Pumpkin farmers Bill and Jennifer Teitzel of Chehalis have a running joke that for every pumpkin left in their field Nov. 1, Jennifer has to make a pie.
In reality, the sheep usually get most of the leftover pumpkins. But quite a few of those jack-o-lanterns in waiting do end up in Jennifer’s kitchen, destined to be soups, pies, muffins, mousse and many other delectable treats.
“My family loves pumpkin pie,” she said. “I can make five in a weekend and they’ll eat them all.”
The Teitzels started Willytee’s Pumpkin Patch about 11 years ago on the property off Jackson Highway on which their family has lived since the early 1900s. The idea was born 12 years ago when friends invited them along on a trip to a pumpkin patch on Sauvie’s Island near Portland, Ore. At first, the couple thought driving a long way for such an experience didn’t make sense. But when they realized how much fun their two children had they started thinking about planting their own pumpkins.
“Bill and I thought it is silly to drive so far for something like that when we have enough land to plant a pumpkin patch of our own,” Teitzel said.
The first five years, the small pumpkin patch tucked in next to their barn mostly grew enough pumpkins for the family and the few visitors who wandered in off the road to see if they could buy a pumpkin. Today, they have about three and one-half acres planted. Last year, they sold 16 tons of pumpkins.
“It’s always been kind of an experimental, teach yourself kind of thing,” Teitzel said. “Every year we’ve added more and Bill plants more.”
Jennifer said one of her favorite things about owning a pumpkin patch is helping people pick out just the right pumpkin. She said every year she goes out to the patch first to pick her favorite.
“It’s always this warted and weird one and Bill says ‘why in the world is that your favorite?’ But it’s always the first one to sell,” Jennifer said.
Another perk of having so many fresh pumpkins on hand is eating them. Teitzel said she often gets questions from visitors to Willytee’s about cooking pumpkins. As a cook who cooks and cans her own pumpkin puree to become cookies, pies, cakes and other treats for her family, she’s much obliged to help.
“Someday I’d love to create some sort of a cookbook on pumpkin use because not only do I cook with them but I also decorate with them,” Teitzel said.
The number one question Teitzel gets is requests for a recipe for pumpkin seeds.
“Everybody loves them but no one ever seems to know how to make them,” she said.
The second most popular question is about baking with pumpkins, or just exactly how do you take a pumpkin and make that stuff you can get in the can from the grocery store? It’s quite easy, Teitzel said. First, start with a small sugar pie pumpkin. Smaller pumpkins tend to be sweeter and have more dense flesh than larger ones. Teitzel said even the larger pumpkins such as those families might bring home for Halloween can work, you just might have to add more sugar at the end. Aside from perhaps pumpkin pies, Teitzel said she uses her homemade pumpkin puree in most recipes without adding any sugar or salt.
“That’s the nice thing about cooking with pure pumpkin. You don’t have to add much sugar,” Teitzel said. “I’m diabetic so I try to keep things as low fat and low sugar as possible and this helps me.”
Want another reason to try your hand at making your own pumpkin puree this year? While Southwest Washington Farmers seem to have had a stellar year for pumpkin growing, farmers in eastern states such as Kentucky, Illinois and New England, where the majority of commercial pumpkins are grown, have had a subpar year for growing pumpkins. Many farmers have reported 50-70 percent loss of crop this year due to a colder and wetter than usual June and July. Libby, a subsidiary of Nestle, which provides about 80 percent of the commercial canned pumpkin, ran out of surplus pumpkin before the harvest this year, leaving some store shelves temporarily out of pumpkin. A Libby spokesperson said 5,000 acres of pumpkins have been harvested and the plan is to hit store shelves in time for Thanksgiving.
Canned Pumpkin
Wash one pumpkin, cut in half and remove seeds and fibrous material from inside. Place in a 350-degree oven for 20-30 minutes until flesh is soft. Alternately, cut pumpkin into small strips or cubes and put into a large stock pot with a small amount of water. Steam about 25 minutes or until soft. Scrape cooked pumpkin from rind and put through a colander or food mill until smooth. Pack hot pulp into sterilized jars to within ½ inch of top. Adjust lids and process in pressure canner: 65 minutes at 10 pounds for pint jars and 80 minutes at 10 pounds for quart jars. Pulp can also be frozen.
Pumpkin Seeds
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Spread 1 tablespoon oil in a shallow pan. Sprinkle seeds over oil in a single layer. Lightly season to taste with seasoning salt or salt and pepper combination. Bake 15-20 minutes or until browned.
Mini Spiced Pumpkin Muffins
1 egg
15-ounce can pumpkin puree, or 2 cups homemade
1 box butter cake or spice cake mix
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine egg and pumpkin. Stir in cake mix. Fold in pecans. Spoon into greased mini muffin tins. Mixture will not rise much, so fill each cup. Bake 10-15 minutes. Makes 24 mini muffins.
Carrina Stanton is a freelance writer who lives in Centralia. She can be reached at carrinastanton@yahoo.com.
