Yesterday I cooked 2 Rouge VIF D'Etampes (Cinderella) pumpkins for making pumpkin pies and pumpkin bread using recipes in my cookbook, Dad's Home Cooking; Traditional Recipes for Preparing Healthy Family Meals available on Amazon. The 2 pumpkins will make enough for 11 pies so I froze some of the puree for use later. I peel, chunk and cook the pumpkin in boiling water until fork tender. The pumpkin is then drained and run through a sieve to remove any pulp. Refrigerate the pumpkin puree for use within a day or two and freeze the remainder in 1 quart freezer bags. Each bag will provide the 3 5/8 cups of pumpkin needed for 2 pies. Enjoy!

I cooked some rutabagas pulled from my garden yesterday. They are open-pollinated Marian variety. Rutabagas are a cross between turnip and cabbage. I planted them on August 8, 2013 for late fall harvest. They can be peeled and chunked then oven roasted, boiled or used in dishes, soups or stews. They are also delicious raw.  I boiled these in salted water and after draining, added butter before serving in lieu of potatoes. My cookbook, Dad's Home Cooking; Traditional Recipes for Preparing Healthy Family Meals has a rutabagas au gratin recipe!