Kids Make Pumpkin Muffins

In my experience, the more ingredients, the better the muffin. That must be what makes these pumpkin muffins so good: two different kinds of flour, two different kinds of sugar, three different spices, buttermilk, ricotta cheese, vanilla.

What's not to like?

Pumpkin muffins proved to be the perfect antidote to all the pickling we've been doing in our food appreciation classes. Assembling these muffins required everyone's attention. Eating them was great fun. This recipe calls for making the muffins in a standard sized muffin tin. But I could easily see using a mini-muffin tin and having these ready as treats for Halloween.


My one reservation about the recipe is the use of granulated and brown sugars. I would love to know how to covert this into another kind of sweeterner, say apple sauce and apple juice, or perhaps even some orange juice. Any tips on conversions would be appreciated.

For a more adult muffin with a little kick, you might add a pinch of cayenne.

To make 12 standard muffins:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon each: ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon, ground ginger

1/3 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup milk

2 tablespoons canola oil

1/3 cup ricotta cheese

1 large egg plus 1 egg white

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons pumpkin puree

Pumpkin seeds



Preheat oven to 375 degrees.



In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugars, salt, baking powder, baking soda, spices. Whisk together well.

In a second bowl, whisk together buttermilk, milk, canola oil, ricotta cheese, egg and egg white, vanilla, pumpkin puree. Beat until smooth.

Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and gently stir until wet and dry are fully combined. Do not overmix.

Spoon batter in greased muffin tin. Scatter some pumpkin seeds over each muffin and pat lightly into dough. Place in oven and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Allow muffins to cool in tin about 10 minutes before removing.

Kids Pickle Pumpkins

With Halloween just around the corner, we are thinking about pumpkins and especially how to make this iconic squash edible. Among the pumpkins on display at the local Whole Foods are these fun, kid-sized versions. They're perfect for my "food appreciation" classes, where this week we continued our pickling theme with--what else?--pickled pumpkin.

Usually we think of pumpkins as decoration. But anyone who's ever tasted pumpkin pie or pumpkin soup knows they make great food as well. In that regard, they are very similar to butternut squash. The meat is a bit less orange than the butternut, the flavor not quite as intense. But both squashes lend themselves to the same sort of treatments, with the same range of spices.

Once you get the pumpkin ready--meaning removing the tough skin and the squishy, seed-filled interior--this pickling process is very simple. Look for a pumpkin weighing about four pounds.

I like to use a large, serrated bread knife to skin the pumpkin. First cut away the stem end, then set pumpkin securely on a cutting board. Cut away the skin in long strips from top to bottom. Turn the pumpkin as you work your way around it. Once the skin is removed, cut the pumpkin in half, scrape out the interior (you can roast the seeds for snacking later) then slice the halves into crescent shapes about 3/4-inch thick. These can then be cut easily into bite-size pieces.

To make 6 pints:

3 1/2 pounds bite-size pumpkin pieces

2 tablespoons pickling salt (or additive-free sea salt)

1 teaspoon whole cloves

1 teaspoon black peppercorns, crushed

3 bay leaves, broken into pieces

6 cups cider vinegar

3 cups sugar

1 2-inch piece ginger, cut into slivers

9 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped

In a large mixing bowl, toss pumpkin pieces with salt. Transfer to a colander. Set the colander inside the bowl and allow to drain overnight. After removing the pumpkin liquid, transfer pumpkin pieces back into the bowl and cover with water. Using the colander, wash and drain the pumpkin pieces two or three times. Set aside.

Meanwhile, place the cloves, peppercorns and bay leaves in a spice ball or tie into a small sachet with cheesecloth. Place vinegar, sugar, spice ball, ginger and garlic in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat and cook, covered, for 10 minutes.

Pack pumpkin pieces into hot pint canning jars. Ladle hot brine into jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Screw lids onto jars and process 10 minutes in a boiling water bath.

Allow the pickles to mellow several weeks in a cool, dark place before opening. Make them now, and open some for Halloween.

Spicy Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

We cooked five pumpkins in all for my "food appreciation" classes this week, each one a bit smaller than a bowling ball. That left quite a load of pumpkin seeds.

Several of the kids asked if we would be roasting the seeds. Well, not exactly "we." While we were preparing the pumpkins for baking for our pumpkin and wild rice pilaf (see earlier post), I had the kids carefully separate the seeds from the fibers they scooped out of the pumpkins. I took the seeds home to roast.

First, the seeds need to be thoroughly cleaned. I can report that this is not so terribly difficult, but does require a bit of washing and picking through using a colander in the sink. I then blotted the seeds dry with paper towels and tossed them with extra virgin olive oil in a bowl, just enough to lightly coat.

For seasoning, I used a spice rub that I keep on hand for grilling meats and seafood: powdered chili, garlic salt, onion powder, cumin, cinnamon, coarse salt, black pepper and dark brown sugar. Spread the seeds on a baking sheet in a single layer, then dust with the spice mix (you can make one to your own tastes, of course). Place in a 325-degree oven until the seeds are toasted and crisp, about 20 minutes.

Come to think of it, these would be a great thing to put out with hors d'oeuvres for Thanksgiving. But I do have to remember to save some for the kids when "food appreciation" resumes after the holiday.

Pumpkin Nut Bread

Cook some pumpkins and you're bound to have leftovers.

That was the case this week as we were preparing pumpkin for our wild rice pilaf. My wife has a serious itch for making bread lately. The leftover pumpkin was a natural contender for a pumpkin bread.

For a recipe, she turned to a recent issue of Cook's Illustrated. This is quick bread, meaning it uses chemical rising agents rather than yeast. We are very fond of quick banana bread and this bread is similar, right down to the walnuts. Except there's no banana, of course, and the bread embodies everything we like about fall, including the flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and, of course, pumpkin.

To make one 9-inch loaf:

2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon table salt

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

2 cups pumpkin, mashed (or 1 15-ounce can pumpkin)

1 cup (7 ounces) sugar

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup toasted pecans or walnuts, chopped coarse

1 cup dried cranberries

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle positions and heat over to 350 degrees.

Generously coat a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.

Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg and ginger together in large bowl. Whisk pumpkin, sugar, melted butter, eggs and vanilla together in separate bowl until frothy.

Gently fold pumpkin mixture into flour mixture with rubber spatula until just combined. Fold in nuts and cranberries. Batter will be very thick.

Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth surface. Bake until golden and toothpick inserted into center comes out with just a few crumbs attached, 45 to 55 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool at least 1 hour before serving. (Bread can be wrapped in plastic and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.)

Try this smeared with cream cheese, but don't tell anyone.

Kids Make Pumpkin-Wild Rice Pilaf

Last week I wanted to make something with pumpkin in our "food appreciation" classes to coincide with Halloween. But wouldn't know there wasn't a single pumpkin to be found in the local stores. We'd heard stories that the pumpkin harvest was going to be light this year because of the drought that hit this part of the country. We assumed our East Coast farmers had simply run out of pumpkins.

Well, the pumpkins are back in the Whole Foods this week, along with tons of other squashes. These are not the huge carving pumpkins you display on your front stoop, but the smaller culinary pumpkins, sometimes referred to as "pie pumpkins" or "sugar pumpkins."

I knew this would be an interesting lesson for the kids because it's not every day you skin and slice a pumpkin and then eat it. In fact, it turned out to be an interesting lesson for me as well because--confession here--I've never cooked with a live pumpkin before either. The closest I've ever come is processed pumpkin out of a can.

So how do you skin a pumpkin?

Fortunately, these pumpkins are smaller than a bowling ball and no trick to handle. But you want to create a flat surface so they aren't rolling around the cutting board. Use a large chef's knife or serrated bread knife to cut off both ends--not too much, just a sliver so the inner flesh is showing. Then use that same serrated knife to cut off all the skin, working the blade from top to bottom.

Next, the pumpkin has to be sliced in half to get at the seeds. For this I use a very long chef's knife and a rubber mallet. Position the blade, then tap with the mallet, first at one end of the blade, then the other. This doesn't require too much force.

It's easiest to scoop out the seeds at this point using a spoon. I use a grapefruit spoon with teeth on it. But to get the kids involved, I cut the pumpkin into thin wedges and passed these around so they could remove the seeds themselves. We collected all the seeds to roast later, and bagged the rest of the refuse to compost.

Now, on to the recipe. It's not at all difficult and it uses native ingredients (the pumpkin, wild rice, maple syrup), perfect for November, which is American Indian Heritage Month. For six to eight generous portions, simply cut the pumpkin wedges into 1-inch pieces (about 5 cups). Combine in a large bowl with a medium onion, cut into small dice. Mix in 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil and 2 tablespoons dark maple syrup. Season with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pour the mix into a baking pan, add 1/2 cup water. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and place in a 350-degree oven.

Meanwhile, cook the wild rice, placing 1 cup rice in a saucepan with 2 cups of water and a generous pinch of salt. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for about 45 minutes, or until the rice is very tender and beginning to crack open.

After the pumpkin mixture has been in the oven 30 minutes, remove the aluminum foil and bake another 30 minutes, or until the pumpkin is cooked through. Toss the pumpkin mix and wild rice in a mixing bowl and stir in 1/2 cup or more dried cranberries (some dried blueberries would also work) and chopped parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm or room temperature.

This recipe came from The Washington Post, perhaps the first time I've used a recipe from that paper that I didn't write myself. And I have to say, if I were doing it again, I would probably do it differently. For instance, the pumpkin could be roasted on a baking sheet to caramelize a little for extra flavor. I would sautee the onions separately to caramelize as well, and I might use red onions rather than Bermuda onions for some extra sweetness and color. The Post's recipe did not call for dried fruit or parsley, but without them I think this dish is extremely plain. You could even add some toasted nuts, such as walnuts or pecans, and maybe some orange zest. At that point it comes very close to the sweet potato salad that we like so much.

While my assistant was mixing the pumpkin and wild rice and setting out serving plates for the kids, we read "Runaway Pumpkin," a rhyming story that just manages to bridge from the youngest kids to the older ones. As far as the food goes, even the younger ones like the combination of pumpkin and maple syrup, and they find the wild rice appealing. But then, kids seem to like rice no matter how it's prepared.