How to kill a pumpkin

I bought a pumpkin yesterday. Pumpkins are not part of the traditional Finnish october Offerings, but I guess it has become more usual together with the imported Halloween traditions. Anyways, there I was with 5 kilos of pumpkin in the kitchen and not a clue of what do to with it (except a Jack-o-Latern, which would of course have delighted the younger generation in our family). Well, today I managed to slice it in bits and pieces and make some natural food with no sugar, no wheat, no milk added.

Pumpkin-carrot-white bean soup:
400 g pumpkin
3 carrots
water
vegetable spices
4 dl coconut milk
tamari
fresh ginger
variety of herbs

Boil pumpkin and carrots (sliced into cubes) in water with veggie spices until soft. Throw away most of the water. add coconutmilk, tamari, herbs and som fresh ginger. Mix it all. Add water if needed. Enjoy!

Carrot-pumpkin cake
(adapted from Renée Voltaire's book "Salig Blanding)

Base;
1 dl almonds
1 dl hazelnuts
2,5 dl dried (unswetened) apricots (lay in water 30 minutes before use)

Mix all the three ingredients and cover the bottom of the baking tin with it. The baking tin should be one of those where you can separate the walls from the bottom.

Topping:
8 dl carrots, pealed and grated
250 g cooked pumpkins
4 dl cashew nuts (lay in water before use)
2 dl higs (in water before use)
2 dl dates
3 tbsp coconut oil
1,5 tsp vanilla powder (no sugar)
1 tsp ginger powder
3 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp cardamom
pecan nuts for decoration

Mix all ingredients to a smooth blend. Add water if too dry, cashews if too watery. Add the blend on top of the cake tin and place it in the refrigerator for an hour. Remove the walls of the cake before serving and decorate it with the pecan nuts at the end.

Note: kids liked both the soup and the cake. I am amazed. I have never been able to get them to eat beans before. Now they did not even notice them. I also thought they would find the cake to spicy. But no, they had two slices each. Other invited kids (and adults) also like the cake.

Now I have 4 liters of pumpkin soup in the freezer. The freezer is after today also equipped with some 30 falafels (first time I managed to make the falafels without having to add egg to keep them together!) and some 10 kilos of pre-cooked chick peas, black beans and white beans. Its been a busy weekend, and hopefully this will make the weeks to come less hectic!