"Wild" Pumpkin

Ten months after the massive fire that hit our area, new growth is prevalent.  One of the families that lost their home was big into gardening.  James and I used to walk by their home just to see what was growing (and to look at the incredible welded animal statues the man made.)  Apparently some seeds survived the fire and were washed into the gullies on either side of the burnt out slab.  Recently I walked by the place and saw, what I thought were pumpkins growing.  I took James over to look and he wasn't sure if they were pumpkins, squash, or gourds.  On the 4th of July we walked over to the area and I was crushed to find that the vines I had been watching had been cut back by the crews cleaning up the area.  James decided to traipse down into the gully and found the pumpkin pictured above.  So pretty!  It reminded me of the pumpkin that Cinderella's Fairy Godmother turned into a coach.  Of course, there are no pumpkin coaches in my future, so we decided to process it down into pureed pumpkin.

 Here's half of the cleaned out pumpkin.  The other half was already cut up and roasting in the oven. 

Two hours, a lot of work, and a big mess later, we ended up with a bunch of pureed pumpkin.  Anyone who knows me is probably thinking...what is this girl doing with pumpkin, she doesn't even eat fruit or vegetables.  Well, I use pureed pumpkin in pancake/waffle mixes and as a substitute for oil in baked goods like cakes and muffins.  As I am typing, I have some chocolate chip cupcakes, using the pumpkin, baking in the oven! They smell so yummy!