Simple, fresh from the garden but harvest doesn’t come without a long growing season. We love Johnny’s Selected Seeds and have grown in New England and had success with the Baby Pam Pumpkin. It is small, easy to grow and full of seeds to dry for next year. Plant seeds in the springtime with plenty of room to grow, 6 inches apart and 2-3 inches deep in loose, rich soil. A simple trellis will help aerate your plants and give the sunlight a chance to reach the pumpkins.

One of our all time favorite pies is of course the pumpkin pie. Ours is made traditionally with heavy cream, fresh ginger and organic pumpkin puree. Sad to say not too many people take the time or better yet have the time to roast fresh pumpkin and puree it for their pies. If out of a can is all that you can manage there are plenty of brands that yield the quality pumpkin that is closest to fresh.

pumpkin pie

(2)-9 inch pies
Place pie shells on a sheet pan when baking to insure even baking and incase the filling spills over.

Ingredients

2 cups pumpkin puree

1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger or ground ginger spice

2 teaspoons cinnamon

4 eggs

2 cups heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

 

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl add the pumpkin puree, sugar, salt, ginger and cinnamon and mix well.

Beat the eggs, cream and vanilla together until just blended then add to the pumpkin mixture stirring until well incorporated.

Place the unbaked pie crusts on a sheet pan. Poor the filling into them and bake in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 375 degrees and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean.

Thoughts

Freshly roasted and pureed pumpkin can always be substituted for canned pumpkin making sure it isn’t too wet. Ground ginger can be substituted for the freshly ground ginger root, however the spiciness of the ginger-root does add an added flavor element that really makes the pie special. Remember to grated the ginger finely and not to have any threads that often shred off of the root. We want finely grated or even minced ginger.