Pumpkins and Piemelons

New Zealand Listener, Volume 31, Issue 783, 23 July 1954, Page 32

Pumpkins and Piemelons

J AST week our subject was pie- | melons and pumpkins; but our space was exhausted before we reached the latter! Even then there were many fine piemelon recipes left out. So this week I'll start with pumpkins. I suppose the favourite way of serving pumpkin is to bake it with the joint of meat, but it is really more valuable if boiled and mashed with the potatoes, because both of them have a protective food value. If you have an electric cake-beater, and use this for mashing pumpkin, it is extra smooth and good. Cooked pumpkin mashed by itself with one of these cake-mixers is excellent when making pumpkin pie, which is actually a custard tart. Otherwise you should really sieve the mashed pumpkin, because it should be very smooth indeed. Molasses is sometimes used to give a rich, dark colour; and a~dash of powdered ginger is important, too. Here are two pumpkin pie recipes. Pennsylvania Pumpkin Pie Two cups cooked mashed pumpkin, 3 egg yolks, 1 cup dark brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 42 teaspoon nutmeg, 3 egg whites, 1 teaspoon ginger, % teaspoon cloves, %g teaspoon allspice, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 3 cups scalded milk. Mix pumpkin, spices, salt, egg yolks, then add scalded milk. Fold in stiffly-beaten egg whites. Pour mixture into a piedish lined with pastry, first brushing pastry with egg-white. Bake in 450 degrees oven for 15 minutes, then 350 degrees till baked. For flavouring, marmalade can be added in place of the spices, and the rind and juice of two lemons. Eggless Pumpkin Pie This is only a substitute for the real thing, but quite nice. Half a tablespoon of cornflour, 2 teaspoon baking powder, 4% ‘teaspoon salt, 1 cup rich milk, 14 teaspoon each cinnamon and nutmeg, 2 cups dry sieved cooked pumpkin, 1 cup brown sugar. Line pie-plate

with a_ rich pie crust, and flute the edges. Stir the cornflour, baking powder, salt, milk and half the spice into the pumpkin pulp.

Adda the sugar. Pour into the crustlined plate. Sprinkle with the remaining spice, and bake till firm in the middle of a moderate oven, about 45 minutes. If you like you can sprinkle before baking with 2 cup finely chopped walnuts. Pumpkin Scones Cream 2 cup cooked mashed pumpkin with 1% cup butter, and 1 tablespoon milk; then 1 cup flour sifted with 1 teaspoon baking powder, salt and sugar to taste. Add more milk to mix if necessary. Roll out, cut in pieces, bake like ordinary $cones. Pumpkin Soup Two pounds pumpkin, small onion, butter and milk. Prepare pumpkin, cut into small pieces and boil in salted water, with a small onion to flavour. When cooked, strain off a little of the water, mash, then add a good tablespoon of butter, and milk to make up the required quantity, add pepper and more salt if necessary, and thicken with a little cornflour and milk. Soup Pumpkin Plus A large piece of pumpkin, 6 fairly large potatoes, 1 onion, 1 turnip, 6 cups vegetable water, 1 cup milk, 1 parsnip, teaspoon salt and a little pepper, teaspoon sugar, small piece of butter, white part of silver beet, 2 carrots. Heat butter and cook cut-up vegetables in it a little, but do not brown them. Add the water, and boil till tender. Mash the vegetables, and return them to the saucepan of water they were cooked in. Add the milk, and 2 teaspoons of vegetable extract. Stir and simmer 5 minutes. Serve with dry toast. A little more milk can be added if desired. ‘Pumpkin Lemon Cheese Two pounds pumpkin, 5 or 6 lemons, 14 lb. butter, 2 Ib. sugar. Cook pumpkin, strain well, add juice and rind from

lemons, taking care that no white pith | of lemon rind is added. Then add but- || ter and sugar, Mix in pan and boil in double saucepan 1% hour. Grandma’s Squares This is an Australian recipe. Mix in the following order: One and one-third cups boiled and sifted pumpkin, 1 cup boiling milk, 42 cup sugar, 1% teaspoon salt, 142 teaspoon ginger, 1% teaspoon cinnamon, a little less of nutmeg, and 1 egg beaten slightly. Roll out 2 pieces of pastry, and place one on a baking sheet or tin, and spread equally over it the pumpkin mixture, lay over this the other piece of pastry, press the edges together all round. Mark the pastry in lines with a knife on the surface to show where to cut when baked. Bake 20 to 30 minutes. Just before the pastry is done brush it over with the white of an egg, sift over pounded sugar, and put it back in the oven to colour, Pumpkin Cake ‘ One cup mashed pumpkin, 2 eggs, % Ib. butter, 1 small cup sugar, 2 large cups flour, pinch of salt, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 12 teaspoon each almond and vanilla essence, 1 lb. mixed fruit, lemon peel if liked. Cream butter and sugar, add pumpkin and mix very well. Add eggs, essences and salt and beat well again. Add flour, baking powder and fruit. Instead of mixed fruit, chopped preserved ginger and walnuts may be used, with a little mixed spice instead of essences. This makes a lovely cake. Bake in a deep cake tin in a rather slow oven, like any fruit cakeapproximately 2 hours, depending on depth of cake, Piemelon Chutney Mince 5 lb. prepared melon, put in preserving pan with 1 pint vinegar, and a small handful of salt. Add 3 Ib. sliced or minced onions and 21% cups brown sugar. Bring to the boil. When boiling, add 1 tablespoon mixed spice, a few cloves, a dessertspoon pepper, 1 large cup currants, 1 large cup sultanas, and 2 peeled and chopped apples. Boil 3 hours, Before taking off, add mixture of 1 tablespoon flour, 1 tablespoon curry powder and turmeric mixed, and vinegar to moisten, Boil a few minutes longer. Bottle when cold.