Well, if you thought Pumpkinville was an actual town in the state of Michigan you could be wrong. That was just a nick name I gave it for now. Why? Because I'm somewhat "loaded" with pumpkins right now. I came to Michigan for other reasons too but was offered a small piece of a garden area to plant my pumpkins so that I could experience the thrill of growing them again so to speak. I am happy I did. To see them growing without having to worry about groundhogs eating them all up before I could grow anything was fun. Back in Jersey the gardens there were invaded by those dreaded groundhogs. What pests they can be. I tried things to get rid of them, but they still kept coming back. They are ruthless critters and breed like rabbits I'm told. I don't own any shot guns so can't shoot them. Well, I have never shot a gun in my life to be honest. I would not be able to shoot an animal either unless it was self defense.
But now that I have these beautiful pumpkins in my grasp I need to do something with them. I have only picked off one so far but have at least 5 more on the vine. They are sugar pie pumpkins and great for pies as the name suggests. They don't grow very very big nor too small either. They are medium smallish. If you bought them in the store, they'd probably cost maybe $5 a piece more or less. I have a few recipes, most sweet rather than savory style. One pie recipe is to follow. I will be using this to make a pie again hopefully soon. With both Halloween and Thanksgiving coming up these pumpkins and other varieties will be much in demand in the USA states, but even if you don't celebrate the holidays too. These are so yummy! And you don't have to bake them, just use the cook top of the stove for the filling. It's so easy! I found the recipe once online and it seems to work well for me.
Ingredients you will need for this pumpkin pie recipe~
nine inch prepared graham cracker crust or one you've prepared yourself if you prefer (already baked)
(dry ingredients)
a package of unflavoured gelaton (.25 ounce)
one teaspoon of cinnamon
half teaspoon each of ground ginger, salt and ground nutmeg
(wet ingredients)
2 whisked beaten eggs
14 ounces of sweetened condensed milk
15 ounces pureed pumpkin, either fresh or canned (if you don't know how much 15 ounces of fresh pureed pumpkin is then eyeball it when viewing a can of 15 ounces pumpkin puree the best you can)
Before you put this on an actual burner with low heat, get your handy medium sized standard saucepan and lets get the cinnamon, gelatin, nutmeg, salt and ginger all set to do their thing. Mix these ingredients all together well first and let the other ingredients stay put for now. Being the patient baker that you are, then mix in the condensed milk and beaten eggs that you have whisked up somewhat prior to this. Whisks have a special use for that and they do it with expertise. Let everything rest together getting to know one another for about one minute, then put the mixture on low flame on the stove top. Got ten minutes to stay by the stove? It's not that long, really it isn't! I stir this constantly for approximately that amount of time, it works best so as to let the gelatin dissolve and thicken things up in general as far as the filling goes. Gelatin is great alone for this but you need the other ingredients to make it all come together even more for pumpkin pie. The eggs will be cooked enough not to be considered "raw" if you're worried about that. So it's safe.
Last but not least get all of that luscious, savory, earthy pumpkin puree (either canned or fresh) and mix it in well. Then you just get that wonderful crust you made (or purchased already made) earlier and pour it all into that. What next? Chill! In the fridge that is, for (give or take) about three hours. Of course it could be more but I don't recommend it be any less than three because it takes time to set, as eager as you night be to try this yummy pie sooner! Serving it at the right consistancy is key. Pumpkin pie is sold in stores after several hours of chilling so think about it. It will taste so creamy and delicious.
Pumpkin is said to have a variety of nutritional value to it so be aware that when you eat it, it will do your body good even in pumpkin pie form. If you prefer other recipes with pumpkin then go for it. No matter how you serve it though, you won't regret it. For me personally, Fall isn't really that time of year without a pumpkin somewhere in the "mix".
all photos are mine.