Put all those pumpkins to good use

With the celebration of Halloween next week, we've seen an abundance of pumpkins at markets and roadside stands. In addition to the familiar bulbous, round pumpkin with its pretty arching stem, you'll find all sorts of knobby gourds and other colorful squashes, such as butternut and acorn.

The name for this fall fruit comes to us from the Greek word pepon, which roughly translates as large melon or something large and round. The French altered the word to pompon and the British transformed it to pumpion. Finally, in the New World, American settlers called it pumpkin.

Unlike the plump orange pumpkins that work so well for carved faces, the original varieties were more slender, crook-necked in shape and selected for their hardiness during winter storage. They were cultivated along waterways, eventually joining the plant trio known as the "three sisters" - corn, beans and squash. The tall cornstalks served as a natural trellis to support the vining beans, which then gave the stalk greater stability in strong winds. The beans were vital to the fertility of the soil, setting essential nitrogen. In turn, the squash leaves sheltered the cornstalk's shallow roots while providing shade to discourage weeds and preserve moisture.

Our Native American ancestors treated pumpkin as a versatile ingredient. The flesh was roasted, baked, boiled, or dried and ground into flour. They added pumpkin blossoms to soups and stews. Seeds were eaten out of hand as well as used medicinally. The shells, once cleaned and dried, served as bowls and containers.

If you've purchased pumpkins to carve into jack o'lanterns, you can't really use the flesh as an ingredient or the shell will collapse. But, consider saving the seeds to roast as a nutritious snack (see recipe below). If you're using the pumpkin as harvest decor, you can transform the bright orange flesh into a delicious soup or pie once the holiday is over, or you can purchase canned pumpkin.

The pie in the photo is quite different from the process our pilgrim ancestors used to make their dessert. They cut the top from the pumpkin, scooped out the seeds and poured cream, honey, eggs and spices into the cavity. After the top was replaced, the filled pumpkin was buried in hot ashes. Once it was cooked, they scooped out the contents, eating them as we would eat a custard.

Several members of the squash family can be used more or less interchangeably - butternut squash, pumpkin, buttercup, acorn squash and Hubbard. Their yellow- and orange-hued flesh can be baked, boiled or steamed for a wide range of recipes, from simple roasted cubes as a side dish to a hearty, coconut-infused pumpkin soup.

For the pie in the photo, we combined the traditional ingredients of apple pie and pumpkin pie for a flavorful combination. Our favorite baking-spice blend for sweet and bright notes comes from Penzey's (www.penzeys.com). Their aptly named pie spice includes four types of cinnamon, vanilla sugar, mace, ginger, nutmeg, anise and clove. Or, you can invent your own pie spice from your favorite pumpkin flavors.

Pumpkin Apple Pie

1 9-inch pie crust
2 Granny Smith apples
1/3 C brown sugar
1 t lemon juice
1/2 t pie spice
2 large eggs
1/3 C sugar
1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin
1 C evaporated milk
1 t pie spice*
whipped cream

Preheat oven to 375 F. Line pie pan with crust and flute edges; set aside. Peel, core and thinly brown sugar, lemon juice and spice in mixing bowl; toss gently to thoroughly combine. Spread apple mixture evenly across pie shell; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs until light and fluffy. Add sugar, pumpkin, evaporated milk and spice; stir vigorously until smooth. Pour pumpkin mixture over apples in the pie pan. Bake until pumpkin is set, about 45 to 55 minutes; cool on a wire rack before slicing. Serve garnished with whipped cream. *Note: substitute a mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg and mace, to taste.

Pumpkin Soup

2 T coconut oil
1 diced onion
3 minced garlic cloves
1/4 C diced celery
1 C diced carrot
4 C pumpkin cubes
1 C diced potato
1 T chopped parsley
1 sprig thyme
1/4 t cayenne
pinch allspice
4 C vegetable stock
1/2 C coconut milk
salt, to taste
sliced green onion
additional coconut milk

Melt oil in a Dutch oven over medium high. Add onion and sauté until softened. Add garlic, celery and carrot, and cook for 3 or 4 minutes. Stir in pumpkin, potato, parsley, thyme, cayenne and allspice. Deglaze the pan with the vegetable stock, scraping up any browned bits. Add coconut milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove thyme sprig and puree the soup in a food processor or with an immersion blender. Add salt, to taste. Ladle into bowls and serve garnished with sliced green onion and a swirl of coconut milk.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

2 cups pumpkin seeds
1 T olive oil
1 T butter, melted
1 t sea salt

Preheat oven to 225 F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil; set aside. Separate seeds from pumpkin pulp, pulling off fibers and strings. Place seeds in a mixing bowl with oil, butter and salt. Toss to thoroughly combine. Spread in a single layer on prepared baking sheet. Bake until seeds are golden, crisp and dry, about 1 hour, stirring often to prevent scorching. Cool and store in an airtight container.