This is the story—in pictures!—of a humble gourd who grew up to be a delicious Thanksgiving pie.
It all started with a little packet of organic seeds.
The seeds were planted in a beautiful raised bed in a beautiful garden in Maine.
Soon the seeds grew into a long green vine; then a long green pumpkin grew on the vine.
Much love and affection helped the pumpkin grow to maturity despite the threat of downy mildew.
After it was picked, the pumpkin rested in the house until it turned a glorious shade of orange.
At last, the pumpkin was ready! It was cut in half and its seeds were scooped out. Some of the seeds were saved to be planted next spring. Some of the seeds were toasted and eaten.
The pumpkin went into a nice warm oven and roasted until it was soft.
Freed from its shell, the lovely golden pumpkin pulp went for a whirl in the food processor, then into the freezer to sleep until November.
Then, on the day before Thanksgiving, the defrosted pumpkin puree was mixed with eggs, evaporated milk, sugar and spices and poured into a pie crust. Into the oven it went, and came out a slightly overbaked, not-quite-set-in-the-middle, absolutely delicious pie.
The pie took its place proudly on the Thanksgiving table, alongside an equally delicious apple pie and lots of other nice things. And for that we are truly thankful.
I’m also thankful for my mother’s pumpkin pie recipe, which I followed with a tweak or two. It’s still hard to celebrate holidays without her. Her handwriting on these recipe cards fills me with memories. Miss you, Mummie.
