The Roasting of the Pumpkin!

When I went apple picking this year (as every respectable New Englander should), I also got a tiny little pumpkin, thinking how much fun it would be to roast it up and make pies and breads and pastas and..well pretty much everything pumpkin. But it wound up sitting on my table, through Columbus day, through Halloween, through (can I admit it?) Thanksgiving. But FINALLY I carried out my 2 month old plan. I finally sat down and performed the roasting of the pumpkin!

Whole Roasted Pumpkin
1 Pumpkin

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. Chop up the pumpkin into manageable segments that will fit on a baking sheet.
3. Remove all the seeds from inside the pumpkin (you can roast em up for a nice snack while waiting for the actual pumpkin to cook!)
4. Put about 1" of water on the bottom of the baking sheet, or however much will fit in it. Place the pumpkin so that the skin is facing out and the meat is facing the baking sheet
5. Bake for about an hour, or until the insides are squishy. It'll definitely depend on the size of your pumpkin.
6. Scoop out the pumpkin from the skins and place them in a large bowl  or in a blender. Using either an immersion blender or the real blender, puree the pumpkin meat until it is smooth. Enjoy your homemade pureed pumkpin in a bunch of different recipes!

Health Benefits!!
Pumpkin- High in beta carotene, which is beneficial for eyesight and can help reduce risk of certain cancers, high in fiber, rich in B-Complex vitamins (including folates, niacin, B-6), rich in calcium, copper, potassium and phosphorus

Sources:
http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/pumpkin.html