Straining extra water from pumpkin puree.
Today I thought I'd share my experience storing and cooking a Fairytale pumpkin. I bought it at Walmart in October, because I liked the way it looked. After Thanksgiving, I put all of my decorative pumpkins/squash in the garage in cold storage.
*****
Rabbit trail: I experimented a lot with cold storage in 2020. It was part of my "there are no canning lids available" food preservation strategy. Let me say this: cold storage is amazing. It is so much easier than canning, freezing, or drying. Things I put in cold storage this year were: tomatoes, pears, apples, potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, spaghetti squash, butternut squash.
The tomatoes, pears and carrots didn't do as well as the others. Tomatoes, of course, aren't really designed for cold storage. But, by picking green tomatoes and bringing them indoors to ripen before the first frost, I was able to extend my fresh tomato harvest another month or two. About two-thirds of the tomatoes rotted or molded in cold storage, but it still left some for us to eat. The pears, similarly, lasted about a month before they started to brown. The carrots weren't from my garden, but just a bag that I bought from the store. I didn't bother putting them in sand, but just left them out in the garage. They turned slimy and rotted a bit after a few weeks (at the time, it wasn't all that cold in the garage... I'm sure they'd do better now that it's about 45 degrees F out there).
The apples (also from the store) have wrinkled a bit, but they are still mold- and rot-free, and taste good. I wrapped each apple in paper before putting it in a dish pan for storage. After 3+ months of storage, I think that's pretty good! I bought the winter squash and apples about the same time, and the squash also have few signs of damage. I noticed the other day that the squashes packed closer together have some small mold spots. The squash with good airflow, not touching each other, are in excellent condition.
*****
Anyway, back to the Fairytale pumpkin! I put the pumpkin into cold storage at the end of November, with the other decorative pumpkins; I had one large one from a neighbor, and one small one that we'd received as a freebie from somewhere.
The two other pumpkins were so molded and rotted after three months that I had to throw them on the compost pile. The Fairytale pumpkin only had a 1-2" mold spot, so I simply cut it off before cooking the pumpkin. You can see the inside of the pumpkin below:
*****
Rabbit trail: I experimented a lot with cold storage in 2020. It was part of my "there are no canning lids available" food preservation strategy. Let me say this: cold storage is amazing. It is so much easier than canning, freezing, or drying. Things I put in cold storage this year were: tomatoes, pears, apples, potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, spaghetti squash, butternut squash.
The tomatoes, pears and carrots didn't do as well as the others. Tomatoes, of course, aren't really designed for cold storage. But, by picking green tomatoes and bringing them indoors to ripen before the first frost, I was able to extend my fresh tomato harvest another month or two. About two-thirds of the tomatoes rotted or molded in cold storage, but it still left some for us to eat. The pears, similarly, lasted about a month before they started to brown. The carrots weren't from my garden, but just a bag that I bought from the store. I didn't bother putting them in sand, but just left them out in the garage. They turned slimy and rotted a bit after a few weeks (at the time, it wasn't all that cold in the garage... I'm sure they'd do better now that it's about 45 degrees F out there).
The apples (also from the store) have wrinkled a bit, but they are still mold- and rot-free, and taste good. I wrapped each apple in paper before putting it in a dish pan for storage. After 3+ months of storage, I think that's pretty good! I bought the winter squash and apples about the same time, and the squash also have few signs of damage. I noticed the other day that the squashes packed closer together have some small mold spots. The squash with good airflow, not touching each other, are in excellent condition.
*****
Anyway, back to the Fairytale pumpkin! I put the pumpkin into cold storage at the end of November, with the other decorative pumpkins; I had one large one from a neighbor, and one small one that we'd received as a freebie from somewhere.
The two other pumpkins were so molded and rotted after three months that I had to throw them on the compost pile. The Fairytale pumpkin only had a 1-2" mold spot, so I simply cut it off before cooking the pumpkin. You can see the inside of the pumpkin below:
I cooked the pumpkin pieces in the Instant Pot. The resulting pulp was a little bit watery, so I strained it from 3+ quarts down to two quarts, using a cheesecloth. It tasted almost as good as butternut squash, which is my favorite!
I also saved all of the seeds. I will use some to grow new plants for my garden next year (and I'll save some for 2022, as well). I will use what seeds are left to grow microgreens.
Speaking of microgreens, that was the topic of my latest Rumble video. You can click on the picture below to watch it:
I also saved all of the seeds. I will use some to grow new plants for my garden next year (and I'll save some for 2022, as well). I will use what seeds are left to grow microgreens.
Speaking of microgreens, that was the topic of my latest Rumble video. You can click on the picture below to watch it:
I love winter squash! Not only is it tasty, but it's a perfect candidate for cold storage. And, in the dead of winter when fresh veggies are scarce on the homestead, those seeds can be turned into microgreens for a splash of color and nutrition.
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Lastly, I wanted to switch gears entirely and share a video I watched last week. It's an interview by Alisa Childers (formerly part of the band ZOEgirl), talking with John Cooper, from the Christian rock band Skillet. John put into words what I (and many others) have been thinking over the past few years. I watched the interview a couple of times, because I couldn't believe how similar his ideas and feelings were to mine.
*****
Lastly, I wanted to switch gears entirely and share a video I watched last week. It's an interview by Alisa Childers (formerly part of the band ZOEgirl), talking with John Cooper, from the Christian rock band Skillet. John put into words what I (and many others) have been thinking over the past few years. I watched the interview a couple of times, because I couldn't believe how similar his ideas and feelings were to mine.
Don't let his tattoos scare you. Watch the video! As liberal media has taken over the internet, I've felt very alone, marginalized, and even targeted by liberal "haters". I will probably get a hater comment on this very post. Whenever you share certain truths, certain statistics, certain facts... you get called a racist, insensitive, naïve... basically, like your experience, not to mention straight up facts, don't matter. If people know you are a Christian, it's worse. They say you're "confusing your religion with your politics" or "being a Christian nationalist" (FYI, that is the new bad thing to be).
We are told to separate our conservative political leanings from our faith, but I've consistently found this difficult (if not impossible) to do in the last several years. Not because of Trump, but because of troubling trends in my church, my friend group. There are things happening that should not be happening.
Facts matter! Truth matters! And John Cooper says so in this interview.
I've listened to a fair amount Alisa and John on their individual channels this week. Alisa's focus is Christian apologetics, and she leans more on writings from the "church fathers" and different theologians in addition to the Bible. John's podcast, which is more political than apologetic, exposes the same problems in the church, but I feel like he leans heavily on Scripture and brings solutions to the table, more so than Alisa does. You should check out his channel as well as this and some of Alisa's other interviews. They are very eye-opening.
Anyway, that's what I have for you! I hope you are all staying cozy and finding new and fun ways to make the most of your time.
-Bethany
We are told to separate our conservative political leanings from our faith, but I've consistently found this difficult (if not impossible) to do in the last several years. Not because of Trump, but because of troubling trends in my church, my friend group. There are things happening that should not be happening.
Facts matter! Truth matters! And John Cooper says so in this interview.
I've listened to a fair amount Alisa and John on their individual channels this week. Alisa's focus is Christian apologetics, and she leans more on writings from the "church fathers" and different theologians in addition to the Bible. John's podcast, which is more political than apologetic, exposes the same problems in the church, but I feel like he leans heavily on Scripture and brings solutions to the table, more so than Alisa does. You should check out his channel as well as this and some of Alisa's other interviews. They are very eye-opening.
Anyway, that's what I have for you! I hope you are all staying cozy and finding new and fun ways to make the most of your time.
-Bethany
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