Pumpkin Puree

I was hoping to get this posted before Thanksgiving, but I didn't get done quite as soon as I would have liked.
There are many different ways to cook your pumpkin- basically just bake or boil, etc. until the pumpkin meat is soft and then make a puree.
You can bake the pumpkin skin side up (cut pumpkin in half, oil the edges, place on baking sheet that has some kind of edge so the juices don't spill), you can piece it up and put in in a pot of water to steam or boil, you can even microwave it with water. I prefer an oven method, then I don't have bother removing excess water.
Here's what I did:


Cut the pumpkin.


Remove "guts" (I do have a recipe for pumpkin seeds that are really good- not sure when I'll get that posted though!).


Place in baking dish. Bake at 350˚ until fork tender- somewhere between 45 minutes and 1 1/2 hours- depending on the pumpkin.


Here they are out of the oven, soft enough for a fork to go in with no resistance.


Allow to cool so you can touch it without burning your fingers, then peel the skin off and discard.


Here is all the pumpkin meat. I used a hand held blender (the type you can use in a drinking glass). I tried a regular blender once, but the pumpkin was very hard to get in and out of it and it took a long time. A food processor would be great as well. With my hand blender it took 1-2 minutes to get it to a smooth consistency.


Once the pumpkin is smooth it is ready to use in your favorite pumpkin recipe. I froze mine with 2 cups of puree in each bag. I don't have a set recipe but was planning to try this one: Homemade Fresh Pumpkin Pie.

Life

Just wanted to let you all know, that life is in the way of the blog right now. :-) I'm trying to get everything ready for the baby, who can come at any time (but hopefully will at least wait till next week!) and am tired and napping each afternoon while Naomi is napping.
I have a few posts that I can edit and post, but not sure that I will even get that done- so it might be a month or more before you hear much from me on this blog. I will try to post something after the baby is born and I will probably get some pictures up on our family website.
Thanks for hanging in there!

Rhubarb Torte

I love this one so much I have to make myself not take that second piece. This is really sweet- so if you like your rhubarb tart, then you might want to ease up on the sugar a bit, but we love it this way.




Rhubarb Torte
Crust:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup margarine
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
Mix with beater until it forms a ball of dough. Press evenly into a 9" pie plate and bake at 350˚ for 20 minutes.

Rhubarb filling:
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 egg yolks
1/3 cup milk
3 1/2 cups chopped rhubarb
In a saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons flour, yolks and milk. Stir together, then add chopped rhubarb. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened. Pour into hot crust.

Meringue:
3 egg whites
1/4 cup white sugar
Beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually add 1/4 cup sugar, continuing to beat until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over rhubarb filling, covering completely.
Bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown.