Lookie me Martha!

I decided to make pumpkin puree from a real pumpkin. I know, exciting stuff (**yawn**). Well, it was for me! I had read that Libby had a shortage on pumpkin this year, which is why many have seen empty shelves. Since our kids (okay, and me too) love pumpkin everything, I thought... how hard could it be? The answer: embarrassingly easy.

Having read that cheese pumpkins (called that because they look like a wheel of cheese - flat and tanish in color) were the best for pumpkin puree, I inquired at our local farmer's market for availability. One of the farmers had some which he brought in for me this week.

Yesterday I sliced them in half, put them in a baking dish with some water, cooked them until tender, scooped them out and pureed it. I froze some and used the rest to make pumpkin bread, which we had for breakfast today as a special treat (and by request, after dinner too). I made a plain jane loaf (no grated carrots, flax seed, or anything extra hiding in it like normal) just to get an idea of how it really tasted in comparison to Libbys. It was good. Very good. And, as a bonus, it was really cheap. And so easy. And (my last 'and', I promise) I avoided some of the nasty BPA that lines almost all metal cans (this was one of the few things I continued to buy that was canned).

Collin even said his new word for me: "mmoooorr" (more), followed by a rotation of his hand on his chest for the word please (ASL) and a huge smile.

All the boys wanted more. And Ethan told me "You make the best bread mom!" and "It's pumpkalicious!"

So you see, it was really exciting for me. All natural, no chemicals, cheap, easy and the boys absolutely loved it!

In Martha's words: "It's a good thing."