Cooked Pumpkin

Here's an easy way to transform an uncooked pumpkin into puree for  baking.

Select a small, dark-orange sugar pumpkin. (Big jack-o-lantern pumpkins are

too large and stringy for baking.) Cut the pumpkin in half, discard the stringy

insides.

Microwave on high for 7 minutes per pound. Once pumpkin is  cooled, scoop out

the flesh and puree in a food processor or mash with a potato masher.

You can refrigerate fresh pumpkin puree for up to three days and store it in the freezer up to six months. This will allow you to enjoy the great taste of fall pumpkins well into winter.