Pumpkin shortage -- and solution!

I'd like to say it isn't true, but the pumpkin shortage I mentioned in early autumn appears to have returned. Hungry Girl reported it in this morning's broadcast e-mail and backed it up with a press release from Libby's. So if you can find canned pumpkin, buy it. Stock up because it could be another year before you see it again.

There is another answer to the shortage: substitute any other winter squash. How to substitute other squash for pumpkin: 1) Bake the squash til it's soft (bake it whole at 350F for about an hour, randomly puncturing it with a knife to allow air to escape), 2) Cut in half and scrape out the seeds, 3) Puree the pulp in a food processor. 4) Proceed with your recipe as usual, substituting your pureed squash for pumpkin. Your guests probably won't notice the difference and they may actually prefer the change. One of the best 'pumpkin' pies I've had was made with kabocha squash.

For a Southern twist, bake up a sweet potato pie. There's a terrific recipe for it in Oprah's circa-1990s book, In the Kitchen with Rosie. If that book isn't on your shelf, just Google "sweet potato pie" and you'll find more versions than you could eat in a lifetime. I also found -- but haven't yet tried -- a neat-looking sweet potato pie with coconut crust on Gary Alinder's blog, macrochef.

BTW, my favorite sweet potato is the garnet yam. Is there a difference between sweet potatoes and yams? I don't know and truthfully, I don't care. All I know is that I use garnet yams and ONLY garnet yams and I'm always happy with the results.

So not to worry. Either you'll get to the grocery store before the pumpkin is depleted or you'll try something new, be it a different winter squash or garnet yams.

Pumpkin curry

Lest you think I've finished my pumpkin phase, aha -- a really wonderful, mild curry comes on the scene! It's from Colleen Patrick-Goodreau's recent book, The Vegan Table, and it's mighty tasty. Unlike the dairy-filled, calorific curries in Indian restaurants, this one is dairy- and oil-free, with just 177 calories per serving. The pumpkin taste is subtle; if you didn't know it was there, you might not pick up on it. But you will pick up on its satiny, smooth texture and the fetching flavors of coconut, chiles, and curry -- seductive and exotic.

The dish is built around pumpkin, coconut, and lentils (she wants you to use red lentils, but I only had the conventional brown ones and they worked out fine). I can't share the recipe with you (yet), but I can show it to you in all its pumpkinny orangeness.

Fresh ginger, curry powder, cayenne pepper, and dried red chiles are a few of the aromatics that build the taste of the dish. Personally, I get kinda shy around the bolder flavors, like cayenne and dried chiles, so I erred on the side of restraint and I wish I hadn't. For the chiles, I used two pasilla peppers, where she had called for five of unspecified variety. Because pasilla peppers are mild (chiles rellenos is often made with pasillas), I could've gone all the way, but wimped out. Next time, I'll be a real woman about this.

This dish has a special guest-star quality that's important even though we don't always discuss it: fiberwise, Colleen's pumpkin curry is off the charts. By the book's calculation, a serving has 13 marvelous grams of fiber -- that's close to half of what an adult should consume each day. It's delicious and good for you, too!

So I can't print the recipe yet because I haven't obtained the necessary permission, but stay tuned for details. Or better still, go buy the book; it's only $13.57 on Amazon. It's a very friendly volume, with Colleen's easy, conversational tone dozens of gorgeous pictures, and 199 other mouth-watering recipes. At the very least, make a visit to her web site, Compassionate Cooks.

A pumpkinny twist on chocolate chip cookies

In a pumpkin-induced craze, I baked almost 9 dozen of these delectable goodies!

I’m having so much fun with the pumpkin theme that I think I’ll stay with it a while. Pumpkin nut and chip cookies are a superb way to add fiber and Vitamin A to your diet. Did you know that half a cup of pumpkin contains 5 grams of fiber and 300 percent of the suggested intake of Vitamin A? Sneaking some into chocolate chip cookies is brilliant!

I picked up this recipe at BlogHer Food, a women’s food blogging conference held in San Francisco recently. I find that these taste better the second (and third) day, as the pumpkin pie spice melds with the pumpkin and the chocolate.

Pumpkin nut and chip cookies

California Milk Advisory Board

Makes about 4 dozen

1/2 c butter, softened (I used Earth Balance margarine)

1 1/2 c sugar

1 c canned pumpkin

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 1/2 c flour

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c milk chocolate chips (I used mini chocolate chips)

3/4 c walnuts, toasted and finely chopped

1.         Preheat oven to 350F.

2.         Sift dry ingredients into bowl; add chocolate chips and walnuts, stirring well.

3.         In a separate, larger bowl, mix butter and sugar until creamy; add pumpkin, egg, and vanilla, beating well after each addition.

4.         Gradually add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture until well blended.

5.         Drop batter by heaping teaspoons onto lightly buttered cookie sheets.

6.         Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until edges are golden brown.

7.         Cool on wire racks and store in airtight container.

Isa Chandra's Pumpkin Cake

What a happy coincidence that I procured a case of canned pumpkin just days before the annual Sukkot potluck dinner my husband's congregation puts on every year. Briefly, Sukkot is the annual harvest festival celebrated by Jews. A sukkah (hut) is erected and we all get together in it to thank God for the plentiful harvest and to share food with friends. This year's turn-out was good with about 20 of us there. The hut was solidly constructed, which kept us warm, and enough people brought lanterns that we weren't completely in the dark by 7 p.m.

The buffet was ample and satisfying with lots of noodle dishes, including kugel, lasagne, and pasta salad, and there was a lot of good crusty bread. Is it me or do potlucks generally lack in green vegetables? Maybe next time I'll get gutsy and bring a platter of sauteed spinach or steamed broccoli.

But not this time. This weekend, I was itching to get into that pumpkin. I wanted to make a pumpkin cake. Not muffins or bread. Cake. The difference is subtle and some would say there is no difference, but I find that whether it’s made with carrots, pumpkin, bananas or some other fruit or veggie, a cake typically has a softer crumb than its related bread or muffin.

I ended up finding what I was after in Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s book, Veganomicon. I made her Pumpkin Crumb Cake with Pecan Streusel on page 255, with a couple of alterations. First, I omitted the streusel, instead using vegan cream cheese frosting (from one of her other books, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World). I also added 3/4 cup chopped pecans and 1/2 cup softened raisins (softened by soaking them briefly in boiling water before adding to the batter).

I had originally planned to serve the cake

at the dinner, then bring two big pieces to Leona and Larry, new friends who live down the street. This is the gorgeous jewel of a cake I brought to the dinner...

And this is what I brought home…

Sorry, guys; I promise, you’ll have first dibs on the next baked good I create!

Pumpkin palooza

Armed with my case of pure, canned pumpkin, I am on a quest for every interesting way to cook and eat the stuff. This afternoon, I caught wind of a yummy-looking pumpkin latte on neversaydiet.com. It rivals the Starbucks creation, packing fewer calories and containing real pumpkin. (Starbucks uses flavored syrup.) So have a look at this delicious pumpkin spice latte. Feel free to try it out and report back your impression of it. I'll do the same.

What's your favorite way to eat pumpkin?

Pumpkin shortage?

I loooove pumpkin and eat it all year round. When I'm not whipping up a pumpkin dessert, muffins, or bread I use it in my oatmeal (recipe follows). It's also terrific tonic for my sweet tooth; when I want something sweet, I microwave a scoop of pumpkin with a splash of maple syrup and a healthy dash of pumpkin pie spice.

Because I'm so enamored of this endearing orange veggie, I have canned pumpkin in my pantry all year long. So I was a little alarmed when I couldn't find it in two different grocery stores recently. Turns out, we have something of a shortage going.

The good news is, it's almost over. Here's the story: Bad weather in 2008 led to a smaller-than-expected pumpkin harvest that year. There was enough pumpkin to get holiday bakers through the season, but not enough to seamlessly carry us through until the 2009 harvest. So if you've been looking for canned pumpkin this summer and come up dry, that's why.

Fortunately, the 2009 pumpkin harvest is underway and appears to be a healthy one. Soon -- hopefully in time for Thanksgiving -- shelves will once again be fully stocked with my favorite source of beta carotene, a substance the body uses to produce Vitamin A.

Oh, and here's my recipe for pumpkin oatmeal. :-)

Pumpkin oats

Serves 1

1/2 c old-fashioned oatmeal

1/4 c canned pumpkin

1/2 c milk of any sort (dairy, soy, almond)

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice, more to taste

1 T maple syrup or agave nectar, more to taste

Put all ingredients in a large bowl with high walls (I use an eight-cup measuring cup). Cover with microwave-safe plastic wrap and cook for three minutes, watching closely to prevent it from boiling over. Stir, adding more milk if you prefer a thinner consistency. Serve as-is or with applesauce or yogurt.