Got pumpkin?

I found a recipe here at Hobby Farms Magazine website for stuffed pumpkin. I cooked this the other night (modifications below) and it was great! I think you could stuff it with just about any meat/grain/seasoning combo, like turkey, wild rice, and dried cranberries. Now I can't wait for Thanksgiving!

My Version of Stuffed Pumpkin

1 small sugar pumpkin, lid intact and seeds removed (while cooking and eating dinner, soak seeds in cool water)
1/2 pound ground pork, unseasoned
1-1/2 c. cooked brown rice
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small stalk celery, with leaves, finely chopped
4 leaves of fresh sage, chopped
fresh thyme from a few twigs
2 sprigs fresh rosemary (don't overdo!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prick top half of pumpkin shell on the outside. Place in a shallow pan and add about 1/2-inch of water to pan. Bake 20 - 30 minutes, until tender but still firm.

Meanwhile, brown pork with onion, celery, garlic, sage, and thyme. Add rice.

Stuff pumpkin with pork mixture, adding the rosemary. Top with lid and return to the oven for another 20-30 minutes. Pumpkin should be very tender.

Serve by cutting pumpkin and contents in half vertically - the pumpkin makes its own edible bowl!

After dinner, preheat oven to 325 while cleaning pulp from pumpkin seeds. Dry the seeds a bit, then toss with a bit of olive oil and salt in a shallow pan. Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the seeds are a little brown and crunchy. Remove from oven and cool. Warning: these are addicting!

Homemade granola

One day a co-worker told us a story about the breakfast her daughter made herself: toast with peanut butter and chocolate chips. Mom and dad did not think that was a very good breakfast, but I said it was not that far off from a granola bar.

This recipe is based on the Almond Crunch Cereal recipe in The Rodale Cookbook (1973). I wanted something simpler than what even our health food stores sell, something I could use in my yogurt parfaits with a variety of fruit and nuts or sprinkle on salads instead of croutons.

Since this granola cools in the oven overnight, it is best made in the evening, at least two hours before bedtime.

HOMEMADE GRANOLA

Preheat oven to 225 degrees

Stir together 3 cups uncooked rolled oats, 1 cup raw sunflower seeds, 1/2 cup wheat germ (optional), and 1/4 cup raw sesame seeds.

Whisk together 1/4 cup canola oil and 1/2 cup honey. (Edited to add: If you omit the wheat germ, you might want to cut back a bit on the oil, honey, and water.)

Mix oil-honey mixture with dry ingredients. Add 1/2 cup cold water, a little at a time. Stir until mixture is crumbly.

Pour into a shallow pan that has been lightly oiled.

Bake in oven for 2 hours, stirring every 15 minutes, until the cereal is dry and lightly browned. Turn off oven and allow cereal to cool in the oven overnight.

Keep in an air-tight container.