I could murder a pumpkin…

October is orange. Orange fruit, orange leaves, orange gourds: not the Glorious Twelfth but Hallowe'en, when jack-o'-lanterns glare and witches scream…! (I'm s-s-scared!) Pumpkins belong to the cucurbit family and are cousins to melons, marrows and cucumbers. They are high in fibre, antioxidants, vitamins C and E, magnesium, potassium, carotenoids and zinc. Their soft texture and mild flavour taste yummy in cakes and pies and are perfect for soaking up warming autumnal spices. Pumpkins come in many sizes. It's best to buy firm, brightly coloured fruit that have not been in a fight (i.e. they are free from bruises, cuts and nicks). Mini-pumpkins have a sweeter, richer flavour. Those sold for jack-o'-lanterns tend to have stringy, watery flesh and are best reserved for looking mean. If in doubt, ask your vendor to help you choose the right one for your recipe. The organic markets carry all shapes and sizes. If you're pushed for time, or find the prep a pain in the pumpkin, buy the flesh in cans from delicatessens. I spied one in Caviston's today, looking all set to jump into somebody's baking tin. Not mine, unfortunately, as my useless oven can't even transform Sowan's (Samhain's…?!) delicious Organic Chocolate Brownie Mix into anything resembling a cake. (And I blamed my lack of baking talent for years. Humph!) I do have a solution to that predicament, though: my friend Sonja. Scissor Sister, hack, photographer, mama and Baking Queen extraordinaire, Sonja makes delectable pumpkin muffins. She kindly donated her recipe to the Hopsack blog in the spirit of All Hallows Eve. Sonja's Pumpkin Muffins Preparation time: approx. 30 minutes if using fresh pumpkin, less if using canned Baking time: 20-25 minutes Measurements: Metric Temperature gauge: Centigrade Ingredients

• 300g pumpkin
• 150g butter
• 150g brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• ¼ teaspoon ginger
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 150g flour
• ½ teaspoon salt

Method Sharpen your dagger and peel and dice your pumpkin, removing the seeds and stringy portions. Boil or steam the flesh until soft and mushy. Blend. Whisk butter, sugar and eggs together. Mix ginger and cinnamon into the puréed pumpkin and add to butter/sugar/egg mixture. Add baking powder, flour and salt. Stir in with a fork until there are very few lumps left in the mix. Pour into muffin cups and bake for 20-25 minutes at 180 degrees Centigrade. 'Jó étvágyat!', as Count Dracula might have said… * We also have a Hallowe'en treat for all you bloodless vegans out there: vegan pumpkin pie. Pumpkin pie is a traditional Thanksgiving pud in North America but we think it's perfect for Samhain too. The pastry crust recipe comes from Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero's wonderful Veganomicon, while the pumpkin pie filling hails from the kitchen of vegan cook Bryanna Clark Grogan. Three essential notes before you bake: 1. MAKE THIS PIE THE DAY BEFORE SERVING. It needs a day to set really well. 2. The filling is spicy. Adjust accordingly if you like it milder. 3. If using home-cooked pumpkin instead of canned, drain it for several hours before use. Hang it in a cloth bag until it is thick and solid, like canned pumpkin. Basic Single Pastry Crust Makes 1 pastry crust Preparation time: 20 minutes, plus approx. 1 hour chill time Measurements: American cup and spoon measurements, available from all good kitchen shops This recipe produces a flaky, all-purpose, unsweetened pie crust. This is the secret: make sure all your ingredients are cold as can be – you should even refrigerate the flour. This way, the pockets of fat will stay pockets of fat and create a flaky crust. Baking powder and a touch of vinegar tenderise the flour for even more flakiness. Finally, a piece of baking parchment keeps the pastry from sticking and also makes a handy vehicle for flipping your pastry onto your pie plate or baking tin. Ingredients

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• 1/3 cup cold non-hydrogenated vegan shortening
• ¼ cup cold water, plus 2 tablespoons if needed
• 2 teaspoons cider vinegar

Method In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Add the shortening by the teaspoon, but you don't need to be precise about this. You just want to add it in small chunks in three batches and then cut it into flour with each addition. Cut the shortening in until the dough is crumbly and pebbly. Combine the vinegar with ¼ cup of the water. Add the mixture to the dough in three batches, gently mixing it into the dough with a fork until the dough holds together when pinched. If need be, add up to 2 tablespoons more water. Gather the dough into a ball and knead gently a few times, just until it holds together. Sprinkle a clean work surface with flour, then flatten the ball into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about an hour. When ready to roll out the crust, place a large piece of baking parchment on your work surface. Unwrap the dough and place it on the parchment. Sprinkle your rolling pin with flour and roll the dough into a 12-inch circle. It may slip around a bit from the parchment, but that's okay; just work steadily and gently. Your crust is now ready to use. If using as a bottom crust (as in this pumpkin pie recipe), lift the parchment and flip the crust into the pie plate. Tuck in and trim the edges. If using as a top crust in another recipe, lift the parchment and flip the crust onto the filling. Trim the edges and press with the tines of a fork to get pretty edges, or pinch the circumference with your thumb and forefinger. NB: The recipe below calls for a 9-inch pie crust, so trim this crust accordingly when you have flipped it into your pie tin. Bryanna's Vegan Pumpkin Pie Preparation time: 10 minutes if using canned pumpkin; 10 minutes plus several hours if using home-cooked pumpkin: drain it for a few hours by hanging it in a cloth bag until it is solid like canned pumpkin Baking time: 60 minutes Measurements: American cup and spoon measurements, available from all good kitchen shops, US Imperial Temperature gauge: Fahrenheit Method Have one 9-inch unbaked pastry crust at the ready (above). Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Blend the following ingredients in a blender until smooth: Ingredients

• 2 cups solid-pack canned pumpkin (one 14oz can or 2 smaller cans) or home-cooked pumpkin drained as above
• 1 cup non-dairy milk (preferably a rich soya milk)
• 3/4 cup brown sugar or Sucanat (a similar product, Rapadura, is available from The Hopsack)
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (e.g. Nielsen-Massey's wonderful vanilla extract)
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground allspice or cloves

Method Pour the filling into the pastry crust and bake for 60 minutes, covering the edges with foil if they begin to brown too quickly. Cool on a rack, then refrigerate overnight before serving. The following day, sink your fangs into its sweet, spicy flesh. Oíche shamhna shona daoibh! Did you know…? …that we're foodies? Check out Baking with Autumn's Bounty, Jam Season and Harvesting from the Wild – Fruits for more fruity, warming receipts for Fall.