earthy and substantial, it’s perfect for savory dishes. Pumpkin compliments other vegetables and meats. Its flavor and texture marry well with curry ingredients to create a satisfying and spicy potage. Butternut is just too sweet and solid to perform the magic that creates this effect. Curried pumpkin stew is an antidote to cold and dark winter weather, warming both in degrees Celsius and Scoville heat units.

Pumpkin Pie vs. Squash Pie

The Contenders

Pumpkin or Squash Pie Filling Recipe by Mom & Robin

The votes are in on the Christmas pies, despite a bit of a recipe fail. On all counts, the best pumpkin pie seems to be made with butternut squash. In fact, many bakeries that make pumpkin pie actually use butternut. It resembles pumpkin in flavor, but is sweeter. It has a lower water content than pumpkin, which means that you can eliminate draining it in cheesecloth after cooking and mashing if you’re in a hurry. Pumpkin does have a distinct if subtle flavor that is somewhat earthier than butternut. Because of this subtle flavor difference Elizabeth, our Christmas hostess, stated that next we need to test fresh butternut vs. canned pumpkin puree. Since butternut is currently so inexpensive and can be used in so many ways, that test might not happen soon.

Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins

Seasonal Deliciousness

Recipe by Robin

Can you think of two more iconic late fall seasonal harvests than pumpkins and cranberries? At first I thought it was an odd idea to combine them, even though I wanted to. Then I experimented with Pumpkin-Cranberry Bars last year and the flavors blended harmoniously, enhanced by a few spices. This year I’m going for the muffins. The recipe is based upon my Raisin Date Persimmon Muffins or Cake, another fall/winter-friendly seasonal recipe. Pumpkin seeds add an unexpected flavor, irresistible crunch, and make this recipe appropriate for groups in which someone might have nut allergies.

DIY Pureed Pumpkin

Sugar Pie Pumpkin

Method by Robin, Livestrong.com, and Marian Kleinsasser Towne

There’s more than one way to cook a pumpkin, and what’s easiest will depend upon how much time you have to cook it and how much effort you’re able to put in. I typically steam the pumpkin because it’s faster than baking and requires less finesse than microwaving. In fact, all I do cut the pumpkin into quarters or sixths, remove the innards, and steam it till it’s tender. Some people peel it before steaming, but these folks must be more coordinated than I am. Gripping a large piece of slippery pumpkin in one hand and a peeler in the other seems like it could get ugly fast at my house. I’m more inclined to scrape the pumpkin off the skin after steaming, when the only danger (too-hot pumpkin) is easy to identify before boo-boos happen.

Tapioca filled Pumpkin

Points for Presentation: 10 out of 10

Recipe adapted from Sunset magazine, c. 1980

I’m a great fan of puddings, custards, and anything pumpkin-flavored, so I was ecstatic to find a recipe for a tapioca-filled pumpkin in a Sunset magazine, given to me by a lady whose house I cleaned when I first came to Santa Cruz. I loved the way the B&W photo looked, with a sophisticated lady’s hand scooping out tapioca along with pumpkin. When I finally tried the recipe, in 1995, it tasted exactly the way I’d imagined it. And then somehow the recipe disappeared. In 2001, I had a craving for it, and a weekend when my husband, who looks askance at both tapioca and pumpkin, was away. No recipe, no problem (and no internet for hints). How hard could tapioca and pumpkin be? One small forgotten detail, however, threatened to deflate the project. Or more correctly, to inflate it.

African Inspired Pumpkin Mash with Peanuts & Spinach

Joe Attacking Pumpkin with Cleaver & Mallet

Recipe by Joe

My friend Joe mentioned this recipe a couple of times before I asked him to come over and cook the large pumpkin I’d been procrastinating about since last fall’s harvest. Joe cooks like many of us, with a little of this and a handful of that, simmering it till it looks right, etc., so it’s not easy to quantify this recipe. Truthfully though, quantities don’t matter much, as long as cinnamon isn’t overdone. The amount of pumpkin, potatoes, greens, and peanuts can vary quite a bit and still make a delicious and healthful dish. It’s appropriate that quantities be flexible, since the concept for this dish comes from northern Africa. The African cooks that I know never measure, and excel at improvising with quantities and ingredients at hand.

Pumpkin Cranberry Bars

Pumpkin Cranberry Bar Closeup

Adapted from Weight Watchers Recipe

December, one of my favorite months, is here to conclude 2011. Late fall turns to winter, and the darkest day of the year arrives along with celebrations of family, food, and return of the light to the world--in the northern hemisphere. Our friends in Australia and Africa celebrate quite differently as daylight approaches its yearly maximum. It can be hard for those of us in darkness to imagine the light, nor should we try. Short, dark days have a beauty of their own as we retreat indoors, rest more, and find sustenance in light from within.