November First is always the day I buy my pumpkins to roast and preserve for winter.
There’s a farm up the road that displays them proudly all October, right through to the 31st, and then as soon as the calendar turns, they are tossed into the back of trucks and carted away. If I am there early enough in the morning, I can save a bunch from the rubbish heap – and save a pretty penny in the process.
Tomorrow, I’ll fill my trunk with pie pumpkins (also called sugar pumpkins) and dedicate a portion of my day to scooping seeds, roasting the squash and turning it into puree. Here’s a step-by-step tutorial of what that looks like, in case this is new kitchen territory for you.