Rendering Pumpkin

It is a cold and gloomy afternoon, so I decided to tackle the stemless pumpkin sitting at my front door. The pumpkins that keep their stems tend to last longer than the ones that lose the stem and expose a bit of their insides at that navel-a weak point for decay. This pumpkin was fine, but it was the largest and so I took it on. 1. Open the pumpkin as if carving a Jack-O-Lantern, extracting the seeds. I love roasted pumpkin seeds, so that is all part of the deal.

2. Cut, chop or break the pumpkin into pieces that will fit in a large pot with a steamer tray in the bottom. I tend to use an ax or the edge of our stone step as it is safer than me and a knife tryoing to cut open a large pumpkin.
3.Stack the chunks, flesh down in the pot above the water line. If they get into the water the flesh will absorb too much water and mess with you later in recipes(pies that won't set up, for instance).
4.Steam for at least 45 minutes or until flesh is soft.
5. Remove with edge of spoon and if it is soft enough, great, if still firm, food process for a minute. If there is excess water showing, squeeze into another bowl before measuring.

6. Measure for use immediately or in my case I made pumpkin bread and had a nice package for pie later this month.