Instructions: The Cook & Kitchen Staff are continuing to offer you some of our best recipes featuring the fruits and vegetables of the Fall harvest. During

"Death-by-Pumpkin Week," nearly every recipe featured contains cooked pumpkin or pumpkin puree.

If youd like to prepare your own pumpkin puree from scratch, simply take 3 pounds of raw pie pumpkin or pumpkins (but remember, this variety of pumpkin is not your Jack-o-Lantern- type vegetable), to prepare about 3 cups of cooked pumpkin puree.

Peel a pie pumpkin or two, then slice the pumpkins in half and remove the seeds. Cut the remaining flesh into small pieces and boil, uncovered, in about an inch of lightly salted water for 25 to 30 minutes. Drain, then mash the mixture. For an extra creamy puree, run the mashed pumpkin through your blender or food processor. Season your cooked pumpkin puree with any combina- tion of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, or allspice, to taste.

You can freeze your homemade pumpkin puree in one-cup containers for up to a year and feast on savory pumpkin baked goods year-round.

Makes Two Small Loaves

Pre-heat oven to 325-F degrees and lightly grease, then flour, an angel food cake pan or two small loaf pans; set aside.

Sift together sugar, flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add chopped nuts, vegetable oil, well-beaten eggs, water, and cooked pumpkin puree. Blend well, and pour the batter into your prepared cake pan or loaf pans.

Bake for about 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until a cake tester is cleanly removed from the center of the loaf or cake. Cool slightly before inverting the cake or loaf pans onto a wire rack to complete cooling. Store in an air-tight container; slice to serve, warm or cold.

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