October: Jack-o-Lanterns, Pumpkin Pie, and a Corn Maze

The Pumpkin Patch Adventure

This was the week Bean and I made our annual pilgrimage to her favorite pumpkin patch. We’ve been doing this together since she was three years old and now she’s eight and knows the routine quite well.

“I’ll start over there with the white pumpkins, Grandma, and you can bring the wheelbarrow . . .”

She begins by selecting the best white and orange pumpkins for carving into Jack-o-Lanterns. They have to be smooth and clean, have a stem, and apparently be too large for Grandma to lift. “It’s ok, Grandma, I’ve got it,” she grunts, as she drops her selection into the waiting upended wheelbarrow. “Pull it over here. I found another.”

But as many of you will remember from earlier posts, the pumpkin patch is not all about jack-o-lanterns, or even about pumpkins, white or orange or green. It’s also about gourds for the centerpiece, tiny pumpkins for the pie, climbing on hay bale pyramids and sliding down very long tubes. It’s now also about the Corn Maze.

Last year was the first time we entered the corn maze. Twenty minutes into it we were hopelessly lost, and Bean’s lower lip started to tremble. “I’m scared we’ll never get out,” she confided. I took her hand and pushed on. We made random choices until we miraculously found our way back to the entrance. I never doubted we’d get out, but it was a bit traumatic for my granddaughter.

Hansel and Gretel to the Rescue

This year we talked about it ahead of time, and took a bag of bird seed with us. Much as Hansel and Gretel did with breadcrumbs, we sprinkled bird seed each time we came to a fork in the path, identifying the correct direction to take on the return journey. Stress-free, we enjoyed our adventure all the way to the end of the maze, then effortlessly returned to the beginning before any hungry birds had time to eat our map.

Returning home with our loot (two enormous pumpkins, one white and one orange, four gourds, two sugar pie pumpkins and a random ear of corn), Bean decided she wanted to make a pumpkin pie. So into the oven went one of the pie pumpkins, sliced in half, 350 degrees for about an hour. By the time Bean had created a centerpiece with the gourds, decided where to put the big pumpkins until carving day, dressed down into her baking clothes and located all the ingredients, the pumpkins were ready.

We used a tried and true recipe, one that was attached to the stem of the last pie pumpkin I purchased in a supermarket, over 20 years ago, when Bean’s Aunt Deb decided to bake her first pumpkin pie from scratch. The recipe has been on my fridge ever since. Here it is:

Pumpkin Pie From Scratch

Pumpkin Pie from Scratch

This is our go-to recipe for making pumpkin pies from actual pumpkins. You will need a small pumpkin, about 8 to 10 inches in diameter. Sugar Pie pumpkins are great for this. Two pie crusts, rolled out and in the pie tins (we usually cheat and use frozen).

2 cups fresh pumpkin
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup evaporated milk or cream
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice (or 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp ground cloves)
2 8-inch frozen pie crust or 1-9" deep dish pie crust

Cut pumpkin in half
Scoop out seeds
Place in pan cut side down
Bake for one hour or until soft when poked with a fork.
Put all remaining ingredients into a bowl and blend with an immersion blender, or put into a blender or food processor and blend to desired texture.
Add pumpkin and blend again
Pour into two frozen 8" pie crusts or one deep dish 9" crust
Bake at 350 for one hour. Let cool before slicing.

I hope there is someone in your life who enjoys visiting pumpkin patches and baking pies. Or perhaps you have another fall tradition that you look forward to. I hope you’ll share it with us on the comment form below!

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