Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Comfort food

It surprises me to realize that I've never mentioned the magical recipe for Pumpkin Bars here before; Pumpkin Bars are such a part of our lives this time of year that Dean even said, when talking with someone we hope to have over to our house for dinner one of these days, "and there will be Pumpkin Bars!" I made the mistake of sending this recipe to Helen; a mistake only because now I know that canned pumpkin is NOT something you just go to the store and buy if you live in England. Maybe you do need to live in the U.S. to be able to buy canned pumpkin? In any case, canned is the only way to go -- don't even think about peeling, seeding, and cooking down an actual pumpkin. I often use canned squash in recipes that call for canned pumpkin, but dollars to donuts that's a U.S. thing, too. Maybe even just a New England thing? If you have recipes that call for canned pumpkin and you can get canned squash, give the switch a try!

And before you go thinking otherwise, let me be right up front and tell you that Martha and her minions are the ones to thank -- it's their recipe.

3 comments:

Natalie, the Chickenblogger said...

We love pumpkin recipes!

Anonymous said...

what if I already have a whole pumpkin seeded etc and in the freezer? can I still use it? or is it simply better with the canned?

Jennifer said...

Somehow, when they make canned pumpkin, they make it drier, more concentrated -- I've had disasters trying to use home cooked pumpkin in baked goods because ends up being too watery/mushy.... The home made puree works well in things like soups or casseroles. That's been my experience, in any case!