The Great Pumpkin

Red & yellow leaves, harvest moons, chilly days - must mean fall has arrived. And the coming of fall means arrival of the pumpkins! They're not just for Halloween anymore.

Pumpkins are part of the cucurbita family which include cucumbers, muskmellons (what we call canteloupe), squashes, and watermelons. Their name is derived from the greek word for large melon: pepon. And they've been a part of the human diet so long that archeologists have discovered pumpkin rinds and seeds in cliff dwellings dating back to 1500 BC in Central & South America. Given their long history as part of our meals on this continent, it is no surprise that the first colonists adopted pumpkin into their diets.

The top pumpkin growing states in the US are currently Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania and California. And despite what it looks like around the farm stands and grocery stores this time of year, only a very small percentage of the pumpkins grown are sold for ornamenation. The majority are harvested and sold for processing into cans, pies, breads, etc. Want another couple of fun pumpkin facts? They are 90% water and 80% of the entire pumpkin supply is available in October.

Pumpkin is remarkably versitile for use in both savory applications like soups and stews and in sweet applications like pies, cakes & cookies. In addition, both its flesh and seeds are quite edible and nutritious. One cup of cooked (boiled) pumpkin flesh has about 49 calories, 2.5 grams of protein. 12 grams of carbohydrate, 3 grams of fiber, 564 mg of potassium, 37 mg of calcium and 12230 IU of Vitamin A. A half cup of pumpkin seeds, also known as pepitas, has 592 calories, 37 grams of protein, 15 grams of carbohydrate, 4 grams of fiber, 606 mg of magnesium, 915 mg of potassium and 16 mg of iron.

So now that you have all of this new pumpkin knowledge, let me give you my pumpkin muffin recipe.
1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1/3 cup vegetable oil (I use canola)
1 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup milk (I use 1%)
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 to 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (this is really to taste)
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
1/3 cup toasted pumpkin seeds

Preheat oven to 350*F; oil muffin pan or use paper sleeves. In a bowl, mix together pumpkin, oil, sugar, milk, and vanilla. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt. Pour the wet ingredients on top of the dry ingredients and stir for no more than 30 seconds. The mix will be lumpy, but overmixing really ruins the texture of muffins due to overproduction of gluten. Fold in the chocolate chips and pumpkin seeds. Distribute into the muffin pan and bake until done. Time will depend on your oven and the size of your muffin tins, but check after 12-15 minutes. You can use the toothpick method to determine when they are finished cooking. Remove from pans, cool on a rack and Enjoy!!