Decimating a Pumpkin, Part I

I'm think I might be sick.  I've been wanting to bake.  I never want to bake.  I made apple cake earlier in the week and when I woke up this morning I made cranberry coffee cake.  Then this afternoon I had an urge to make pumpkin bread.  We don't buy canned pumpkin but since I had two pie pumpkins sitting out as decoration it wasn't a problem.  I love how versatile pumpkin is...decorative and delicious!

I followed these instructions for roasting my pumpkin.  I used the roasting instructions found at the bottom of the page.  It also helps that my husband roasts his own pumpkin when making pumpkin pie.  He hates canned pumpkin, hence why we don't have any in our house.  It's not allowed.

So I cut the pumpkin in half

And took the guts out

And I placed the pumpkin in an oven safe dish and added a cup of water.  I baked it for an hour at 350 degrees.

While the pumpkins were baking, I cleaned the seeds.  I read that if you clean the seeds and dry them, they'll be ready for planting in the spring.  We're all about planting a garden...so why not grow some pumpkins?

Drying seeds

The pumpkins were nice and soft after an hour.  I did it!  The skin came off super easy.

I took the soft pumpkin and put it in the food processor.  Voila!  Pureed pumpkin!

Who needs canned pumpkin when you can make your own?