New Way To Cook Pumpkins

For the last few weeks I've been going early, early in the morning and working out in the swimming pool, swimming laps and then doing water aerobics with a group of ladies. I'm determined to keep it up. Not that it has helped me loose any weight but it has made me less stiff and more flexible.

Of course not as flexible as our yak Gracie, for I can hardly bend around and touch my behind with my nose. Not that I'd want to but I wasn't about to give you a picture of me in the pool. You might mistake it for a whale.

The group of ladies I swim with are go getters and an inspiration. They are a tough group, all with health problems, some so arthritic they can hardly get in and out of the pool. And I figure if they can arrive between six and seven in the morning three days a week, even when it is well below freezing, like this was this morning, I hardly have an excuse. It is not all work and not play for at the end of our work out this morning some of us played beach ball, volley ball with our elbows and feet. It was a hoot.

This tight knit group, talks about their families and of course food.   

Last Friday one of the subjects was pumpkins. One gal suggested we try washing a pumpkin, putting it on a cookie sheet whole and baking it. A friend I'd given a pumpkin to, tried it yesterday and reported back this morning that it worked great.

 So I washed up a pumpkin today, cooked it whole until when I pressed on the sides it gave easily, and pulled it out.

is now sitting on top the stove. When it is cool enough, I'll scrap out the seeds, and the stringy center, saving the pulp for pumpkin soup. Wow!!, look how meaty these Rouge vif Etamps pumpkins are. I'm hoping they taste awesome too. I'm wanting to make pumpkin soup. It Something I've only made once and it wasn't a success. But that was years ago and I'm willing to try again.

With a large stack of pumpkins in the basement, this method will save on a large amount of aluminum foil and time. My old method was to clean out the center of a pumpkin and then wrap it in foil to keep it moist before baking. Not any longer. So if you haven't tried this method, give it a try.