Pumpkins!

So, yesterday my sister and I helped my boss sell pumpkins at the park. It was a lot of fun and it went better than I expected. Several people came a bought some and I learned some things about pumpkins: Jack-O-Lanters, or carving pumpkins (the big orange ones) are not good for cooking. They are very bland. The best to cook with are Luminas, Jarrahdale, or Cinderellas. They have a sweeter and darker meat than the great big orange pumpkins.

I found a website (HERE) that contained this advice for cooking pumpkin. It is really quiet simple!

Here are three ways to cook a pumpkin, regardless of the variety:
TO BOIL: Wash and cut into chunks, remove seeds and strings. Place in kettle. Boil as you would a potato. Drain, remove rind, mash and use as you would use canned pumpkin.
TO STEAM: Cut in half. Peel. Remove seeds and strings. Place meat in steamer and cook until soft. Mash. Use as you would use canned pumpkin.
TO BAKE: Leave rind on, but cut in half. Remove seeds and strings. Place halves on baking sheet, rind side up. Place a small amount of water in pan. Bake in 350-degree oven for 45 minutes. Scrape out meat. Mash it. (Note: If pumpkin is too mushy, cook slightly to evaporate more moisture.) Use as you would canned pumpkin.
Once cooked and mashed, you can freeze your pumpkin and bake with it later!
From food writer Ellen Carlson, in the St. Paul Pioneer Press

Of course, if you have pumpkin, you have seeds. Don't let those go to waste! They can make good snacks!
Mix raw pumpkin seeds with a little oil (just enough to coat them) and salt and let them sit for 24 hours or more on wax paper, stirring them a few times. Put seeds on a cookie sheet and toast them in a 325-350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes, stirring once or twice. Set them out to cool. Pat them with a paper towel to remove access oil. Enjoy your snack!