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How Do I Deal With a Pumpkin?

1sweetpea1sweetpea Raw Newbie

Help! I bought a small pumpkin (the baking kind, not the Jack O’Lantern kind) on a whim yesterday. First of all, what is the best way to deal with it? Do I try to peel it or just hack it open? Do I cut the flesh away from the peel? How can I use the slimy seeds? Are they edible as is or do I have to scrub off the slimy stuff and dehydrate the seeds to make crunchy pumpkin seeds? Can you eat those hulls or do they have to be discarded?

My second question is what to do with the flesh. I’m not a dessert eater, so pumpkin pies, puddings, mousses, ice creams, etc, are out. I can make a soup, sure, but I’m wondering about other savoury concepts for pumpkin flesh. Would the flesh be too crunchy eaten as it is, or do I need to soak or dehydrate it a bit to soften for eating. I’ve never been a pumpkin lover, but I think it’s mostly due to the pumpkin pie spices and ultra sweetness of traditional preparations. I’m more into the idea of Indian or other asian spicing. Does anyone have any suggestions, preferably without coconut products, which I find hard to digest? What sauce could I use if I spiralized the pumpkin into noodles?

Comments

  • Blue_EyesBlue_Eyes Raw Master

    Here Here. I am right with you. I have a small white pumpkin on my counter and for the life of me dont know why I bought it because I am afraid it will rot before I figure out what to do with it.

    looking forward to answers. thanks for bringing up the subject. I am clueless

  • 1sweetpea1sweetpea Raw Newbie

    I’m ready with my cleaver, but apprehensive to hack into the little bugger until I have a concrete idea what to do after that!

  • Blue_EyesBlue_Eyes Raw Master

    I hear ya, I figure the longer it is unopened the longer it will last

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    I cut off the outer skin & the inner slimy layer, but I don’t know if you have to. Spiralize it & toss the “noodles” with olive oil, sea salt & black pepper – crushed garlic, too, if you like it.

    I am wondering about the seeds, too. We grew pumpkins in the garden, so I want to know how to save the seeds. You can eat the hulls of the pumpkin seed – we used to salt & roast them when I was a kid. I’m wondering if they would work to dehydrate, and how to get the hulls off if I want to use just the seed?

  • Blue_EyesBlue_Eyes Raw Master

    that sounds pretty good. How would some sage sound? what is the best way to save the rest? could I put it in the freezer so it will be ok in case I take to long for the next meal with it?

  • I just cut it in half and cleaned most of the slimy stuff off. Then I cut it like cantelope into wedges. Next I cleaned it better and cut off the skin. I cut it thin and put in the dehydrator. It was still wet before bed so I let it dehydrate overnight. It was completely dehydrated (oops) but put it in water for a couple of hours and now it is great. I am going to make pumpkin bread with it with just dates for sweetness. This is my first attempt with pumpkin.

  • blueyzblueyz Raw Newbie

    I just bought a little pumkpin myself and wondering the same thing so thanks for the post. I remember baking the seeds as a kid, I’m sure a good rinse and perhaps toss with oil/spices or sea salt then put in the dehydrator would be good too. I do like cinnamon and the like(fall in CT, love the smells) but I have also had pumkin with curry spices and that was a totally different but also wonderful taste experience.

  • Blue_EyesBlue_Eyes Raw Master

    I cut it but it did not work in my spiral er so i shredded it up an about took my knuckles off did cut my hand trying to cut the peel off it is extremely hard.

    I mixed it with a little drizzle of olive oil and sea salt and cracked pepper and sprinkled with some sage. It is good, but not how I remember cooked pumpkin to me does not taste like pumpkin but then I did have a white one so I do not know if that makes a difference or not.

    but all in all pretty tasty. got to find a better way of shredding ouch open for ideas

    thanks angie this is good!

  • 1sweetpea1sweetpea Raw Newbie

    The one I bought was orange and called something like “Sugar Pie Pumpkin”. It’s only about 6 inches or so in diameter, like a 5-pin bowling ball. I figured I’d start small, in case I didn’t like it. I’m going to try the spiralized noodles with olive oil, garlic, sea salt and black pepper idea, for sure.

    Angie—did you use a Spirooli or a Saladacco for the noodles? I have both. The Saladacco does really fine angel hair but not much else. The Spirooli comes with three attachments to do different sizes and shapes.

    RAWCure—did the dehydrating make it more tender?

  • Blue_EyesBlue_Eyes Raw Master

    I just mixed some with a little agave and cinnamon WOW OK pumpkin I am hooked!!

    I really need to come down from my agave addiction but it sure beats the amount of sugar i used to consume.

  • waterbaby12347waterbaby12347 Raw Newbie

    I have several of those small pie pumpkins and I’m planning on pumpkin soup in the blender… I will cut it in half clean out the goop saving the seeds… Then cut it like a canteloupe as RAWCure does, peel with a potato peeler and cut it into chunks for the blender…

    The seeds and connecting tissue that remain attached will go into water for soaking over night,.which will cause them to seperate… I will then toss the seeds in oil & salt and dehydrate, no need to worry with removing the Hull as that isn’t necessary… Hope in some way I have been of help… Best betacarotine source yet!!! Enjoy…

  • amysueamysue Raw Newbie

    I love the Pumpkin Curry http://www.goneraw.com/recipes/2048-Pumpkin-Curry and I came up with a Pumpkin Pie smoothie http://www.goneraw.com/recipes/2155-Pumpkin-Pie… Hope that helps!

  • beanybeeganbeanybeegan Raw Newbie

    water baby did you buy the “hull less seed” pumpkin? If it isn’t hull less I don’t bother with the seeds with hulls on. So much easier to buy the pumpkin seeds. Call me lazy. In my opinion the pumpkin with the seeds with hulls are better tasting than the hull less type. But once again I stick with Butternut Squash so much easier to peel and all that solid meat in the neck. Another lazy moment.

  • I blend all the pumpkin, seeds and all.If you do not like to eat part with seeds, you can use it for cleaning and massaging your body, face and joints. Check out Golden pumpkin soup recipe on this site. I also have many other pumpkin recipes but then i would need to translate those into English, do not have time for that right now.

  • I LOVE pumpkins seeds! When I was a kid, my mom would bake them in the oven every October, and now ever time I see a pumpkin, I get uncontrollable cravings! =] I’m glad this topic was posted, because I am also curious; what is the best way to prepare seeds without dehydrating them? I don’t own a dehydrator. =[

  • oil, spice and dehydrate the seeds. I dehydrate my butternut squash seeds also. Very yummy.

  • I made two different pumpkin breads because I forgot to make the pumpkin puree first so I did it the second time. The first time I threw the pumpkin and all the other ingredients in the food processor and mixed it a long time. It never got very smooth. So the next one I made the puree and mixed the other ingredients by hand. I did not put flax seeds in again because I was lazy and put them in the dehydrator over night. The next morning the second bread was done and more crumbly. The first bread was still wet inside so I sliced them and they are still in the dehydrator now. I tried it and it is very dense and I can taste the flax seed. Next time I would make it like the second version and add just a little flax seed meal and pull it out of the dehydrator earlier.

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    Blue_Eyes – Ouch – Sorry! I don’t have a spiralizer – I’ve just been scraping the flesh out of the middle with a spoon, but I thought there were spiralizers that do hard veggies. Also, I think I got my squashes confused, peeling-wise. I was thinking easy peeling, but now I think that was butternut squash. :(

  • beanybeeganbeanybeegan Raw Newbie

    angie, if they are pumpkin or squash seeds in shell, then most crack them with the teeth. That is the reason for all the goodies on them before roasting. The seeds we buy in the bulk area is from hull less seed pumpkins.

  • miss soufflemiss souffle Raw Newbie

    mm how do you get the hulls off pumpkin seeds. i can’t even find it on google! anyone know?

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    beany – thanks for the info.!

    I salted & dehydrated the seeds – no oil – and I haven’t eaten the roasted ones in a few years (so I don’t remember how they compare), but these were good!

    I was just thinking – what about running the pumpkin through a juicer & then mixing pulp & juice back together like baked squash? And would freezing make the stuff softer – just freeze big chunks for later use?

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