Turnips, rutabaga, and kohlrabi.....it's all in the family.

Have you ever been confused about the differences between kohlrabi, turnips, and rutabaga?  Or have you just ever wonder what the heck they are?  Would you know one if you met it on the street?  Well I'm here to straighten all of us out, including myself, on the ins and outs of these three root vegetables.

It's about that time at the farmers' market.  Potatoes, onions, radishes, rutabaga....what?  What's a rutabaga?  And how do you pronounce it anyhow?  Here's how it goes:  root-a-beg-a.  Say it out loud. 

Rutabaga

The word rutabaga comes from the Swedish word Rotabagge, meaning "ram root. It is also known as a Swedish turnip or yellow turnip. 

So then what's the difference between a turnip and a rutabaga?  It turns out that rutabagas and turnips come from the cabbage family.  As does the kohlrabi, for that matter, as is cauliflower and broccoli. 

Turnips

The rutabaga is actually a hybrid of a turnip and a cabbage.  Where the rutabaga tends towards a yellowish flesh, the turnip is white.  Kohlrabi is often called a cabbage turnip. 

Kohlrabi

These three root vegetables have a sad history of neglect in the culinary world.  They aren't fancy or pretty; they are often misunderstood.  But it seems that more attention has recently been giving to these outcasts.  In fact, all three are great companion vegetables.

Let's take a look at each and see how they can be prepared.  We'll start with turnips.  When choosing turnips at the market, make sure the skin is smooth.  They should be firm with crisp green tops.  They will have a sweet aroma.  For an easy side dish, choose small turnips, which are sweeter and more tender.  Peel the turnips and cut them into wedges.  Slice some fresh garlic.  Heat olive oil in a large skillet and add the turnips and garlic.  Saute until tender.  Add the turnips greens, if you like, and cook until the greens are wilted.  Season with salt and pepper.  Plate and serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

Now for rutabagas.  A ripe rutabaga will have tinges of purple on the skin.  Make sure you get one that is firm and not wrinkly.  It should have a good weight to it. To make roasted rutabaga, first peel the skin off and cut the root into cubes.  Toss with olive oil and salt and pepper.  Spread it all out on a baking sheet and roast at 400 degrees until golden brown and soft, about 35-40 minutes.  Garnish with a little chopped parsley.

And, finally, kohlrabi.  I don't know if I saved the best for last or not, but I love mashed stuff.  So today's recipe is Creamy Mashed Kohlrabi.  When selecting kohlrabi, make sure the skin is thin and tender with no wrinkles.  The size is about the size of a tennis ball.  Really large ones will tend to be more fibrous.

What you need:

2-3 kohlrabi, cubed

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 -1/3 cup milk or cream

1 tablespoon chives, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and pepper to taste.

What you need to do:

Fill a medium size pot about half way with water.  Add some salt and bring to boil.  Peel and cube the kohlrabi.  Add to the water and boil until kohlrabi is tender.  Drain.

Mince the chive and garlic and add to the butter and cooked kohlrabi in the bowl of a food processor.  Process and add milk to get the desired consistency.  Return the mixture to a pan and heat through as needed.

Serve as a side dish with roasted or fried chicken and a lovely salad.

There you have it.  Another use for a misunderstood and neglected root vegetable.

Now go out and make something good.

Stone Fruit

What do peaches, plums cherries, raspberries and coconuts have in common?   They are all considered a stone fruit.   Yes even raspberries and coconuts are stone fruits.   I was surprised myself to read they were.

The stone inside a peach, plum or cherries are also called pits and not to be mistaken for seeds.  The seed is inside the stone.  The seed inside the stone is also called a kernel.  A stone fruit is also called a drupe.   For raspberries the stone is all the little tiny pits inside the round parts that make up the raspberry.   These tiny pits are called drupelets. 

The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, is a drupe, not a nut.  The type of fruit of a coconut is classified as a simple dry fruit, fibrous drupe.  Everything I read mentioned coconuts can float long distances in the ocean.  I am not sure why that is important to know but since every site talked about it I thought I better add it to. Maybe if you are stranded on a deserted island.  

Here are some other stone fruits…

Coffee

Jujube

Mango

Olive

Dates

Pistachio

White Sapote

Prunes

Almonds

Apricots’

Nectarines

Plums

Blackberries

Peaches are also categorized as Freestone or Clingstone.   Freestone means the flesh of the fruit can be removed from the stone easily.  Clingstone means the flesh is difficult to remove from the stone.   We have all experienced those.  BUT you can ask the local grocer what type they have or if you frequent a farmers market for produce stand they should know the type they carry.   Both are good tasting, just one can be a bit more stubborn when eating or cutting it.  Nectarines and plums also come in Freestone or Clingstone fruits.  Apricots are considered a Clingstone fruit.

Mango Gelato

What you need:

1 cup sugar

4 egg yolks

1 3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup cream

2 large mangos

1 tablespoon lemon juice

What you need to do:

Peel and cut the mango into pieces.  Get as much flesh off as possible.  Blend it in a food processor along with the lemon juice.  Strain the mango mix into a bowl to get out the stringy bits.  You should have about 1 1/4 cup puree.

Whisk egg yolks and sugar until pail an lemony colored.  In a medium sauce pan, bring the milk and cream to a simmer.  Turn off the heat and whisk half of the mixture into the yolks very slowly.  Whisk vigorously.  Return everything to the sauce pan over a very low heat and keep on stirring until it thickens.

Remove from heat and strain into a large bowl.  Let it cool for 5 or 6 minutes and then mix in the mango puree.   Refrigerate overnight.

Place the ice cream machine bowl and blender in the freeze and leave over night. 

Add the cold mango cream into the frozen ice cream bowl and process as directed using your ice cream maker.

 

YUMMY!!!!

Cobbler, Crisps, and Crumbles....Oh, and Brown Betties and Buckles, too!

Have you ever heard of apple crisp, peach cobbler, and berry crumble? These are fairly common names in the baking world. Maybe your grandmother or father made apple crisp or a brown betty when the fall apples came out. Maybe you made a peach cobbler when the Colorado peaches first hit the neighborhood market. And let's not forget combining raspberries and blackberries and blueberries during the summer for the lovely crumble or crisp. 

But what's the difference between all these dessert options? Some of the differences are small but reflect the region or culture in which they are made. For example, a crisp and a crumble are just about the same having a topping that is looser and, well, crumblier (is that a word?), while a cobbler is more like fruit with a biscuit-like topping. 

Then there are the Betties and the Buckles. (We haven't even mentioned Slumps, Pandowdy, and Sonkers!) After a little research, I've learned that all the various ways of putting fruit together with a crust or streusel or a biscuit sort of all get lumped into the cobbler or crisp category. The differences may be subtle, but, never-the-less, important. The 2 Prickly Pears believe that holding on to traditions and combining the new in the culinary world is a very good way to progress and not lose sight of where we came from. 

So let's break it down, shall we? We'll start with a few short definitions.

What is a ....

Cobbler: this is a deep dish fruit dessert that is traditionally topped with a biscuit or scone batter and then baked. Often this is served warm with a dollop of whip cream or a scoop of ice cream. This dessert was originated in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Peach Cobbler

Crisp: this is a stewed fruit dessert that is topped with a crumbly mixture of butter, oats, flour and white/brown sugar. It is baked until the topping is crispy and browned. In general a crisp is thinner that a cobbler or a crumble. This is also good served warm with ice cream. This dessert was originated in Britain.

Rhubarb Crisp 

Brown Betty: this is a fruit, mostly commonly apples, base between layers of buttered crumbs. This originated in the United States.

Buckle: is a type of cake made in a single layer with berries in the batter (usually blueberries). It most often has a streusel topping.

Blueberry Buckle

Crumble: this is just about the same as a crisp only leaving out the oats. This gives the texture of the topping more of a crumbled pie crust. It will be sweeter and buttery. Fuzzy history, but the name is used in the United States and Canada.

Apple Crumble

Now that I've totally confused you, please feel free to look up recipes on line and find the fruit dessert that is most interesting. If you think about it, all of these really are a loosely defined pie, with the exception of the buckle. With a pie you have a bottom crust and you cut it into wedges, these desserts are scoopable (is that a word?) rather than cut in pieces. But just like a pie they are made even more delicious when paired with ice cream! 

Today I am trying my hand at a Crumble. More specifically, a Plum Crumble. I love stone fruits like plums, peaches, and nectarines. All these fruits are in season right now, but won't be around long. So I'm taking advantages of the plums. 

So, let's get started. 

Plum Crumble

Here's what you need:

For the topping:

1 1/4 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 cup sugar

8 tablespoons cold butter cut in pieces

1 teaspoon cinnamon

For the fruit

5-6 plums, stones removed and slices

1/4 cup sugar, plus 1 1/2 tablespoon

1/2 cup cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

Here's what you need to do: 

Heat your oven to 375 degrees.  Combine all the ingredients for the topping in a food processor until a crumbly texture forms.  Set aside.

In medium bowl, combine egg, 1/4 cup sugar, cream and vanilla.  Whisk until combined.  Set aside.

Butter bottom and sides of a 9 inch cake pan.  Slice plums and place evenly in the bottom of the pan. Pour the egg mixture over the plums.  Evenly distribute the crumb topping over the plums.

Place cake pan on a cookie sheet to catch anything that might bubble over.  Bake crumble for 35-40 minutes, until the plums are tender and the topping begins to brown.  Allow to cool on a rack.  Serve warm with creme fraiche or vanilla ice cream.

Take full advantage of the summer fruits, including the berries, while they last.  It's a great time to make a crumble, or a cobbler, or a crisp or a brown betty, or a buckle.

Now, go out and make something good!!

Blooming spices

I (Pam) recently visited a local pub that had the most incredible Creole Grits in the land! The grits made me want to go back for something more. Because the pub is just down the road from where I live it is a good place to stop. You know…working through the menu. My next visit I had the pork skewer…. They were THE BOMB!!!! In that visit I was lucky enough to chat with the chef. Nice guy willing to share a tip or two. What made the pork skewers so great was the curry gravy on them. So the chef and I chatted a bit about spices. I told him I was learning to cook with curry. We all have to start somewhere and though I was doing an ok job, I knew I was missing something. He told me to sauté the curry before adding it to whatever dish I was making. Well there you go. The thing I was missing! So off to the internet I went exploring what sautéing spices meant. Sautéing spices, for those that don’t know, is called a few different things, frying, roasting and my favorite…. BLOOMING.

Blooming is so simple to do, but you have to pay attention to what you are doing.  Here is how you bloom spices.  You want to heat your pan and get the oil hot.  It needs to shimmer, but don’t let it start smoking or burning.  Turn down the heat and then add the spice.  You don’t want a burnt taste to your spice, you want the spice to break open, which will bring out the earthy and/or nutty flavor of the spice.  It doesn’t take long, that is why it is so important to watch what you are doing.

Once the spice has bloomed you are ready to cook with it.  Here is my version of coconut curry rice.   My first try at it.

Coconut Curry Rice

What you need:

1 cup rice – preferably Basmati or Jasmine rice

1 (14oz) can coconut milk

1/4 cup water

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

2 cloves minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

What you do:

• Bloom your curry, garlic, ginger and turmeric in a sauce pan with about 3 tablespoons olive oil
• After the curry, garlic, gingers and turmeric has bloomed, add your coconut milk and bring to a lower simmer.  Be careful not to burn it. 
• Once the milk has heated add the rice and the rest of the ingredients, cover, and reduce heat to low.
• Cook about 15 minutes.
• Fluff rice and let sit for 5 minutes

If you like a spicy dish add a hotter curry.  I like to add a bit of paprika to my curry rice.  If you do too, add the paprika to the pan at the same time you add the curry.  Blooming paprika is a great way to get that flavor out.

In this dish you can easily had your favorite sautéed veggies and a favorite protein like chicken or shrimp.  The possibilities are endless.

Spices good for blooming

Cumin

Coriander

Curry

Fennel

Red pepper flakes

Cinnamon

Black mustard seed

Dried Chilies

An apple a day...

We are back and we are so happy to be blogging again.  We know, we know, we know, we've said this before.  You must forgive us for our long absence. Summer is here and life is quite busy.  We have been working very hard on getting our recipes in order for our cookbook.  This has kept us busy, but we've missed our friends all around the world as we develop our ideas for the blog and the cookbook.  

So here we are, ready to do our research and give you all sorts of information on the ins and outs of preparing foods with style, fun, and enthusiasm.  

It's August now, and that means we are at the height of Summer.  The harvest has just begun and your neighborhood farmers' market has potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, and onions, not to mention sweet corn. In about another month we will start seeing acorn squash, and bushels of all our favorite root vegetables.  That can only mean that canning season will soon be upon us.  

Possibly the most popular fruit will also become available.  Namely, the every popular apple.It may surprise some to learn that apples appear on the scene as early as June. Maybe you have an apple tree in your back yard, and maybe you've already seen apples getting ready for picking.  In any event, orchards will be busting with all sorts of apple goodness, such as apple cider, apple pie, baked apples and, of course, carameled apples. YUMMY!  

So today we are talking apples. Have you ever heard the expression, "an apple a day keeps the doctor away"? The expression originated in Whales. It's original wording is:

"Eat an apple on going to bed, And you'll keep the doctor from earning his bread."

Truth be told, the word "apple" was once used to mean any fruit.  But not to be underestimated, the prolific apples is loaded with good things like Vitamin C. They also reduce tooth decay by cleaning one's teeth and killing off bacteria. It has also been suggested by Cornell University researchers that the quercetin found in apples protects brain cells against neuro-degenerative disorders like Alzheimer's Disease.

Statistics say that there are some 7,500 varieties of apples in the world. That's a lot to choose from when planning to make a pie or a crisp or cobbler (We'll talk more about those deserts in a later post.)  We're not going to list all the types of apples here, but if you are interested, here's a list with descriptions.

With all the possible options for cooking and baking with apples, how do you know which to select for your dishes?  Even if all you know is that some apples are tart and some are sweet; some are softer, some are harder, you know enough to get started.  Apples can be sorted by baking apples and cooking apples.  Here's the breakdown for you.

As children we remember having apple butter from the store.  It was in a glass jar that was shaped like an apple.  It was always good on buttered toast.  So today we picked apple butter as our recipe.  It's easy.  A whole bunch of apples, a few seasonings, and a crock pot, that's all you need.

Homemade Apple Butter

Here's what you need:

8 lbs any kind of apples (feel free to mix and match)

1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Here's what you need to do:

Peel and core apples, cutting them in large chucks.  Place apples in slow cooker.  Combine cinnamon, sugars and sea salt, then pour mixture over apples.  Set the slow cooker on high and leave to cook for 1 hour.  Then set the slow cooker on low for 8 - 10 hours.  Stir occasionally.  During the last hour remove the cover and continue to cook until the apple butter is thick.  Taste and adjust sugar and salt as needed to taste.

Allow apple butter to cool.  It can be put in jars and given as gifts, but make sure to keep some for yourself!!

Make good use of the apple season.  Find an orchard near you and pick your own.  Enjoy what nature has to offer.

Now, go out and make something good!

You say stuffing, I say dressing

No two families can agree on the proper stuffing or dressing recipe let alone decide on the correct name to use.  There are many opinions out there about which is the correct term to use.   In the "Joy of Cooking" it indicates stuffing means to stuff the cavity of the turkey where dressing is baked it in a pan.   Yet others claim it is regional term and had nothing to do with the turkey.  Southerns use dressing because it is more "gentile" then stuffing which is a northern term.

I don't know... we used both in our house and we are from the north.  We just roll that way...LOL!

The differences do not stop with the proper name.   All will agree that dressing is a bread type casserole, but what goes it in varies widely.   Some are traditional recipes and others are personal preference.   Like so many other dishes we have and will talk about, it is good to know the history and to see where we fit in.  

Like many things. we can date stuffing  back to ancient Romans.  Apicius, a Roman chef who is believed to have lived in the 2nd century BC  - 1st century AD,  wrote one of the oldest known cookbooks called  ‘ Apicius de re Coquinaria’, which included recipes for stuffing a variety of animals with vegatables, herbs, nuts and spelt, a popular known wheat.  However, we are sure it dates farther back then that.  In the Middle Ages dressing was known as “farce” which comes from the French word  farcir, which means “to stuff”.   Stuffing first appeared in print in 1538.   In the 1880’s the Victorians decided to change the name to dressing… apparently the fickly people they didn’t like the crude name of stuffing.

There is a bit of vanity that comes with making dressing.  We all think ours in the best and will politely smile when we taste others and say…”Mmmmm that is good” and when the creator turns their back we look at our family member and say…”but ours is better”.   You know you have done it. 

There is a pride that comes with a Thanksgiving meal and dressing is a traditional dish that is the staple of a proper table setting.  It is hard to know what the Pilgrims used for stuffing when they landed on Plymouth rock in 1621 but by the early 19th century oyster stuffing was popular.   It was a coastal dish and not readily know to the pioneers who were establishing homestead on the frontier. 

Oyster Stuffing

Yet with the expansion of the railroad it became more known throughout the country. Frontier families view the dish as an upper class dish and was not widely received. 

As the south began developing there was a shift in using a bread base dressing to a cornmeal base.   In time the Cajun influence appeared adding andouille sausage.  There is the Pennsylvania Dutch version which uses mashed potatoes instead of bread.  And lets not forget the Wild rice stuffing from the Great Lakes area which usually had dried cherries, cranberries and/or apples.  There is still the Chestnut dressing that is ever so popular and reminds us of old England which lives in our minds thanks to Charles Dickens.

Corn Bread Stuffing

Like all the families out there, the Williams family has traditional dressing which was created by our father.  I am going to guess he learned how to make this dish from his mother and probably his grandmother who lived with him when he was a child.   She came from Belgium so I am guessing there is a bit of Bavarian influence in the dish.  After our father passed it fell to me, Pam, to take up the helm.   I am not sure how that happened since I was only 21 at the time and really not a cook.  But I took it on proudly.  Like many dressings I tried “fancying” up this dish and putting my own spin on it.   Changing spices or adding in fruit or changing the meat.   Every time it failed.  And it failed BIG!!!  Finally I was told to stop it and make it right.   Tough crowd I was working with.   Like most families a “traditional” dish is not written down.  You watched, paying close attention and took mental notes.   So back to the basics I went.   I have not strayed from the path since.

So here it is.   Our family recipe.  And yes the proportions are up to you but I will give you a few guidelines.

What you need:

1 – ½ ground beef.   Use good ground beef whenever possible.  

One chopped onion

2-3 stalks celery - chopped

1 -2 bags Sage bread crumbs

Salt and Pepper

What you need to do:

• Brown the ground beef and drain grease.
• Sauté onions and celery.
• Place ground beef, onions and celery in a large mixing bowl.  Add at least one bag of sage bread crumbs.  
• Slowly add water and begin mixing.  Now get in there with your hands and mix…clean hands of course.   
• Add water as you go until mixture is moist.  This is the hard part to explain.   It is experience and a touch thing.   Remember the moister will evaporate if you bake it in a pan in the oven.  However it will stay or possibly become moister when put in a crock pot.    This is a judgment call and guess.

To cook in the oven:   Place in an oven proof pan at 350 until warmed through and crunchy on the top.

Crockpot method:  place in crock pot on a low to medium setting and cook until warm.   Depending on your crock pot you will get a crunchy bottom and side to the dressing.

I do both methods depending on where we are having Thanksgiving.  As you know, there is never enough oven space. (that is a design flaw with the Thanksgiving meal….LOL)

(ok this years I am going to add sautéed fennel… wish me luck.   I will probably get yelled at for messing with it.)

Now that we have our dressing in order, we need to discuss the bird.  You know what we're talking about....the TURKEY.   Whether you stuff your turkey or bake your dressing in the oven separately, it is important to make sure all your side dishes compliment the turkey. 

But before we get to the recipe, here are a few facts for you:

• In 2012, the average American ate 16 pounds of turkey..
• 88% of Americans surveyed eat turkey on Thanksgiving
• 46 million turkeys are eaten each Thanksgiving, 22 million on Christmas, and 19 million on Easter.
• In 2011, 736 million pounds of turkey were consumed in the US.
• In 2013, 242 million turkeys were raised in the US.
• The average weight of a turkey sold at Thanksgiving is 15 pounds.
• The heaviest turkey ever raised was 86 pounds.
• The wild turkey is native to northern Mexico and the eastern US.
• The turkey was domesticated in Mexico and brought to Europe in the 16th century.
• Turkeys live almost 10 million years ago.
• Male turkeys gobble and can be heard a mile away.  Female turkeys do not gobble.
• Turkey's can see in color.
• Turkey's are related to pheasants.
• Wild turkeys can fly; domestic turkeys cannot fly.
• The Native Americans hunted wild turkey for its sweet and juicy meat as early as 1000 AD.

Turkey is clearly the most recognized part of any Thanksgiving meal.  And there are any number of ways to prepare a turkey, including smoking it on the grill, deep frying the whole bird, roasting it over an open fire on a spit, and the old reliable way of roasting it in the oven. If you are looking for a great way to ensure that your turkey is moist and tender, regardless of how you cook it, then we suggest you brine your turkey.  

Brining a turkey takes a bit of extra work, but it is so worthwhile.  I'll admit that in the beginning I thought brining was the same as pickling.  I didn't get it until I did some investigation.  Here's what I learned.  The reason brining makes meat more tender and moist is because of the very nature of meat protein.  The meat, which is essentially muscle, has a structure that, when cooked, tightens up.  This is true especially in overcooked meat. That is why it is dry and tough.  Brining fills the meat with tasty liquid and helps in the roasting process to keep the it moist and tender.  Now even brining really only works if you don't overcook it!!!!  Here's a guide to help you know how long to cook your turkey.

So today, in honor of the lovely turkey, we offer you a recipe for brining your turkey and enjoying it's juicy goodness.

Turkey in Disguise!  :)

What you need:

1 10-12 lb turkey (thawed)

1 Cup kosher salt

1/2 Cup light brown sugar

1 Gallon vegetable stock

1 Tablespoon black peppercorns

1 1/2 teaspoon allspice berries

1 1/2 teaspoon sliced fresh ginger

1 gallon heavily iced water.

What you need to do:

In a large stockpot over a medium-high heat, combine stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and ginger.  Stir occasionally to dissolve the solids and bring to  boil. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.  Refrigerate overnight.

Put the stock, water and ice in a 5 gallon bucket.  Place the thawed and cleaned turkey in the brine, breast side down.  Weight the turkey down if necessary to keep it submerged.  Set the turkey in the refrigerator or a cool are for at least 8 hours.  Turn the bird half way during the brining process.  

Remove the turkey and rinse it thoroughly inside and out.  Discard the brine.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place turkey in roasting pan.  Stuff as you like.  Roast turkey for 30 minutes.  Turn down over to 350 degrees for approximately 2 to 2 1/2 hours or to a temperature of 161 degrees internally.  Remove turkey from oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes before carving.

The 2 Prickly Pears bid you a peaceful and joyful Thanksgiving.  Enjoy your family and friends, and give thanks for all the blessings in your life.  We are taking Thanksgiving week off from our blog because we have lots of holiday preparations, just like you.  We'll be back in December to talk about all kinds of baking fun.

Now, go out and make something good!

Pumpkin or Sweet Potato....Yes, we are talking pie again.

Did you carve a pumpkin this year for Halloween?  

We remember the days of cutting out triangles for the eyes and nose, along with a scary smile all lit up by a candle.  It was great fun and when we were pretty small, it was a bit frightening.  It was all part of the Halloween experience.  The first carving of a vegetables started with the Irish, who would take turnips and carve images in the vegetable and place them in their windows.  Upon arriving as immigrants to America, they found the pumpkin and so the first pumpkins were used for carving.

These days, pumpkin carving has taken on dimensions that are endless.  Here are a few examples:

Wow!  That last one is impressive.  It makes us wonder what is the biggest pumpkin grown to date.  A little research reveals that the largest pumpkin on record weighed in at 2,032 lbs. In October 15, 2013, Tim Mathison grew this pumpkin in his backyard:  

Do you wonder how many pumpkin pies that pumpkin would make?  The answer is actually none. And that's because not all pumpkins are created the same. There are a seemingly endless variety of pumpkins, too many to list here, but we've included a link to break it down for you.  Each kind of pumpkin is used in different ways.

Pumpkins belong to the same plant family as watermelons, honeydew melon, cantaloupe, zucchini, squash, and cucumbers.  Pumpkins have been grown in North America for five thousand years.  They are indigenous to the western hemisphere, but now are grown on every continent except Antarctica.

Once pumpkins have served their purpose for Halloween, we turn to them as a food source. As a matter of fact, Native Americans roasted long strips of pumpkin on the open fire and ate them. The seeds were also eaten and used as medicine.  They would also dry the strips and used them to weave mats.  The flowers, seeds and flesh of a pumpkin are all edible. The nutritional value of this plant includes:

• No cholesterol or saturated fats
• High in dietary fiber, anti-oxidants and minerals
• High in vitamin A, C and E
• Good source of vitamin B-complex, like folates, niacin, and thiamin
• Pumpkin seeds are a concentrated source of protein

After you prepare the pumpkin flowers (here's a recipe) and after you roast the seeds (here's a recipe), it's time to make something with the meat of the pumpkin.  There are literally hundreds of recipes using pumpkin.  You can make everything from muffins to pie to soup to bread and on and on.  

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, everyone is expecting a recipe for pumpkin pie. We offer you a link to a variety of images of this most holiday pie.  If you click on an image you can visit the page that will offer you the recipe.  It is speculated that the first pumpkin pie was actually a whole pumpkin with the seeds removed, filled with milk, spices, and honey.  It was baked in hot ashes.  Today's pie usually includes a pie crust and a dollop of whipped cream.

Our holiday pie is not at all related to pumpkin.  In fact, it is a relative to the potato. We offer you an alternative to the pumpkin pie, a southern staple at celebrations, including Thanksgiving, namely the Sweet Potato Pie.  This pie was undoubtedly developed by slaves who came from Africa.  The sweet potato is a vegetable very familiar in Africa.  Today sweet potato pie is considered among dishes known as soul food.

Here's is the 2 Prickly Pears recipe for Sweet Potato Pie.  

Just a side note from PP1:   when I made this pie for the post, I didn't realize that I was missing an ingredient.  Turns out I didn't have any evaporated milk.  I didn't realize this until I had already mixed the sweet potatoes and the eggs.  I decided to put all the filling ingredients together and put it in the refrigerator, then finish the pie the next day after I went to the store.  When I was ready to finish the pie, I took the filling out of the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature.  Then I mixed in the evaporated milk and completed my pie.  It may be that my oversight of my ingredient made my pie even better.  I was told that the pie had a depth of flavor and "soul."  It is safe to say that the spices and other ingredients had a chance to meld together giving the pie better flavor. You can choose for yourself if you wish to use this technique for your pie.  I know I will do it again.  

What you need:

Unbaked pie crust for 9" pan  (pie crust recipe)

1/3 butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs slightly beaten

3/4 Cup Evaporated Milk

2 cups mashed sweet potatoes

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

What you need to do:

Cream butter and sugar until smooth, add eggs and mix well.  Add all remaining ingredients and mix until well combined.

Pour pie mixture in unbaked pie crust.

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.  Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake another 30-35 minutes. 

This pie can be made a day ahead of your Thanksgiving meal.  Add a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon......Yummy!

We know the holidays can be hectic.  Prepare many of your dishes ahead of time to save some peace of mind.  Enjoy yourself!


Now, go out and make something good!!!