Heavy rains throughout last year’s harvest made it nearly impossible to pick pumpkins in the field. As a result, I was unable to find pie pumpkins after Halloween, and there were no cans of pumpkin on grocery store shelves to get me through the holiday season. Do you remember that last year? And you thought maybe they just moved the pumpkin… and you gave up trying to find it.
The fact was… there was no canned pumpkin to be found.
One place you can find canned pumpkin is on on eBay. Ten 15-ounce cans of pumpkin was priced at $21.50 after five bids, and two days left. Another seller offered nine 29-ounce cans of pumpkin for $64.50 for anyone who wanted to use the “buy it now” option.
The good news is, there is no expected shortage of pumpkin this year — so our pantries should be safe – so you can forget about stalking eBay purchases. However, we can’t expect the supply to be back in full swing until October 1. But I have to say, sweet potatoes can be used a a substitute in a pinch. But my favorite pumpkin substitute is Butternut Squash. It’s light, delicate and rich… it simply lacks that deep caramel color you find in pumpkin. But tastes just as good.
I treat the squash just like I treat a pie pumpkin — slicing it, and baking. Then, scooping out the squash and using it in the pie recipe. I have never roasted their seeds, however…
By the way, don’t forget… this week’s premiere of ABC’s No Ordinary Family, September 28.
I’m giving away a $100 Visa Gift Card for Disney’s new movie, Secreteriat.
Susie–I love butternut squash for soup & I ALWAYS roast the seeds & use them on top of the soup with a swirl of home-whipped cream.
Butternut was the ONLY pumpkin we had as children here in Aus. Now there are many types available.