{"id":12199,"date":"2008-11-20T15:01:00","date_gmt":"2008-11-20T15:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/production.ou.org\/life\/other\/judy_bart_kancigor_pumpkins_for_freckles_snakebites_pies_and_soups\/"},"modified":"2015-10-30T02:33:21","modified_gmt":"2015-10-30T07:33:21","slug":"judy_bart_kancigor_pumpkins_for_freckles_snakebites_pies_and_soups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/food\/cooking\/judy_bart_kancigor_pumpkins_for_freckles_snakebites_pies_and_soups\/","title":{"rendered":"Pumpkins: For Freckles and Snakebites, or Pies and Soups"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"image\"<\/div>\n

They were once recommended for removing freckles and curing snakebites. Native American Indians cut them into strips, dried them and wove them into mats. Seeds of related plants have been discovered in Mexico dating back thousands of years ago.<\/p>\n

The Colonists coming to North America enthusiastically adopted the pumpkin grown by the Native Americans. Harvested in the fall, this large, unwieldy orange fruit (yes, it\u2019s a fruit!) has become an icon of the Thanksgiving holiday.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor pie filling, look for orange pumpkins identified as \u2018sweet\u2019 or \u2018pie\u2019 pumpkins,\u201d advises Cathy Thomas, author of \u201cMelissa\u2019s Great Book of Produce (Wiley, $29.95). \u201cThey have thicker, sweeter flesh and are intended for cooking rather than carving.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thomas suggests baking whole pumpkins as a container for soups or stews. Mini-pumpkins are ideal for single servings, and would make an attractive and delicious vessel for \u2013 what else? \u2013 pumpkin soup, an aromatic starter for the Thanksgiving feast.<\/p>\n

To bake the pumpkins, slice off the top and place them in a roasting pan. Add one inch of water and bake at 325 degrees until the flesh is tender, about 30 minutes. Before filling, leave them inverted to dry.<\/p>\n

Now to fill these unique bowls. A new cookbook by food writers Carla Snyder and Meredith Deeds, \u201c300 Sensational Soups\u201d (Robert Rose) has me salivating. \u201cSoup is not just another meal \u2013 it\u2019s comfort in a bowl, love on a spoon, satisfaction simmering on the stove,\u201d they write.<\/p>\n

Pumpkin Soup with Leeks and Ginger is just the ticket for the holiday. Snyder and Deeds tested this soup using both fresh and canned pumpkin. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t tell the difference, so we\u2019ve called for canned for simplicity\u2019s sake,\u201d they note. \u201cWe love the balance of flavors: spicy ginger, subtle oniony leeks and lightly sweet and savory pumpkin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Or maybe you\u2019re thinking you want to save your pumpkin for the meal\u2019s grand finale. Steven Raichlen\u2019s Sephardic Pumpkin Strudels end your feast with a flourish without adding fat.<\/p>\n

Raichlen, better known as the grill guy (“The Barbecue Bible,” “How to Grill”), slashes his way through the schmaltz belt with “Healthy Jewish Cooking” (Viking), a lusciously photographed homage to his family with tasty renditions of over 150 classic Jewish recipes that nourish the soul without damaging the heart.<\/p>\n

“I was a restaurant critic for a major city magazine in the ’80’s, eating out constantly, and developed a cholesterol problem,” recalls Raichlen, so he began reducing the fat in his favorite recipes. The result was his “High-Flavor, Low-Fat” series and “Healthy Latin Cooking,” which won a James Beard award. No Pritikin spartan, Raichlen now applies his 10 Commandments of low-fat cooking to the last bastion of the clogged artery, Jewish food, with “think flavor, not fat” his mantra.<\/p>\n

“The great cooks of my childhood \u2013 who came of age during the depression \u2013 were more interested in filling plates than in the health consciousness of their dinners,” he writes. And with his slimmed-down versions of his family’s beloved recipes, we can have our knish and eat it too.<\/p>\n

Reducing the fat in the Sephardic recipes \u2013 which naturally rely on greater use of grains, beans, fruits and vegetables than those of his Eastern European forebears \u2013 was less of a challenge. But where Sephardic dishes call for deep frying, Raichlen solves that problem neatly with what he does best: grilling.<\/p>\n

Raichlen\u2019s coiled Sephardic Pumpkin Strudels are a traditional Greek-Jewish dessert for Rosh Hashanah and Sukkot. “Their spiral shape symbolizes the cycle of life and the
\nascent of the soul into heaven,” he writes.<\/p>\n

The recipe comes from his great-aunt Lily Modiano, who began substituting canned pumpkin for calabazas (the traditional squash) when she came to America, trimming the prep time as well as the fat. Filo dough in a low-fat recipe? Sure. Use spray oil and finely chopped nuts and bread crumbs between the layers instead of butter.<\/p>\n

For those that want to eat healthy but crave Pumpkin Pie, try Pumpkin Pie-Tinis from \u201cThe Super Food Generation: 14 Foods That Get You Glowing\u201d by Jennifer Flynn.<\/p>\n

Pumpkin \u2013 along with carrots, sweet potatoes and its relatives in the squash family \u2013 is one of the 14 super foods that work \u201csynergistically with the human body to unlock vitality, strengthen immunity and literally slow down the aging process,\u201d Flynn writes.<\/p>\n

Excuse me? Pumpkin Pie a health food? We\u2019re talking about a healthy Thanksgiving feast now?<\/p>\n

Flynn created the dish one Thanksgiving when she was assigned dessert and balked at the notion of rolling out a pie crust. \u201cI love pumpkin pie, but traditionally it is loaded with dairy, eggs and sugar, all of which have been eliminated from my diet,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

And talk about presentation! \u201cThey look really cute, like mini individual trifles served in martini glasses,\u201d she said. The creamy pumpkin mousse is sprinkled with an almond-pecan crumble, a light but satisfying end to the holiday feast.<\/p>\n

\u201cPumpkin is one of the healthiest foods on the planet,\u201d Flynn revealed. \u201cIt has the highest concentration of alpha and beta carotenes, fiber, potassium and phytonutrients known to man, as well as carotenoids, those antioxidants that lower your risk of heart disease and cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n

She has also presented them in little shot glasses too.\u201d For the holidays everybody wants to eat a little of everything,\u201d she said. \u201cWith this dessert you can indulge without over-indulging.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"image\"<\/div>\n

Judy Bart Kancigor<\/b> is the author of \u201cCooking Jewish: 532 Great Recipes from the Rabinowitz Family\u201d and can be found on the web at www.cookingjewish.com<\/a>. <\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

They were once recommended for removing freckles and curing snakebites. Native American Indians cut them into strips, dried them and wove them into mats. Seeds of related plants have been discovered in Mexico dating back thousands of years ago. The Colonists coming to North America enthusiastically adopted the pumpkin grown by the Native Americans. Harvested<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":219,"featured_media":44462,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cooking"],"yoast_head":"\nPumpkins: For Freckles and Snakebites, or Pies and Soups<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Colonists coming to North America adopted the pumpkin grown by the Native Americans. 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