Puree and Butter

Pumpkin in July you say?  Well I received a pie pumpkin in my CSA and was told that it needed to be cooked sooner rather than later as it did not have a very long, or stable shelf life. And it certainly wouldn't be very plannedovery of me to allow that to happen, so into the oven my seed-scooped halved pumpkin promptly went.  I figured I could use some in a Gluten free almond "bread" recipe made popular by Dr. Davis in his book and blog Wheat Belly.  Almond four, in general was a new experience for me and the notion of baking with a nut "flour" all together foreign. The "bread" itself is quite crumbly it's not really suitable for a sandwich, nor does it really resemble bread made from wheat.  However it is quite good* and an excellent vehicle for butter when toasted!  Because, really, isn't that the whole very point of bread?? To schmear it with some delicious, salty creamy butter?  Well maybe butter is not the whole point, but butter does make pretty much everything better.  Take for example this little doozy of a recipe sent to me courtesy of Rebecca along with my CSA contents list.  Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter. I'm not quite sure, given the abundance of tomatoes currently upon my counter, that anything has sounded, more simple, yet so delicious.   While I've not yet made this, the reviews alone have put it on the very tippy top of the to do list.  Tis the season for tomatoes, and I think this recipe will quite nicely utilize my abundant supply and be an excellent base for a future Planned Over. Back to butter in a bit

An hour after roasting in a 350 oven, my pumpkin emerges, smelling up the house quite like it is fall.  But fall it is not.  However, pumpkin did I have so pumpkin was on the menu.  Fortunately for me, there is not a vegetable that I have encountered that is not equally, if not superior when it has spent a spin in the Vita-mix or Cuisinart. I have long teased with my mother that as a second child I never got enough baby food which has spawned my love affair with all things pureed.  Chickpeas, cauliflower, carrots, beets all heavenly when able to be eaten with a spoon.

I decided to make a spin on shrimp and grits with cumin and smoked paprika scented pumpkin puree.  Sauteed a mess of garlic, red peppers, onion and a little butter and white wine.  Add the shrimp for a few minutes at the end and pour over warmed pumpkin puree.  I think it just might beat out the grits!

Happy eating!

*If you haven't eaten bread in several months, I can tell you wholeheartedly, it is quite profoundly delicious toasted with butter.