Roasting Fresh Pumpkins and Pumpkin Seeds

Ever roasted pumpkins? Well, when I was a kid, Grandma would roast pumpkins of different kinds with many variations. Mostly, she would use piloncillo to sweeten a large pumpkin. Most Spanish speaking countries call it panela, but in Mexico it is called piloncillo. Piloncillo is basically an unrefined sugar cane mostly found in a block form.

For the pumpkins I am using, I prefer to use small, sweet pumpkins. These have natural sugar and are rather sweet. So I don't add the piloncillo to these pumpkins. I use these pumpkins for normal baking instead of the canned stuff.

First, start by cutting the top off of the pumpkins. This makes it easier when you are slicing open the pumpkins.

Next, cut open the pumpkins. Scoop out all the seeds and place off to the side. Take out the veins that are attached to the seeds. Make sure you scoop out all the veins and seeds from the pumpkins. Each pumpkin half should be placed onto a foil wrapped cookie sheet. Place the pumpkins into a preheated 400 degree oven.

Allow to roast for about 30 to 45 minutes or until you see the skin starting to shrink away from the meat of the pumpkin. You will notice that these pumpkins have caramelized somewhat. This is great as the natural sugars have just helped in the cooking process. Notice that I have taken the pumpkins onto a wire rack and allow it to fully cool. The skin will pull away from the meat and you can scoop out the pumpkin from the outer skin.

 

Now, we have the pumpkin seeds. I really do love pumpkin seeds especially with some simple salt and olive oil.

Make sure you fully rinse the seeds in cold water. Place them onto cookie sheets with paper towels lined on the bottom of the cookie sheets. Allow to air dry overnight so that they can evenly dry.

The following day, the pumpkin seeds are dry. Some of the seeds may stick, but you can just flick them off and unstuck them.

In each tray, sprinkle some olive oil and sea salt making sure that the seeds are coated well. In a preheated oven around 375 degrees, add the pumpkin seeds to the oven. Allow to roast for about 30 minutes. Make sure you are checking the seeds as you want to avoid having burnt pumpkin seeds. After for about 15 minutes, toss the seeds and place back into the oven. Once you notice that the seeds are somewhat brown and take it out. Allow to cool. These are rather addictive!!

Vegetarian Chili

So it's that time of year. Time for soup, savory desserts like Banana Nut Bread and of course chili. There are so many types of chili, but very few recipes for veggie chili. This recipe is something I came up with that is truly vegetarian and at the same time rather flavorful.

You can add additional items like bell pepper, corn, black beans and other such items to the chili. This is especially when you are making a chili for vegetarians. I have cooked it with red and yellow bell pepper. When you do that though, the chili becomes a little sweet for my taste. I don't cook with green bell pepper all the time as this affects M's acid, so I just leave that out.

Ingredients:

1 large yellow onion
1 small red onion
1 tbsp olive oil
1 can light red kidney beans
1 can dark red kidney beans
4 cups pinto beans
1 can chili ready tomatoes
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tbsp chili powder
black pepper and salt to taste

Start by dicing up the onions. Then in a large enough heated pot, add the olive oil. Add the onions to the heated pot.

While the onions are cooking, add the garlic. Continue to cook until the onions are translucent.

Add the light red, dark red, and pinto beans to the cooked onions. Now with pinto beans, I use pinto beans that I have cooked previously. If you don't have fresh pinto beans, then canned will do. I would rinse them as I normally do when making anything like chili.

 

After adding the beans and chili tomatoes, add the vegetable stock to the chili. Bring this to a boil first (about 10 minutes), then bring down to a medium heat. Allow this to cook for about 15 minutes.

 

Add the spices to the chili. Allow to continue to cook for another 30 minutes.

 Again, when I cook chili, I normally like to cook it a day or two before I actually eat it. This lends for the spices to meld together and the flavor is fantastic.

Key Lime Pie Tartlets

It's almost the end of summer and the end of enjoying the heat. NOT! Well in our area, its always hot and this recipe is refreshing while poolside. I have had this recipe years ago and make it sparingly. I am a stickler for anything authentic. For Key Lime Pie, I prefer it to be rather tart. With the addition of sour cream, it maintains the tart flavor that you find in Key Lime Pie.

For this simple recipe, I opted to make a double batch. I prefer to have it in single tartlets as people can enjoy their own individualized pie.

Ingredients:

2 cups key lime juice (can be regular lime juice, but key lime juice is ideal)
2 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup sour cream
4 large eggs
24 small graham cracker crusts

8 ounces whipped topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Blend key lime juice with the sweetened condensed milk.

 

Add the sour cream. Beat for about a minute when the mixture is blended well.

 

In a separate container, beat the eggs, then add to the key lime mixture and beat for 1 minute. 

 

Pour mixture into the graham cracker crust. 

Bake for 10 minutes. Make sure you cook half of them first. If you add all of the key lime tartlets at once, this would extend the cooking time. Remove from the oven and cool pie completely, about 1 hour. 

Top with whipped topping and put in freezer. 

Freeze at least 3 hours. Serve straight from freezer. You can add additional whipped cream to each tartlet and also freeze, but I prefer to add it after the fact.