Pumpkin love

October 7, 10:33 PMLA Healthy Cooking ExaminerJillana Miller

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Beside their warming orange glow and whimsical quality, pumpkins are an amazing food. Extraordinarily nutritious and delicious is this sweet orange flesh. The lovely classic pumpkin pie is perhaps the most common and adored application for this winter squash. However, this amazing squash does not deserve this sort of “type casting.” Pumpkins have substance and can play a variety of roles.

Pumpkin is a fat-free, low calorie and nutrient abundant food. For a quick look at the squash in terms of numbers, one cup of mashed pumpkin contains only forty-nine calories, twelve grams of carbohydrates, two grams of sugar, three grams of fiber and two grams of protein! Sounds low calorie, but also a bit meek, that is,until considering the vitamin and mineral content of pumpkin. Pumpkin is a good source of Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Thiamin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Iron, Magnesium and Phosphorus and a great source of Vitamin A! Pumpkin also provides substantial Vitamin C, Riboflavin, Potassium, Copper and Manganese.

The many possible culinary celebrations of pumpkins range from sweet, to spicy, to savory, to creamy, to earthy, to light to rich and to many places in between. A variety of textures and temperatures also flatter this super squash. One can enjoy pumpkin cubed and pan seared, mashed, crisped into chips, or scooped straight from the shell, cold through the straw of a creamy smoothie or hot from the spoon of warm a soup.  Pumpkins are here for the season and ready to eat. 

Simple Oven Roasted Pumpkin

Begin by pre-heating the oven to four hundred degrees. Next rinse the pumpkin to remove any excess dirt. To split the pumpkin one must have an extremely sharp knife or simply drop the pumpkin onto a hard surface so that it cracks. Use your hands to pry the pumpkin open. Scoop the seeds out of the center, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and place face down on a foiled baking sheet. Roast the pumpkins for about an hour or until tender.

For pumpkin recipes by Jillana, check out: 

Whole wheat pumpkin and ricotta ravioli www.examiner.com/x-12263-LA-Healthy-Cooking-Examiner~y2009m10d23-Whole-wheat-pumpkin-and-ricotta-ravioli

Pumpkin enchiladas de Los Angeles - a three part culinary metamorphosis www.examiner.com/x-12263-LA-Healthy-Cooking-Examiner~y2009m10d27-Pumpkin-enchiladas-de-Los-Angeles-a-three-part-culinary-metamorphosis