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Wednesday, Nov. 04, 2009

For that perfect scent and taste of fall, turn to the great pumpkin

In Middle Georgia, fall comes late, but those who predict weather are predicting cooler weather for the rest of the week. “Cooler weather” is a relative term. It may not seem very cool when compared to other parts of the country, but when you live here, you take what you can get.

Without a doubt, fall is my favorite season. I get absolutely giddy with excitement when the cooler weather settles in. It’s sweater weather for my two miniature dachshunds, and walks around the block with my two “children” are greatly enjoyed by the whole Wohlford family.

And in my kitchen, a new fragrance settles in — the scent of aromatic spices and pumpkin baking in the oven. As I write this article, the air is thick with the scent of pumpkin butter baking in my oven.

A bit of a history lesson: The pumpkin was one of the many foods used by the American Indians in the “new world” and was a welcome discovery by the Pilgrims. The Indians pounded strips of pumpkin flat, dried them and wove them into mats for trading. They also dried pumpkin to use as a winter-surviving food source.

Our American forefathers heartily embraced the sweet, multipurpose vegetable, which became a traditional Thanksgiving staple. The colonists used pumpkin not only as a side dish and dessert, but also in soups, and even made beer with it.

Of course, pumpkins are popular at Halloween, when they are carved into jack-o’-lanterns, but did you know that the practice was brought to the United States by Irish immigrants, who originally carved turnips into jack-o’-lanterns? In America, pumpkins were more plentiful and cheaper than turnips, and so came about the switch from turnips to pumpkins.

Whether you choose the convenience of canned pumpkin or wish to bake your own and scoop out the tender flesh to use in recipes (use small pie pumpkins — not the large jack-o’-lantern variety), you’re going to love the recipes I’ll share with you today.

Spicy Pumpkin Cake is such a deliciously moist delight. When I serve it as a dessert, I serve each slice with a dollop of sweetened fresh whipped cream that has been spiked with a wee bit of brandy. Then I dash the top of the whipped cream with freshly grated nutmeg.

Such a pretty and seasonal dessert. This cake also serves great as a breakfast or brunch treat as it goes equally well with a glass of ice-cold milk, freshly brewed coffee or a steaming mug of your favorite hot tea.

My recipe for Spiced Pumpkin Butter is a favorite of my family as well as anyone I have shared a jar with. If you’ve ever made apple butter or pumpkin butter, you know that it’s exhaustingly labor intensive, as you must continually stir the mixture as it cooks on top of the stove, to keep it from scorching.

Not so with my recipe here. I bake mine in the oven for about three hours, stirring it at 30-minute intervals — such a breakthrough for me, making this a fool-proof and scorch-proof method. The recipe makes seven pint jars — enough to keep and to share with your favorite people. The pumpkin butter is delicious served on all breakfast breads and great served with cream cheese and gingersnap cookies or hearty whole wheat crackers.