Homemade pumpkin banana puree
When I first posted about making our own baby food, I used pumpkin a la can. There’s nothing wrong with it -and it’s super easy- but I wanted to find an option that I could make at home, minus the chemicals that often exist in can linings, even with organic brands. A few people in the comments section suggested making my own pumpkin puree instead.
When I thought about making my own pumpkin, from scratch, it scared me a little bit. My nanas make pumpkin creations (empanadas and pie that would make you cry tears of happiness), but they’re also cooking wizards. It’s a feat to carve my own pumpkin without losing an appendage, so to think of approaching the entire thing, skin to seeds, and create something edible was daunting. I also kept having flashbacks of the sad acorn squash I roasted that was disgusting.
But, I did it! And it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be.
To roast the pumpkin, I followed Angela’s steps here.
I cut the stem off, said a prayer while I cut it in half,
scooped out the seeds/guts (and set aside),
added some water to the dish and covered the pumpkin with olive oil.
The only thing I didn’t anticipate was the fact that it took a LONG time to finish roasting- about an hour and 20 minutes.
But then it was ready to go:
The skin came off really easily and then into the Vitamix it went:
Organic pumpkin puree at home!
I saved some plain to use for baking experiments and pureed the rest with banana for Oliv. There was some left in the Vitamix, so I tried it out.. just to make sure it was ok.
Baby food or pumpkin banana soft serve? 😉
The entire pumpkin was used from skin to seeds- I’ll be posting all the recipes on the main page soon.
Do you make your pumpkin at home, or is it one of the things you prefer to buy pre-made? I usually buy canned beans, too (Eden Organics is BPA-free), even though I think they taste so much better in the slow cooker.
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Oh wow, this is probably my favorite post yet! I plan to make all of my own baby food, I am growing my own pumpkins (although they’re so slow-going I think I probably won’t end up getting any this year) and we really love pumpkin at my house! I’ve always wanted to make my own pumpkin puree but have been told by several people that it’s a boiling process that takes hours and hours to complete. This will be so much easier!
I’m really curious as to how you used the skin too.
Oh, also… I know you get a lot of comments and certainly don’t have the time to respond/act upon all of them, and that okay… but you tend to answer and follow up comments a lot more often than other big bloggers so I thought I’d at least give it a try! =]
I host a book club on my blog and this month’s book was Saving CeeCee Honeycutt. I remember seeing it on your blog a while back so I was wondering if you might join in on the book discussion if you have the time.
Any other readers who see this and have read the book can absolutely feel free to join in too! I don’t have a whole lot of participants just yet, but I am very excited for the idea of the book club and really, the more the merrier!
http://travelingphoblogwripher.blogspot.com/2012/10/phobookclub-read-saving-ceecee-honeycutt.html
i’ll check it out now!!
Thanks so much!
Just a hint (from almost losing an appendage once!): With any squash, you can just poke a couple holes in it and roast it whole, and then dismantle it when it’s all soft. It’s WAY easier!!
genius! thank you friend!
Off subject, but I just steamed eggs at your recommendation and they were perfectly cooked and easy to peel. Thank you for saving me the frustration of guessing if they have boiled long enough and the frustration of losing half the egg with the peeled shell. I will forever steam my eggs 🙂
YAY!! it’s a life-changer, huh?
I need to do this, canned pumpkin is one thing I just buy instead of making my own. I know so easy, maybe this year will be the year I make mine own.
you’ll love it- i was really impressed with the taste difference
That last picture with all the pumpkin delights is beautiful! So impressed with your photography, and mad cooking skillz.
aww thank you <3
Omg look at all that pumpkin!! I can’t wait to see all the recipes you made!
In Australia you can’t buy pumpkin in a can, I have never even heard of it! We chop it up and roast it all the time, mostly for savoury dishes. The best way to do it is just with a big and really sharp knife, delicious.
Gina,
Pumpkin Pie has always been one of my favorite treats this time of year. With that said I’ll have to give this a try as acquired a taste for purees too!
Thanks!
AWESOME!!! Loved that you used the entire thing!
You used the entire pumpkin? Oh wow… I can’t wait to see the recipes! I’ve always been curious about roasting a pumpkin and making my own puree, but it seems like too much work and lately I just don’t have the time. I buy mine canned, and the same thing goes for beans, hummus, etc.
That sounds delish! I started buying Banana Pumpkin yogurt for toddlers by Stoneyfield. It’s soooo good I sneak in a few bits myself. I never thought of the combo!
Oh, that’s awesome! I’m sure that Livi will love it.
One of my favorite memories from growing up on a farm is growing pumpkins, roasting the flesh, and roasting the seeds for pepitas! I am super curious to know what you did with the skin– is it something edible?
I have never been much of a pumpkin eater, tried it as a kid but I didn’t like it so never really had it again. But I swear with all these posts about pumpkins it really makes me want to just try it again!
Thank you, thank you! I am a pumpkin fanatic and have always bought canned because making it at home always seemed so daunting, but you make it look easy! I will most definitely be trying this!
I love thee last picture of this post! It is so cool to see all the separate components of a a pumpkin. I made pumpkin puree and roasted the seeds this past weekend but I had no idea what to do with the skin. Can’t wait to see what you did with the skin!
I cook mine in the crockpot! Just poke a few times and cook on low until they are soft. They can be cut to fit or left whole. I just picked up tons of pumpkins at our local farm and cooked up about 10 pounds of purée using 3 crocks. Drained it a bit and froze in can size portions. And about 5 cups of pumpkin seeds for snacking.
I never thought about using the skins! I’m getting more this week and will definitely try that. Do you dehydrate the skins after the pumpkin is cooked or peel it first?
Thanks for all the yummy looking recipes!
GENIUS!
and yes the skin was cooked before dehydrating