Pumk'd

This is a rooster from Smith's Cove. We haven't named him, yet.... Any ideas?

WELL, there's depressingly little to report. The agency has me "proctoring tests" again this week at the Med School.

"Proctoring" is Latin/Canadian for "Sitting in Frozen Silence." The one bit of excitement is every two hours or so I get to go "SSSSSSHHHHHH!!!!!!!" and furrow my brow. Good stuff.

SO, instead of talking about Scantrons or the Bathroom sign-out sheet, I'm going to talk about the pumpkin I roasted yesterday.



Pumpkin grows year-round here in Cayman. It's a staple food that accompanies island-style cuisine and thickens soups and stews. We buy a pumpkin every week and put it into burritos, on pizzas, and even over ice cream.



Once you've selected your pumpkin, cut the big boy into halves.

With a stout metal spoon, scrape out the fibers and seeds.



Chop and Peel the flesh to uniform size, making sure to rinse well to remove any grit or remaining peel.



Spread onto a baking sheet. Drizzle with Olive Oil and toss with salt, pepper, sugar, and a savory herb.

We use local fresh Thyme, although Sage or Rosemary would be just as delicious.

We also add chopped Vidalia Onion and a couple cloves of Garlic, though it works just as well without.



Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 45 minutes, tossing every ten minutes or so.

Once the house smells so good you can no longer stand it (and the pumpkin mashes with almost no pressure) it's time to eat.



It's traditionally served along with Rice and Peas or roasted breadfruit.

I've referenced breadfruit before... it's a starchy fruit that you treat the same as you would potato. I roasted some of that yesterday, as well... it looks like this:



If savory isn't your thing, you can roast the pumpkin with almond oil, cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar, which also makes the house smell incredible. This is what it looks like:



Warm spiced pumpkin with Vanilla Ice Cream or cold Rice Pudding is like a religious experience. (It's even more religious if you use Soy Dream/So Delicious or Vegan Rice Pudding... hahaha)

Speaking of Religious, make sure not to tip the pan when you're moving it in and out of the oven to toss during roasting. The hot oil can run down to the tipping point, soak through your oven-mitt, and give you a nasty grease burn.

Like this one:



I say Religious, because I took the Lord's name in vain over and over again whilst clutching my thumb. It was ALMOST as bad a KILLER BEE STING!!!!!!

Anyway, back to pumpkins:

The Halloween-variety Pumpkin (called the "Oil Pumpkin") has flesh the is much too fibrous to eat, so you may not want to try this on the leftover Jack-o-Lantern on your porch.

You CAN, however, roast the seeds, which are healthy and delicious. We toss them in salads and they add a marvelous depth of flavor.



And... If you have the expeller attachment for your KitchenAid mixer, you can extract the oil from the seeds. It's incredibly healthy, and is all the rage on the gourmet scene right now.

In fact, splashing the deep green pumpkin seed oil over scrambled eggs creates one-half of Dr. Seuss's famous dish. (insert Sam I Am joke here)

Alright, enough pumpkin talk. If cooking isn't your thing, you'll just have to come and visit so I can make it for you.

Soon.

Ta.