Pumpkin-Orange Smoothies
Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 4:00AM 
Halloween is the symbolic start of the holiday season in the Hunter household. For Marilyn and me, it’s a transitional time at the table too. Steaks and chops are on the grill less often with more roasts braised for hours on Sundays to eat the rest of the week; and our shopping trips yield fewer summer fruits and veggies and more squashes, roots and gourds.
Pumpkins this year will get carved, roasted, grilled and puréed. We like to buy small orange pumpkin, cut off the stem end, then cut in quarters, clean away the stringy and seedy insides, rub with oil, salt and pepper, and roast until soft and tender. With these chunks of soft pumpkin, we can do a bunch of things from dicing for pasta, to puréeing for soups and mashing into potatoes for an autumnal side.
The boys love it when we blend roast pumpkin with orange juice, vanilla yogurt, and honey for an afternoon snack or dessert. In this recipe, I’ve substituted canned purée but you can also roast your own pumpkin, following instructions below.
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Pumpkin-Orange Smoothies
1/2 cup canned pumpkin purée
3 cups orange juice
1 cup vanilla yogurt
2 tablespoons honey
Combine the pumpkin purée, orange juice, yogurt, and honey in a blender. Cover and blend into a frothy smoothie, about 60 seconds. Makes about 4 cups.
To make puree from fresh pumpkin: For a medium pumpkin (about 4 pounds) cut in half, remove seeds and strings and place cut-side down on baking sheet. Cover with foil and roast at 375°F for 1 1/2 hours or until fork tender. Let cool. Scoop out flesh and puree.
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