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Start with a 2- to 3- pound sugar pie pumpkin. Large carving pumpkins aren't suited for roasted and pureeing because the inside of it is stringy and unpalatable.
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Start by preheating the oven to 400 degrees.
There is no reason it has to be organic, I just happened to be shopping at an organic food market the day I bought this little guy.
Using a big sharp knife, cut the pumpkin in half.
Scoop the seeds out of the pumpkin with a spoon, scraping all the stringy bits out, too. In a pumpkin of this size, there won't be a ton of seeds. However, if you want to put in the work for roasting them, I salute you. I did not do that.
Line a baking sheet with tin foil (or don't. It just makes for an easier clean-up). Drizzle just a smidgle (I just made that word up) of olive oil and put the pumpkin halves cut side down on the sheet.
Place in the preheated oven and roast for about 30 minutes, or until the skin of the pumpkin is tender when poked with a fork.
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If you haven't noticed by now, this method is basically identical to roasting any other type of squash.
When it's done, the pumpkin will look like this.
You'll notice, despite the not-so-impressive photograph, that the pumpkin's skin deepened to a red-orange color (there's no Photoshop trickery here! It was actually quite lovely.)
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Scrape the flesh into the bowl of your food processor (this should be pretty easy, the flesh will just fall right out if it's cooked properly). Pulse for a few seconds, and you'll have pure pumpkin puree. Store in the refrigerator for a few days.
For some reason, the final picture of this process didn't make its way onto my Google Docs account, which is how I transfer photos from my home computer to work. So, here's a nice stock image of pumpkin puree for you.
I realized I haven't done a Menu Monday in a while. If you're in need of some dinner ideas, here's a rundown of what will be appearing on my table this week:
Sunday: Easy slow cooker pot roast with potatoes and carrots
Monday: Cranberry chicken and Orzo with Caramelized Vegetables and Ginger
Tuesday: Fish tacos, Spanish rice, and my first attempt at making black beans in the slow cooker
Wednesday: Pasta with basil-marinara sauce and baked chicken, roasted cauliflower
Thursday: Cocktail party cele ating my coworkers' 10-year anniversary with What's Up? Media. Congratulations, Ashley and James!
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Friday: Braided calzones
Saturday: Penn State's only night game of the season, playing Northwestern! My husband and I will head to Shooter's Bar and Grill in Severna Park to cheer on the Nittany Lions with the Annapolis alumni chapter.
