‘The real McCoy’ pumpkin pie recipe

My Pumpkin — The small pumpkin that was slipped into my Live Earth Farm shipment last week.

With Halloween here and Thanksgiving just around the corner I was inspired to revisit the best pumpkin pie recipe that has served me well over the last two years.

My recipe is an adaptation of a Paula Deen recipe, with substitutions to lower the fat content and make it a little healthier without sacrificing flavor. For pumpkin pie lovers around the world, this may help you to save the couple of pounds you will need to either meet your new year’s resolution or at least, save up some calories for those Christmas shortbread cookies.

When a small pumpkin appeared in my share of the latest local farm shipment, I was inspired to not only make a pumpkin pie, but actually use a real pumpkin instead of the canned variety. Follow the recipe as noted in my previous entry. The only difference is instead of using a can opener to prepare the pumpkin, I used knives to cut apart a small pumpkin, enough to garner ~15 oz of pumpkin.

Smaller pumpkins are also thought to be more flavorful. The larger ones, save them for the jack-o-lanterns.

You will need to start off by cutting the pumpkin into slices and peeling off the outer skin. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. I used my smaller toaster-sized oven because it is more energy efficient.

There are some recipes that call for boiling the pumpkin flesh. I decided to roast mine since I thought it would concentrate the flavors more and reduce the amount of vitamins that may leach into the a pot of boiling water.

Pumpkin for pumpkin pie — I sliced my pumpkin in half before sectioning it into large pieces so I can roast the meat fairly evenly.

Pumpkin Pie — I like to slice my pumpkins into thin enough slices so that it is easy to take a paring knife to remove the skin.

Slicing a pumpkin — Slicing the pumpkin with a large chef knife. You may also try a serrated knife if you have difficulty with your pumpkin. Do this carefully.

Peeling a pumpkin — Use a paring knife to peel the pumpkin. You will find this easier if your slices are thin.

Roasting pumpkin — Place the chunks of pumpkin onto a baking pan. I lined it with foil for easier cleanup. Don't scoop out the seeds, do this after the pumpkin has been roasted. It will be easier. Roast for about 45 minute or until the flesh is tender when you stick a fork into it.

Pumpkin ready to be blended — Once the pumpkin comes out of the oven, remove the seeds. Then cool it down. You can either use a food processer to mash up the pumpkin or I like to place it in my large 4 cup measuring cup and use my immersion hand blender to blend the pumpkin. Then I add the other ingredients to the measuring cup and make my entire filling in one container. Convenient and great for clean up.

Once you have the pumpkin blended. Follow the rest of the recipe here to complete your pumpkin pie. Yes, there is something extra special about pumpkin pie made from real pumpkins. If you can procure them, it is a wonderful way to welcome the fall season or to finish off a Thanksgiving feast.