I made good use of my Sunday morning. I finally processed my first pumpkin of the season. First I cut it in half from stem to bottom. Pulled out all the seeds and slimy guts. :) I rinsed the meaty seeds in my colander to prepare them for roasting. The rest of the guts are now food for the worms in my worm bin.I covered the bottom of my roasting pan and tops of both halves of pumpkin with foil. Then tossed them into an oven at 325. I had to roast this 7.33 pounder for about two hours. Some parts were still a little firm in places, so I microwaved those chunks before running everything through my food mill with a pumpkin attachment. This was a juicy pumpkin, so I drained off the excess liquid after I ran everything through the mill. I took a fork to press out a bit more of the liquid before I placed it in a freezer bag for holiday pies. It made exactly two cups of pumpkin. (Oh, and yes. My oven really is that dirty).I haven't had pumpkin seeds since I was a kid. Why waste 'em? So while the oven was already at 325, I tossed them in with the pumpkin. They were roasted for 10 minutes on both sides while on a sprayed and salted baking sheet.
Seems like a lot of work. Especially since I can buy a couple cans of Libby's pumpkin for only a few dollars. But I will be really proud when I make my first pumpkin pie from my very own pumpkin that was grown with love.