Pumpkin Pie from Scratch

Pumpkin is the fruit with a thick orange skin with seeds inside and is a good source of vitamin C, A, lutein, and beta carotene. There are varieties of pumpkin that come from the squash family. The Jack O' lantern is the big pumpkin that is always used for decoration at Thanksgiving and Halloween. The pumpkin filling in the can is used for a variety of pumpkin, and properly the Jack O’ lantern could be one of them. For economic reasons, most of the big pumpkins are better than the small like Japanese pumpkin, butternut squash, or honey pumpkin. When thinking about making pumpkin pie, I believe that using the fresh pumpkin should be better tasting than the commercial pumpkin puree' in the can. Once the skin is peeled off, the pumpkin can then steamed, cooked, or baked. After this process, the pumpkin can be mashed to make the filling for pumpkin pie. It sounds complicated, but it is easy because the process of making pumpkin puree' can be done ahead of time then frozen until the pie can be made. The pumpkin puree' will last a few months in the freezer. When pumpkins are in season, try to buy as many as possible. The reason is not just for making the pie but also for the soup, breads, and other dishes that can be prepared with pumpkin for a healthy eating habit, too.

Ingredients:
One butternut squash (other pumpkins can be used)
One 12 ounce can of evaporated milk
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp vanilla
One 9 inch uncooked pie shell (homemade or store-bought)

Directions:
Wash the butternut squash, cut in half, and remove the membrane and the seeds.

 

 Preheat oven to 400°. Place the squash cut side down and bake for 1 hour. 

Let squash cool enough to handle. Use a spoon to scoop out the flesh and place flesh into a bowl.

Now the pumpkin is ready for making the filling.
In a Vitamix blender, add the pumpkin flesh (about 3 cups), eggs, sugar, salt, evaporated milk, and all the spices. Turn machine on and let it puree' into well mixed.

Pour the pumpkin puree' into the pie shell.

 

 

Bake in the preheated oven set to 425° for 15 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 350°. Bake the pie for another 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool and serve with whipped cream.