By Michelle Beck

I remember eyeing my bowl suspiciously. About 20 years ago, my aunt, the fabulous gourmet cook, told us we were having curried pumpkin soup with our Thanksgiving meal. At the time, I had only eaten pumpkin in pie and other sweet foods, and I couldn’t imagine how this soup could possibly be edible. It was delicious, of course, and since then I have made pumpkin soup many times.

Here are a couple of good savory pumpkin dishes:

Curried Pumpkin Soup

Roasted Pumpkin with Shallots and Sage

Canned pumpkin is perfectly fine to use, but it’s also fun to roast your own. Use the little “pie” or “sugar” pumpkins many farmers’ markets or grocery stores have this time of year. To roast a pumpkin (or any hard-skinned squash), simply cut it in half, scoop out the seeds and place the pumpkin cut side down on a lightly oiled pan or cookie sheet. Roast in the oven at 400 degrees for about 25 to 30 minutes, until a skewer can be easily inserted. Use a spoon to scoop out the flesh and use in any recipe calling for canned pumpkin. The puree can also be frozen for later use.

Here are a few good things to do with the pumpkin seeds:

Spiced Pumpkin Seeds

Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Seeds

And here is one sweet pumpkin recipe:

Pumpkin-Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

If a recipe requires you to peel a pumpkin, the safest way to do this is with a palm-held vegetable peeler, such as this one from Oxo Good Grips.

The Bakersfield High School FFA group has been at the Farmers’ Market on Saturday mornings at 3801 F St. selling pumpkins. If you need pumpkins for carving or decoration, consider visiting their stand. They have a nice variety at reasonable prices and the money goes to a good cause. Pumpkins and gourds make great decorations for Thanksgiving as well.

Salad Dressings:

I love salad year-round, but salad dressing can be a problem. Many grocery store dressings are filled with high-fructose corn syrup (sugar), unpronounceable ingredients and preservatives.

Homemade dressing often tastes better, but isn’t always practical timewise. I recently discovered Bolthouse’s yogurt dressings. They have far fewer “non-food” ingredients, are generally lower in calories and taste great. To discover which grocery stores near you carry the dressing, check out www.bolthouse.com.

If you want to make your own, this lighter ranch dressing is a favorite at my house. It is from Everyday Food Magazine. It is not as salty as store-bought ranch. I generally add a little extra dill, and sometimes throw in some fresh herbs from my garden or, in the winter, a few shakes of “fines herbes,” which are found in the spice department.

Lighter Ranch Dressing

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup light mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tsp. white wine vinegar

2 green onions, minced

1/2 tsp. dill

salt and pepper to taste

Whisk ingredients together and store in the refrigerator. (I store mine in a glass canning jar.)

Spaghetti Squash

If you have never had spaghetti squash, now is a good time to try it. Spaghetti squash is a football-shaped, yellow squash with a mild flavor and stringy, spaghetti-like flesh. This recipe for spaghetti squash with turkey meatballs is popular in our house. Spaghetti squash is also good as a side dish just tossed with butter, parmesan and garlic. Spaghetti squash is prepared the same way as most hard-shelled squashes. Just cut in half, scoop out the seeds, put in a baking dish, drizzle with oil and cook at 400 degrees for about an hour. To get the stringy flesh out of the shell, just scrape the surface of the flesh with a fork.

Farmers’ Market

When I was at the F Street Farmers’ Market last week, I was happy to see that Amberhill Farms has its sprout mix again. I don’t buy grocery store sprouts because of the risk of contamination with large, commercial sprout producers, but I enjoy Ann’s spicy sprout mix with the alfalfa, radish, broccoli and other sprouts mixed together. They add crunch to sandwiches and salads. I also noticed that Tesch Farms had their salad mix, which seems earlier in the year than usual. Their salad mix is a combination of tender baby lettuces, including arugula and some more exotic ones like tatsoi. I generally soak it in white vinegar and water when I get home to clean it.

Planning meals

Sometimes people want to eat more healthfully, locally and seasonally, but feel overwhelmed. I can definitely understand that. When my food allergies were first diagnosed, I had many frustrating trips to the store. I left in tears more than once, feeling that there was nothing I could eat. I eventually started planning out my meals, which has been incredibly helpful as I moved into eating more locally and seasonally. Once a week, I make a menu and grocery list for the following week. I try to have a different kind of protein each night and make enough extra at dinner for lunch the next day. I use my Everyday Food magazines for ideas, but we often just barbecue meat and vegetables and have some rice or quinoa on the side. In the summer, we just throw everything in a big salad. I keep a little white board inside the pantry door with the week’s menu on it. Now that I am in the habit, it is very simple, and it is convenient to only go to the store once a week and have all of the dinner ingredients available when I need them.

Sustainable Table

If you are on Facebook, check out the fan page for Sustainable Table. They frequently post links to stories related to local, seasonal and sustainable food. Of course, if you aren’t already a fan of Bakersfield Express, you should become one as well!