Cookson's cucurbits
Regina Murphy - Emporia Gazette
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Pumpkin patches are opening up for the season. Many gourds are a little late in coming this year thanks to the wet, cool growing season, but that just means there will be plenty of fresh ones to choose from for fall decor.
“Cucurbit” is the family name for all kinds of spherical fruits of the vine, including squashes, pumpkins and gourds. There are a ton of varieties out there: Lady Godiva, Knucklehead, Guatemalan Blue Banana, Speckled Snake. And there is a place within a short day’s drive where you can see them.
Linda Cookson gave me a call, fresh from a trip to The Great Pumpkin Patch in Arthur, Ill. This farm is an annual trip for her and other members of her family, and they definitely put on a show.
Located deep in Amish country, this farm was established in 1859 by McDonald immigrants from Scotland. In 1977, 118 years later, descendants Bruce and Mary Beth McDonald Condill added a few pumpkin seeds to their children’s garden. Over the next 32 years a cucurbit business grew to 63 acres with more than 300 varieties of pumpkins, squash and gourds, involvement in commercial pumpkin production and the preservation and development of heirloom and rare cucurbit seeds. And that doesn’t include the 7,000 mums they plant, either.
Open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily from Sept. 15 through Halloween, The Great Pumpkin Patch prepares 11 acres of displays and gardens, including the Wall of Squash — a large pyramid-shaped frame with various specimens displayed therein — pumpkin trees towering 20 feet in the air, the Haunted Corn Crib, mazes and all kinds of what-not.
Linda says it takes about five hours to get there, and she usually breaks up the trip over four days to do some volunteer work there. Here is one of her favorite recipes from there. This particular cucurbit is a fabulous dark green-blue color, but it’s hard as a rock so you’ll need to precook it a bit or get a machete.
According to the information from the Condills, the Tesukabuto is a Japanese heirloom pumpkin that’s good just about any way you cook it and “...makes the best pumpkin pie I’ve ever had.”
TETSUKABUTO SQUASH CHIFFON PIE
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/4 cups Tetsukabuto
squash, cooked and mashed
3 egg yolks
3 egg whites (for meringue)
Cook all ingredients except egg whites over medium heat, stirring constantly until it boils. Remove from heat, cool. Prepare meringue using three egg whites (whipped) and gradually add 1/2 cup sugar. Carefully fold meringue into cooled ingredients. Pour all into baked pie crust.
Chill pie until set, about 2 hours. Garnish with whipped cream. May also use other winter squash or pumpkin.
The Great Pumpkin Patch just released the 2nd edition of its cookbook, “The Pumpkin Eater.” If you want one, it’s just $8 and you can order through the Web site at www.the200acres.com.
Linda is an avid scrapbooker, and she showed me several pictures of the farm, plus a very special space. They have two thrones set up, made from cast iron, and placed beneath banners stating “The Pumpkin Queen,” and “The Pumpkin King.” One may sit there and have one’s photograph taken, proving one had been in residence at said pumpkin patch.
Linda and her mother visited said patch 10 or 11 years ago, at which time a gently declining rattan throne was in place for the photo op. Linda said, “My mother immediately hurried over to it, plopped herself down and announced: ‘I am the Pumpkin Queen!’”
Every year after, they had to take turns at who got to be the Pumpkin Queen, often turning to the previous year’s scrapbook to verify lest one or the other get more accolade than was her due.
After Linda’s mom passed away, the family decided to commission a sturdier throne as a memorial, and the Condills commissioned a second so that not only a queen, but a king could reign each fall — depending on who got to the chair first.
It’s a lovely iron chair, with the legs and frame decorated like a twining vine, and there is a plaque that reads “Mary Cookson, always in our hearts and minds, the One True Pumpkin Queen.”
WINTER SQUASH CHOWDER
2 slices bacon
1 cup leeks, sliced
1 cup red potatoes
1 cup Acorn squash, cubed
1 cup Butternut squash, cubed
1 cup pumpkin, cubed
2 cans fat-free chicken broth
1 up cream
1 Tbsp. sage
1 Tbsp. parsley, chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
In a stock pot or Dutch oven, cook bacon until crisp then remove from pan. Add leeks to bacon drippings and cook until softened. Add potatoes, squash and pumpkin and cook five more minutes.
Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer 30 to 40 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add cream and seasonings. Add brown sugar, if desired. Garnish with crumbled bacon.
VVV
If you can’t make the drive to Illinois, you could always visit Roga Pumpkin Patch, which will open Saturday and stay open until Oct. 31. They are open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays, 1 to 6 p.m. Sundays and then 3 to 6 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays. Roga is easy to find.
Drive 7 1/2 miles west on U.S. Highway 50 to Road A (the Lyon-Chase county line). Next, go three miles south to Road 140, then 1/2 mile east. Look for the big signs.
Roga has a pumpkin sling shot, hay ride, tall grass maze, 22-feet teepee and about 20 different kinds of pumpkins, several gourds and pick-your-own pumpkin. They would love to see you.
CRANBERRY
PUMPKIN BREAD
3 1/2 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 Tbsp. chopped nuts
1/2 tsp. cloves
1 Tbsp. orange peel,
finely grated.
1 cup Egg Beaters
16 oz. cranberry sauce
(whole berry)
15 oz. pumpkin puree
1/3 cup applesauce
Mix dry ingredients in one bowl, and stir in orange peel. Mix remaining ingredients in another bowl, then combine all ingredients. Pour into two loaf pans that have been sprayed with nonstick spray; sprinkle with nuts.
Bake at 350 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes, then remove to cool completely. If you wish, oil may be used in place of the applesauce.
VVV
Many thanks to the Condills of the Great Pumpkin Patch for sharing their recipes and for Linda Cookson for sharing all her experiences there. It sounds like great fun.
Next week we’ll see who won today’s Apple Cook-Off. If you have ideas for next year’s competitions, or any recipes you would like to share, e-mail me at murphysmenu@yahoo. com or send them in to 517 Merchant St., Emporia.
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