Pumpkin Craze

I love everything pumpkin! And since most pumpkin treats are olny available this time of year, I have to enjoy them while I can. The two ladies who I work with love Starbucks. Having a rough Monday morning? Go to Starbucks. Forgot your lunch? Starbucks is all you need. Dreading working on that finance report? Drink your cares away with a Starbucks latte. In my case, a tall 2-pump, nonfat, no whip, pumpkin spice latte. I could probably live off of PSLs (Starbucks lingo) for the whole month of November, but I choose to have a little more variety... which includes pumpkin bread, slow-churned pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin creamer in my coffee, pumpkin bread pudding (thank you, Sarah) and homemade pumkin pie! When the sun is shining (which isn't that often these days) you can see a hint of orange growing in my hair. I've learned how to make my own pumpkin puree so that I don't have to use the fake canned stuff anymore. And it really adds a fresh taste to any pumpkin dish!

Homemade Pumpkin Puree

Cut a pumpkin in half. Empty out the pumpkin guts (I don't know the technical name) and seeds. Place the two halves face down on a slightly greased cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for about an hour or until the pumpkin is soft. Let the halves cool and then remove the pumpkin skin so that only the soft pulp remains. Blend the remaining pumpkin and store in the fridge until you are ready to whip up a delicious pumpkin treat! Just use your homemade pumpkin puree as a replacement for the canned pumpkin.