| Hats Off to Edible Mini Pumpkins | |
by
Judy Sobeloff, from the October 2005 newsletter
As we age, the mysterious boundaries of the worlds of edible and inedible shift and change. Consider the varying eagerness of people at different life stages to consume snails, playground sand, soap bubbles, milk, Jell-O mix straight from the box, miniature pumpkins…
Miniature pumpkins? Personally, until now I thought they were purely ornamental. Even Amy, the Co-op Deli Manager herself, reacted with shock to the news of their status change: “You can eat them? I always thought they were just for Show and Tell!”
Fortunately, just in time for this fall’s pumpkincentric holidays, Co-op newsletter editor Therese Harris (newly Emerita with this issue) set me straight. While Therese recommends against eating “waxy, dried, nearly fake” mini pumpkins from craft stores, some of which are in fact plastic, the mini pumpkins Therese grows and supplies to the Co-op should be delicious. According to a Web site out of New Zealand (www.crop.cri.nz), “new mini pumpkin cultivars are being developed with a sweet and nutty taste.” And not only that, Therese says they make “Martha-Stewart-quality serving bowls.”
While I in no way condone Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater’s use of a pumpkin shell to entrap his wife, I’m all for recipes that use pumpkin shells as individual serving dishes. According to Chef Jim Boyan, “Some say this is similar to the way original pumpkin pie was made. The seeds and strings were scooped out; the cavity was filled with a mixture of cream, eggs, sugar, and cinnamon; and the pumpkin was buried in hot coals and ashes to bake (www.historichotels.org/).
As many of us learned in school, Native Americans introduced pumpkins to the Pilgrims, who learned to use them in a variety of ways. At that time, according to Andy Griffin, the Native Americans ate green, tender pumpkins raw (www.molliekatzen.com). “Our word ‘squash,’ in fact,” Griffin writes, “comes to us from the Narragansett word ‘asquutasquash’ meaning uncooked. In an odd symmetry of language our word pumpkin comes to us by circuitous logic from the ancient Greek word for ‘cooked.’ ...
It remains a distinguishing characteristic of the squash we have come to call pumpkins that to be enjoyed at their maturity they must be cooked.”
Interesting, certainly, especially considering that food writer Peggy Trowbridge says the word pumpkin comes from a Greek word meaning “large melon” (www.homecooking.about.com).
Ah, into every food history a little controversy must fall. And why stop there? Trowbridge describes the pumpkin as a member of the gourd family, whereas Griffin says, “the long and short of it is that every pumpkin is a squash to a botanist but not every squash is a pumpkin to a chef.” I know that Trowbridge is correct, but maybe in the wild, ever-changing world of gourds and squash, Griffin can be right too?
Therese notes that “mini pumpkins are fun to grow—the plants are vigorous and take off (some of the vines this year are well over ten feet long) and it isn’t until frost makes the leaves die back that you see all the hidden treasure. But then regular pumpkins can be like that, too. Our short growing season up here though seems to make mini-anythings do well. And there seem to be relatively few pests that bother the plants.”
While Therese supplies the Co-op with Jack-be-littles, those interested in growing your own can choose among such varieties as Orange Minikin, Sweetie Pie, Mini Jack Munchkin, and Baby Boo.
And rest assured, ye who yearn for traditional large pumpkins. While Brad Jaeckel, manager of the W.S.U. Organic Farm Project, says they’re growing a few mini pumpkins, he promises they’ll be supplying the Co-op with many large ones suitable for carving into Jack-O-Lanterns.
Miniature Pumpkins as Serving Dishes (www.fabulousfoods.com)
Cut a circle out around the stem (as you would when carving a Jack-O-Lantern)
and scrape out the seeds and pulp. Scrape out some of the flesh from the
sides of the pumpkin as well, in order to make room for your stuffing. Place
pumpkins and intact lids in a baking dish and add about an inch of water.
Bake at 350 F for about 30 minutes, until pumpkins are somewhat cooked but
still firm. Carefully stuff the pumpkins with corn pudding, vegetables such
as green beans or peas, or corn bread stuffing. Continue baking stuffed pumpkins
until stuffing is cooked. Serve each guest his or her own stuffed mini-pumpkin.
Baked Miniature Pumpkin Pies (adapted from Jim Boyan, historichotels.org/pumpkin)
1 each small sugar pumpkin (one per person)
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 Tbsp. butter
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
Scoop of vanilla ice cream (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut off top of pumpkin and scrape out all seeds and strings. Place butter and brown sugar inside the pumpkin and sprinkle with cinnamon. Put the pumpkin lid back on and place pumpkin in a baking pan with a little water in the bottom. Bake for about 30 minutes or until tender. Optional: Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream in the pumpkin.
Baked Miniature Pumpkins (adapted from Deborah Madison, homecooking.about.com)
1 miniature pumpkin per person
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1-2 Tbsp. cream, milk, or mascarpone cheese
1 fresh or dried sage leaf
Grated Fontina or Gruyere cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Slice off the top 1/2-inch of each pumpkin, scoop out the seeds, and rub salt and pepper into the cavity. Pour in the cream, add the sage leaf and the cheese, replace the lid and bake in a pan until tender, 35 to 45 minutes.
In the interest of science, Judy Sobeloff encourages you to attend the 2nd annual W.S.U. Physics Department Pumpkin Drop, outside the Webster Building the morning of November 5th.
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