I have talked about this before, the difficulty I have throwing anything away. I have been gradually weaning myself away from my attachment to clothes I will never wear again, toys that my children loved (but I probably loved more) which will be completely obsolete when and if I ever have grandchildren, and books that are worn out and dog eared.

But food is a whole different matter.

I still find myself forcing that last piece of food down rather than scrapping it. I find it hard to appreciate a finely carved Jack-o-lantern. All I can think about is the fact that a big huge pumpkin will go uneaten! Carved pumpkins start rotting and growing fungus almost immediately, so putting them to any reuse beyond composting is not an option.

So this year I was very pleased with myself when I hit upon the idea of cooking with the ornamental miniature pumpkins I always buy around Halloween. This idea struck me when I ordered pumpkin bread pudding at a restaurant a few weeks ago. I dislike pie crusts, so eating pumpkin pie (or any pie) in public is usually an ordeal for me. I love the filling but have to agonize over wasting the crust and being seen as a boor and wasting food, or eating the crust and risking gagging in public and insulting the chef.

My mother used to make bread pudding very regularly when we were growing up and it has a very special place in my heart.The bread pudding at the restaurant that day was delicious, so making pumpkin bread pudding was my perfect Thanksgiving alternative. Plus, I had saved all these bread crusts I had cut off the bread when I served stuffed grilled sandwiches a few weeks back. I had planned to make them into breadcrumbs, but this was even better. 

Once I had decided that I was going to repurpose my ornamental pumpkins after Halloween, I consciously chose the larger ornamental pumpkins for my decorations.

The smaller ones might work, but I suspect that it would be so much work getting any flesh out of them, that they are best consigned to the compost heap. The good news is that our compost heap has been giving us so many volunteer squashes and pumpkins that we have been well supplied with food from that pile all through this fall.

So here is a delicious pumpkin bread pudding I made with ornamental pumpkins and leftover bread crusts and heels.

 

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

1 cup cooked mashed pumpkin (you can use the canned variety)
3 eggs lightly beaten
1 cup pure heavy cream
½ cup milk
½ cup sugar
A generous pinch of salt
½ tsp ginger
½ tsp Cardamom powder
½ tsp Cinnamon powder
¼ tsp ground cloves

5-6 cups cubed white bread crusts and heels, or cubed heavy bread like sour dough
¼ cup chopped dates (optional)
3 oz melted butter

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Gently mix the bread cubes (and dates if used) with the butter in a 9 or 10 inch rectangle oven proof dish and spread them out. Don’t press the cubes down too firmly. You want some pieces sticking up for a beautiful look and some crisp pieces for texture.

Blend the rest of the ingredients together well and pour over the bread making sure you get some of the mixture on the cubes, even those sticking up.

Bake in the center of the oven for 35-40 minutes or till the top is golden and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Serve warm or at room temperature with unsweetened or very lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Cooking your pumpkins.

Preheat the oven to 375°.

Cut the pumpkins in half and scrape out the seeds and any fibrous bits clinging to the inside.

      

Place the pumpkins cut side up in a pan with ½” of water. Cook for 10 minutes and then flip the pumpkins over. Cook for another 15 minutes or until the pumpkins begin to look translucent and cooked.

    

Take the pumpkins out and let them drain for about 5 minutes.

Scrape the flesh out of the pumpkin shells with a teaspoon.

If you leave about 1/8-1/6” of pumpkin flesh in the shells you have beautiful bowls to serve a pumpkin soup in.  But you may need to use pruning shears to clip the pumpkin stems prior to cooking so they stay flat.

Enjoy the fine art of living the good life!