BACKYARD GARDENING MADE SIMPLE

Name: Stovetop Pumpkin Oatmeal
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg; ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon; ⅛ teaspoon ground ginger; ¼ cup packed brown sugar; 1 cup pumpkin puree (make this yourself by roasting your sugar pumpkin face down in the oven at 350 for 45 minutes, scooping out the flesh and blending or mashing with a fork); 4½ cups almond or coconut milk; 1½ cups oats; ¾ teaspoon salt; Craisins (optional)

Dagny 10/5/22 Dagny 10/5/22

Stovetop Pumpkin Oatmeal Recipe

Now that you’ve grown some delicious pumpkins, harvested and cured them. What can you do with a sugar pumpkin besides make the classic pumpkin pie? Pumpkin puree is infinitely useful in baking, but for a simple recipe you can make on your stovetop, let's make some pumpkin oatmeal

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Nothing says fall quite as loudly as bright orange pumpkin. Pumpkin spice lattes give it a good try, but everything leads back to the pumpkin patch. Just about every fall activity – from hay rides to apple picking, cider donuts to corn mazes - includes the squash we call a pumpkin.

A wooden crate with seven small sugar pumpkins freshly picked inside

By decorating the steps of our houses and carving jack-o’-lanterns, we all pay homage to, as the Charlie Brown special puts it, The Great Pumpkin.

Indigenous peoples used a variety of squashes for eating and making utensils, containers, and musical instruments. In fact, the word squash comes from the Narragansett tribe in what is now called Rhode Island. Humans have eaten squash as far back as prehistoric times.

Are Pumpkins Fruit?

The short answer is yes.

Encyclopedia Britannica defines fruit as, “the fleshy or dry ripened ovary of a plant, enclosing the seed or seeds.” So not only are pumpkins fruit, but so are avocados, peppers, and tomatoes, among others we call vegetables.

Fruits come from the parts of a plant that flower, while vegetables are the stems, roots, leaves, and bulbs of the plants themselves.

And get this – a pumpkin is technically a berry!

There is a difference between what we call things in common usage and how they’re defined in botany.

To most of us, a berry is a small, juicy, bright fruit without a stone or pit. In botany, however, a berry is a fleshy fruit developed by the ovary of one flower. Some of what we call berries do not meet that definition. For example, raspberries are formed by many ovaries, not one.

Botanically, pumpkins, watermelon, tomatoes, cucumbers, bananas, and grapes are all berries, while strawberries and blackberries are not berries at all.

When it comes to eating, though, the words berry, fruit, and vegetable have developed their own meanings, so unless you’re playing a trivia game or want to impress someone with your knowledge of botany, the common usages are just fine to use.

Why Grow Pumpkins?

I grow pumpkins for food and carving, but also for fun. One small seed produces a sprawling monster of a plant and then, at just the perfect time, there are pumpkins in my yard! Magic.

Growing pumpkins is a great project to do with kids, who generally find it as much fun as I do. Pumpkin plants grow easily and dependably, so are not likely to disappoint.

On a more practical note, every part of a pumpkin is edible, and it’s a source of food that can be stored throughout the winter’s lean times. Pumpkins are loaded with nutrients, including vitamin C, beta-carotene, magnesium, and potassium.

A woman in a burnt orange corduroy dress with long sleeves cradles a small orange sugar pumpkin against her side.

Carving Pumpkins vs. Eating Pumpkins

Any pumpkin or gourd can be carved or eaten, but there are a couple of main differences between the pumpkins we carve and the pumpkins we eat.

The pumpkins we carve are referred to as field pumpkins. They have thinner skin and stringy, watery flesh.

The pumpkins we eat are called sugar pumpkins or pie pumpkins. They are generally smaller, have thicker skin, and are more consistently round. Their flesh is not fibrous or stringy, and they have more flesh overall than a carving pumpkin.

Carving pumpkins:

The difference in the types of flesh translates to a difference in flavor. Carving pumpkins generally taste bland and are a little bitter.

Because thin skin is an attribute in a carving pumpkin, when choosing a carving pumpkin pick it up and compare it to others of the same size. The lighter pumpkin will have thinner skin.

Eating Pumpkins:

Sugar pumpkins taste rich and buttery, much like a butternut squash. (In fact, you can use butternut squash to make a pumpkin pie!) Their texture is smooth.

Because they are fleshier, a single sugar pumpkin will yield about as much as a can of the pureed pumpkin you can get at the grocery store.

Varieties of Pumpkin

All pumpkins are squash. There are hard-skinned squash and tender squash, and pumpkins are hard-skinned; a hard-skinned squash is also called a gourd.

While all pumpkins are gourds, not all gourds are pumpkins. Those that are not pumpkins are still edible, but generally have little flesh, and what they do have is bitter, so we use them as ornaments.

When choosing which pumpkins to grow, if you are interested in keeping them throughout the winter months you should look for one that is known as a ‘good keeper’.

Another fun option to grow is a giant pumpkin. Those are the ones you see at county fairs, grown just to see how big you can get them.

Varieties of carving pumpkins:

Gold Fever pumpkins are round and medium orange and weigh from 15-18 pounds.
Gold Rush pumpkins are large, round, jack-o-lanterns that grow from 20-35 pounds.
Howden pumpkins are a classic jack-o’-lantern, slightly taller than they are wide, with dark orange skin. They can grow to between 18-26 pounds.
Jack o’ Lantern pumpkins are great for carving as well as cooking. They grow from 7-10 pounds.
One Too Many pumpkins are a great choice if you want something different from the usual orange pumpkin. They have white and red skin. They grow to about 20 pounds.
Tom Fox pumpkins are deep orange and have fat, dark green stems. They grow to between 12-24 pounds.

Varieties of sugar pumpkins:

New England Pie pumpkins are dark orange and grow to 4-6 pounds. They’re not as sweet as some pumpkins, but they are a classic for pies.
Sweet Sugar Pie pumpkins are very meaty, with dark orange skin. They grow to 6-8 pounds, and are delicious for pies and canning.
Cinderella pumpkins are a great one for kids, as the carriage in the Disney movie is based upon their shape. They are mild and sweet, and can be 15-35 pounds.
Blue doll pumpkins don’t look like your typical pumpkin on the outside, with greenish-blue skin. But inside the pumpkin is dark orange and delicious. They grow to 20-24 pounds.
Lakota pumpkins are pear-shaped, with some combination of orange and green skin, making them a great choice for decoration and eating. They are sweet, and taste like butternut squash. They grow to about 7 pounds.
Dickinson pumpkins are used to make the Libby’s canned pumpkin pie filling you find at the grocery store. They are beige, and weigh 10-40 pounds.

Varieties of giant pumpkin:

Atlantic Giant pumpkins have pinkish orange skin. They grow to at least 300 pounds. The largest grown was over 1,400 pounds!
Big Max pumpkins are oblong with skin in shades of orange to pale salmon. They can grow from 100-300 pounds.
Prizewinner pumpkins have the classic pumpkin color and shape, with glossy skin. They can grow to weigh between 100-300 pounds.
Wyatt’s Wonder pumpkins have intense orange skin which doesn’t fade. They grow to 200 pounds or more.

When to Grow Pumpkins

A green sauce pan full of pumpkin oatmeal on a wood countertop with a white bowl of oatmeal beside it.

Pumpkins are generally planted from early May through June, depending on the variety. I usually end up planting in mid-June, here in zone 6.

How to Grow Pumpkins

Pumpkins grow on a sprawling vine which can take up quite a bit of space. Pumpkin seeds can be put directly into the ground.

Choose a sunny spot (fruits like sun) and form small mounds of soil 2-5 feet apart. Plant 3 seeds on each mound. Pumpkins are planted on mounds because the soil in a mound warms more quickly, which helps with germination.

I’ll be honest, though, I don’t bother with mounds. I just plant the seeds in the flat soil and haven’t had a problem with germination. That may be because I plant at the later end of the planting range.

Bury your seeds about as deep as the seed is long. Keep the soil moist until your pumpkin plants sprout.

Once the pumpkins form, you can slip a piece of cardboard under them so they are not in contact with the soil, making them less likely to rot.

As your pumpkins are coloring up, check to see if the bottom is also turning orange. If not, gently rotate the bottom side towards the sun.

When to Harvest Pumpkins

It’s best to leave pumpkins on the vine for as long as possible, but they should be harvested before overnight temperature in the 30s kick in. A frozen pumpkin will immediately rot.

When deciding if a pumpkin is ripe, first check the color. A small amount of green remaining is ok, but not too much.

Tap the pumpkin with your finger. It should feel solid and have a hollow sound. Just like watermelon and fresh baked loaves of bread, a hollow sound means it’s done. Next, push your fingernail into the skin. If it doesn’t puncture the skin, the pumpkin is ripe.

How to Harvest Pumpkins

The first thing to know is you should never carry a pumpkin by its stem. Instead, carry it from the bottom.

You may want to wear gloves when harvesting pumpkins, as the vines and stems are prickly. You can easily wipe the prickles off of the stem with a gloved hand.

Use Felcos or a sharp knife to harvest; the stem of a pumpkin is quite dense. Cut the pumpkin with a stem of at least 2 inches, as a longer stem extends the storage life of the pumpkin.

How to Store Pumpkins

To make a pumpkin last months, it should be cured before being stored. A pumpkin is cured by setting it in a hot, dry place. This allows the rind to harden.

Once your pumpkin is cured, it’s ready for storage. Store pumpkins in a cool, dark place with good airflow. The ideal temperature for storing pumpkins is 55 degrees. They should never be stored at 45 degrees or below.

Place the pumpkins on something that keeps them from touching the floor, and arrange them so they do not touch each other.

Stovetop pumpkin oatmeal recipe

Making pumpkin oatmeal on the stove is as simple as toasting your spice in your sauce pan, adding your sweetener, liquid and oats and simmering everything for about thirty minutes - until it is nice and soft. Then you can curl up with your warm bowl of cozy and enjoy all that fall has to offer this season! Find the full pumpkin oatmeal recipe below:

stovetop, pumpkin, oatmeal, fall

breakfast

Yield: 4

Author: The Cottage Peach

Stovetop Pumpkin Oatmeal

Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 35 Min

Ingredients

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ cup packed brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree (make this yourself by roasting your sugar pumpkin face down in the oven at 350 for 45 minutes, scooping out the flesh and blending or mashing with a fork)
4½ cups almond or coconut milk
1½ cups oats
¾ teaspoon salt
Craisins (optional)

Instructions

In a large saucepan over low heat, toast the nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger, stirring occasionally until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
Stir in brown sugar, then add pumpkin and stir to combine. Add milk, raise heat and bring mixture to a simmer.
Stir in oats, and simmer over medium heat until tender but not mushy, about 25 to 30 minutes.
Stir in salt.
Serve with raisins, applesauce, apples, pecans or maple syrup if desired.

Recommended Products:

Caraway Home Non-Toxic Sauce Pan

Wood Spoon

Bowl

Nutrition Facts

Calories

713.65

Fat

56.5

Sat. Fat

48.56

Carbs

52.66

Fiber

5.42

Net carbs

47.26

Sugar

21.14

Protein

9.87

Sodium

478.25

Cholesterol

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Preserving The Garden Harvest: Instructions For Freezing Food

Preserving The Garden Harvest: Instructions For Pickling Food

Preserving The Garden Harvest: Instructions For Fermenting Food

Preserving The Garden Harvest: Instructions For Dehydrating Food

Dagny 9/15/22 Dagny 9/15/22

How to Make Healthy Homemade Granola (Recipe)

There’s something about the smell of warm granola cooking in the oven, earthy and sweet, that means home to me. When I was a kid I would smell it from up in my room, and I could just picture my mom mixing it up, spreading it on baking sheets, and tending the oven to pull it out at just the right time. She even made sure to leave a few big chunks for me not broken up, just how I liked it. I’m lucky in that we were never without fresh granola - as soon as my mom noticed the jar getting low, she would quickly pop another batch in the oven to fill up the jar all over again.

Oats, brown sugar in a white bowl on a wood counter with a hand on the left side of the frame pouring maple syrup from a glass pyrex measuring cup.

Now I keep a never-ending supply of granola on my own kitchen counter to fill my own house with the aroma of earth and sweetness and home. There really is nothing quite so comforting as the scent of warm granola cooling on the stovetop! You can mix up the flavors to complement the season with cinnamon and pumpkin seeds in the fall, pecans and allspice in the winter, apricots and almonds in the spring, and dried raspberries and blueberries in the summer. Granola also makes a great personalized zero waste edible homemade gift for the holidays - just pop your favorite blend of granola in a mason jar with a cute wooden lid and add some twine and a ribbon for a thoughtful, edible gift everyone will love.

Granola is my favorite mid-afternoon snack with berries and oat milk, and the best thing to bring on a day hike in the woods. What could be more satisfying than sitting down with a Stasher bag filled with granola after a long and strenuous hike in nature? It’s the perfect filling snack.

Why Make Homemade Granola?

There are plenty of tasty granolas available to buy, so why take the time to make your own?

The granola you find at stores is expensive, and making it yourself is much less so. You’ll also have complete control over the ingredients you choose, and won’t add any more packaging to our overburdened planet. And granola is so easy to make!

Dark brown vegan granola on a worn baking sheet with measuring cups and a wooden spoon.

Homemade granola is healthy, delicious, vegan, and gluten-free (check your oatmeal’s packaging to be sure it is not processed in a factory that also processes products with gluten). It’s also completely customizable.

There’s no need to ever make exactly the same granola twice. Once you’ve mastered the basic method for making homemade granola, you’ll have a feel for it and can begin to make substitutions in oils and sweeteners, and try out additional ingredients.

The basic ingredients of granola are rolled oats, sweetener, oil, and salt. That’s it. And it tastes amazing!

As the main ingredient of the recipe, whole grain oats deliver lots of health benefits and are very filling. They’re anti-inflammatory, both inside the body and to the skin, which is why they’re often used in baths to soothe inflammatory conditions such as eczema.

But why stop at four ingredients when there are other delicious and nutritious foods you can add to take your granola up a level?

Delicious Add-Ins for Granola

The best part about granola is making it your own with different spices, fruits, nuts, seeds and sweeteners. It would be impossible to list all the delicious add-ins you could include in your homemade granola recipe, but here are some ideas to get you started:

Spices:

Gluten free granola on a baking sheet in the background. In front, a white enamel mug with a blue lip filled with granola and a metal spoon.

Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Allspice
Ginger

Nuts and seeds:

Both nuts and seeds provide protein, fiber, healthy fats, and other vitamins, magnesium, and other nutrients. Walnuts, chia, and flax seeds are great sources of plant-based omega-3 fatty acids.

Nuts can be used whole, or you can break them up if you want them to be more integrated into the granola. Mix and match what you’d like, and use it in place of 1 cup of the oatmeal.

Sunflower seeds
Sesame seeds
Pumpkin seeds
Chia seeds
Ground flax seed
Almonds
Pecans
Walnuts

Dried fruit:

In some ways, dried fruits are even better for you than fresh. They contain more fiber and antioxidants which can help lower your chances of developing heart disease, some kinds of cancer, and diabetes.

Baking ingredients shot from above a wooden countertop

Raisins
Cranberries
Dates
Apricots
Fig
Banana chips
Cherries
Shaved coconut
Candied orange peel

Flavorings:

Peanut or almond butter
Molasses
Orange zest
Chocolate chips
Cacao nibs
Vanilla
Applesauce

Substitutions for a Homemade Granola Recipe

Experimenting with different oils and sweeteners can take the flavor of your granola in different directions.

Oils:

You can completely replace the vegetable oil with other edible oils, or add a dollop of butter to your oil of choice.

Vegetable oil
Coconut oil
Olive Oil
Butter

Sweeteners:

I love the flavor of maple syrup, and the inflammation-reducing antioxidants, zinc, magnesium, potassium, and calcium that come along with it. But different sweeteners can make a huge difference to the flavor, and also the texture, of your granola.

A crunchy granola is a great option, but if you’d like a chewy granola you could try substituting the maple syrup with honey, for example.

Maple syrup
Honey
Agave
Molasses

vegan, simple, granola, oats

snack

Vegan

Yield: 24

Author: The Cottage Peach