PUMPKINS AND MORE PUMPKINS

I love October! Halloween is my favorite holiday and I will admit that the Exorcist is my favorite movie. Yes I love any movie that is horror. Call me a freak or just plain strange. I just love this month. What I also love is carving a pumpkin into something. This year however instead of carving a pumpkin I will attempt to cook with one. Can I cook? Yes! Can I bake? Hah no! Having said that I found a bunch of pumpkin recipes on All Recipes that I thought were interesting. The recipe I found that made me go hmmm, is called Pumpkin Stew that I will attempt to make. The recipe is as follows copied straight from the website.

Ingredients

• 1/4 pound beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes (I am vegetarian so mine will be meatless)
  
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil, divided
• 2 tablespoons water
• 3/8 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1/2 carrots, sliced
• 1/8 large green bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 clove garlic, minced
• 1/8 onion, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 (14.5 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped
• 3/4 teaspoon beef bouillon granules (any suggestions for substitutes?)
  
• 1/8 sugar pumpkin

Directions

1. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Place beef in the saucepan and cook until evenly brown. Mix in the water, potatoes, carrots, green bell pepper, garlic, onion, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer approximately 2 hours.
2. Dissolve the bouillon into the beef mixture. Stir in the tomatoes.
3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
4. Cut top off the pumpkin and remove seeds and pulp. Place the pumpkin in a heavy baking pan. Fill the pumpkin with the beef mixture. Brush outside of the pumpkin with remaining oil.
5. Bake in the preheated oven 2 hours, or until tender. Serve the stew from the pumpkin, scraping out some of the pumpkin meat with each serving.

I may further revise this dish to add more vegetables especially my favorite spinach. We shall see. I am curious to know what pumpkin dishes you make and if there are any recommendations you have for cooking pumpkins.