Pumpkin Prep

   In celebration of the coming Halloween holiday, I'll be doing several pumpkin recipes this week. Pumpkin is a great source of fiber and vitamins. Before we tackle these recipes you'll need to roast your pumpkins. I've roasted them both whole and halved and found that whole was a bit easier. Here's How:
To Roast your medium-size pumpkin:

Roasting Time!

* Preheat oven to 400 degrees                      
* scrub and wash pumpkin
* coat with a light layer of olive oil
* place pumpkins on top rack and a cookie sheet on bottom rack to catch any         possible mess
* bake 60-90 min, or until you can easily cut into skin with a butter knife
remove from oven and let cool
 * cut in half and remove "guts" (remember to save the seeds for roasting later!)
 *  scoop out the pumpkin and store in refrigerator for later use (or divide into zip lock bags and freeze)
 * puree in food processor for recipes that call for puree or canned pumpkin