nourish:pumpkin in season

I have noticed, since making the effort to buy only seasonal produce, how very much cheaper it is. But I still need to shift my thinking a little. Where, once upon a time, I would plan meals and go and buy ingredients in small portions, I am now trying to buy seasonal ingredients and then plan meals around what is available.

At first, switching from a big greengrocery chain to a small local shop gave me some serious frustrations. There are no green beans? How am I going to make sausage casserole on Tuesday now? But now I've started to enjoy the challenge of making do with what's available. And I feel like I'm getting to know ingredients better.

My challenge now for myself is to focus in on one seasonal ingredient, take advantage of the cheap cost, buy a nice bulk amount of it and use it lots of different ways throughout the week.

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So, today I begin with my first seasonal ingredient exploration: pumpkin. I adore pumpkin. My small people enjoyed it as a first food. My darling tolerates it. I had been in the habit of buying small, pre-cut wedges if I was making a roast. Quite often the little wedge, which might have cost the same as a whole pumpkin, would spoil before I had the chance to use it. Lately, happily, whole pumpkins have found their way into my grocery shop. now it's up to me to come up with a range of ideas for pumpkiny mains, sides, snacks, sweets and soups.

Throughout the week, I'll take pictures and post recipes as I go along. Do you have any favourite pumpkin suggestions?