I love harvest season so many things to bake, zucchini muffins, carrot bread, apple strudel and pumpkin pie….umm pumpkin pie my favourite. I started making pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving about 11 years ago, after a couple of years my grandfather finally asked if the pie was home made from scratch or from a can. At first like a moron I said, “What do you mean from scratch?” My grandfather laughed and just said, “Well pumpkins don’t grow in cans do they?” So there it was I knew the next year I had to do it from scratch, and thank goodness I did because grandpa said it was the best pumpkin pie he had ever eaten.

So how’d I do it?

Well it’s pretty easy, with a good knife and a strong arm; If you’re like me you grow your own pumpkins, if not just buy a small pie pumpkin from your grocery store, they usually run a buck or two. One small pumpkin usually does one large pie so keep in mind how many pies your are planning on making, unless of course your just making the puree to freeze than buy as many as you need.

So now you’ve got your pumpkin you will need to remove the outer skin, I usually have a large pumpkin so I cut mine in pieces, you can do what ever feels more comfortable and safe, taking the skin off can be difficult. Once the orange skin is removed you’re left with the flesh and the gooey insides. Cut pumpkin in half if you haven’t already cut it, remove stringy pulp and seeds as you would while carving a Halloween pumpkin. Once all you have left is the thick orange flesh then you chop it into small pieces. Add some water to a pot and simmer pumpkin till soft and easy to cut with a fork. If there is too much liquid drain, then mash or puree with blender, hand blender or food processor (this is the best method).

Let cool and your ready to bake, that’s it.. Pretty simple isn’t it.

Freeze puree or process in jars to save for future use. Have pumpkin readily available all year long…

And in case you don’t have it here is the pie recipe I use, I’m not sure where I got it but it’s pretty generic yet tastes fabulous…

Pumpkin pie recipe

2 cups pumpkin puree

2 eggs

¾ cup sugar

1 2/3 cup evaporated milk

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon ginger

¼ teaspoon cloves

¼ teaspoon salt

1 unbaked pie shell