RL Magazine - Dig Into Pumpkin

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Pumpkins are native to North America and have been grown on the continent for more than 5,000 years.

Don't spill the guts! Save the scooped-out pumpkin from carving for one of these kid-friendly recipes.

Cooking with children is an excellent way to share family time while helping kids discover and enjoy healthy new dishes.

Barbara Beery is the founder of the Batter Up Kids Culinary Center in Austin, where she leads children's cooking classes and parties.

Try making your traditional pumpkin pie from fresh pumpkin from your local farmer's market instead of the canned variety.

Fall’s favorite fruit gets kids into the kitchen for carving, so why not extend the cooking lesson?

When it comes to pumpkins, the ritual carving of jack-o’-lanterns often takes precedence in kids’ minds over eating the sweet squash’s fleshy innards. After drawing and cutting their scariest pumpkin faces and designs into the shell, kids may even forget that some pumpkins are edible delights. But as kids’ cooking expert Barbara Beery showed RL, pumpkins are hardly just for decoration, carving, or even pies—they’re also the perfect ingredient for family time in the kitchen.

“I can remember that my dad always helped me with it,” recalls Beery of her childhood carving sessions. “My dad did not cook, and it was the only thing I did in the kitchen with him, honestly.”

Now a parent herself, Beery is the founder of the Austin-based Kids Cooking Shop (www.kidscookingshop.com) and Batter Up Kids, where she aims to educate both parents and kids about the delight and discovery of cooking cooperatively. “I think it’s about kids spending time with adults in their own home,” she says. “Building memories through cooking and sharing that together.

“The more you involve children in making their food choices,” adds Beery, “the more actively involved they become and the more likely they are to try new foods and enjoy new foods, because they helped make the choices of what they’re going to eat.”

Autumn’s bumper crop provides an object lesson in healthy eating and creative cooking choices for kids and adults alike. Pumpkins, part of the genus Cucurbita, were first discovered in North America and have been prized for 5,000 years for their healthful properties. They are low in calories and fat and add a multitude of vitamins and minerals to the diet. The pumpkin’s signature color is a sign of the beta carotene, “which helps prevent cancer,” says pediatrician Dr. Joanna Dolgoff. “Pumpkins are also loaded with fiber, which is known to prevent many types of cancer, decrease the risk of heart disease, and lessen the severity of many different chronic diseases.”

Fresh pumpkin is not only a bit sweeter than canned pumpkin, it is also free of preservatives and packs more fiber. To make your own fresh pumpkin puree, purchase sugar pie pumpkins or other flavorful varieties that are smaller and sweet, with dark orange-colored flesh. Sugar pie pumpkins—as opposed to carving pumpkins—are perfect for pies, savory sauces and soups, muffins, and breads.

Although cooked pumpkin is part of adults’ comfort-food staples, it is sometimes necessary to slip it into dishes with more pizzazz to appeal to children. When Beery teaches pumpkin-themed classes, kids taste both the raw pumpkin and cooked morsels. “They realize that it has to be mixed with something else, other food, to make it taste delicious,” she says.

Here are four of Barbara Beery’s family-friendly recipes that will get both kids and adults eager to cut into the pumpkin:

Pumpkin Pie Popcorn Balls
Makes 10�12

½ cup honey
¼ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon vanilla
5 cups fresh popped popcorn
1 cup toasted pumpkin seeds
1 cup whole or chopped dried fruits (cranberries, raisins, apples, or apricots)

1. Combine honey, brown sugar, and butter in microwave-safe container. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and heat in microwave for 1 to 2 minutes or until mixture is bubbling and steaming hot. Carefully remove honey syrup dish from microwave. Stir in cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla. Set aside.
2. Put popcorn, pumpkin seeds, and dried fruit in a large mixing bowl. Pour cooked honey syrup over popcorn and toss with a wooden spoon until all the pieces of popcorn are coated with honey syrup. Let mixture cool 10 minutes.
3. Spray hands generously with cooking spray or dampen them with a splash of water. With hands, take a scoop of popcorn mixture and form into a 2- to 3-inch-sized popcorn ball. Repeat until all the mixture is made into popcorn balls.
4. Popcorn balls may be wrapped individually with plastic wrap and stored for 3 to 5 days and make great gifts and party favors.

Perfect Pumpkin Popsicles
Makes 10�14 popsicles (depending on size of molds)

4 cups vanilla or honey-flavored Greek-style yogurt
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1½ � 2 cups fresh pumpkin puree, cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Tiny pinch of salt
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. In a blender combine yogurt, maple syrup, pumpkin puree, vanilla extract, salt, and spices until smooth and creamy.
2. Evenly divide mixture between popsicle molds. Secure lids, insert sticks, and place in freezer for at least 6 hours or overnight.

Presto Pumpkin Pasta Sauce
Makes approximately 4 cups

3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1½ � 2 cups fresh pumpkin puree
1 cup vegetable or chicken broth
½ cup vanilla soy milk
¼ teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly grated black pepper, to taste
½ cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1 tablespoon fresh flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped

1. Place olive oil in a large saucepan. Turn on heat to medium and add garlic and onion. Sauté for 5 minutes. Add pumpkin puree and vegetable or chicken broth, increase heat to medium high and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes.
2. With a whisk, stir in soy milk, nutmeg, salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with parsley, stir into sauce and serve immediately over your favorite cooked pasta.

Homemade Pumpkin Puree
This puree can be used in all your recipes calling for canned pumpkin.
Makes 1½ � 2 cups pumpkin puree (1½ � 2 cups pumpkin puree may be substituted for one 15-ounce can of pure pumpkin)

1 sugar pie pumpkin (approximately 4 lbs.)
1 cup water

1. Preheat oven to 375� F.
2. Cut the pumpkin in half and remove the seeds and stringy fibers by scraping the insides with a metal spoon.
3. Place the two halves cut side down in a roasting pan or shallow baking dish. Pour in 1 cup water. Bake uncovered until flesh is fork tender, about 90 minutes.
4. Remove from oven and cool 30 minutes or until cool enough to touch. Scoop out flesh and puree small batches in food processor.
5. Use immediately, refrigerate overnight, or place in an airtight container and freeze for up to three months.

Jayna Rust is a New York-based freelance writer. She has written for Islands, Runner’s World, and Parenting, among other publications.

Photography credits:

Marilyn Volan
David Murray and Jules Selmes
Niclas Albinsson
Courtesy Barbara Beery
Jim Scherer