Cooking with One Pumpkin, Three Ways

The farmer’s market is overflowing with pumpkins this time of year, so it’s the perfect time to cook with them together! Most recipes out there, for whatever reason, use canned pumpkin, but I think it’s more fun for kids to see bright, fresh ingredients going into their food- and healthier, too! We cooked this one with a couple of my own kid friendly recipes, and roasted the seeds, too.

Pumpkin Bread

3 cups shredded pumpkin (about half of a small pumpkin, peeling isn’t necessary)
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup of ground flaxseed (or use 4 eggs, omit flax and applesauce)
1/4 cup applesauce
3 cups flour (I use white whole wheat)
1 1/2 cups sugar (raw sugar and brown sugar are both tasty)
3 teaspoons baking powder
3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients, pour into two greased standard loaf pans, and bake at 350 for one hour.

It’s so tasty, there may not be a chance to photograph it before little hands are digging in! But first, back up a bit- while the bread is in the oven, toss the seeds in a tablespoon of oil, spread in a pan, and bake for 20 minutes at 350 with the bread, then top with a little salt.

And the other half of the pumpkin? Making another two loaves of bread is an option, if yours is a house like mine where the first two loaves disappear within hours. On the other hand, if you’ve been so busy baking that a nice easy dinner is in order, pumpkin soup is as simple and tasty as it gets.

Honey Mustard Pumpkin Soup

1/2 of a small pumpkin, chopped into large chunks (a little less or a little more is fine, just use what’s left)
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 tbsps honey
1 tbsp mustard

Boil the pumpkin in the broth until tender. Again, peeling isn’t necessary. Puree pumpkin and broth mixture in a blender with honey and mustard. Watch as children gobble their vegetables and ask for more.

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