Submitted by: agcomm,  Thu Oct 16 11:32:31 1997


[Graphic accompanies this column in hard copy and is available on
the World Wide Web.] 
 
Introducing Prairie Fare... 
  
     It's not nouvelle. Nor is it haute. It's more like oat. The
cooking styles and foods that flourish in the Northern Great
Plains are an eclectic blend, created in part by the people
who've inhabited this region for generations and in part by a
climate that may seem ironically variable to some, given we
reside in the smack-dab center of a continent. 
     Blazing hot like a habernero pepper or icicle crisp like a
blue-ribbon pickle, food is eaten by people in this region for
the purposes of warming up, cooling off, celebrating the season
and observing milestones. The lesson to be learned from all this
eating is as old as the first county fair: food sustains life but
good food enriches it. 
     That's what this column is all about. To make cooking the
wholesome foods grown here more interesting and exciting, and of
course to enliven the food itself with new zest and savor. To
make your meals prairie fare. So, we hope to help you transform
favorites into family classics. At the same time, we hope to
encourage you to try new herbs, new foods and new dishes.
Gastronomically speaking, it's our hope that Prairie Fare will
help you fare well. 
     So here goes. And to cater to the kid in all of us, we'll do
dessert first. 
 
                   Serving the Halloween Icon
 
     Many people don't go hunting or won't eat certain foods
because of their emotional attachment to animals. I have a
fondness for pumpkins.
     Except for the pie served on Thanksgiving and at church
suppers, I pretty much have refrained from eating pumpkin. My
appreciation for this orbicular orange gourd is based primarily
on aesthetics, namely that of the individually stylized
jack-o'-lantern. This fire eater has captivated me for as long as
I can remember. Halloween just wouldn't be the same without all
those wicked smiles and eyes that sparkle and dance in the
darkness.  
     On the other hand, it always pained me to witness the fate
of these magnificent sculptures. Some smashed to bits by
Halloween-reveling hoodlums, and others, their sinister
countenance withered and made toothless by the elements of late
autumn. 
     So maybe pumpkins should have a higher calling. Maybe being
transformed into a somewhat watery pulp that is destined for a
supporting role in a recipe really is a more fitting end for this
regal cousin to a cucumber. Through their inventiveness, many
people seem intent on making this fruit the "pumpking." I've seen
recipes for pumpkin cookies, pumpkin bread, pumpkin bars, pumpkin
muffins, pumpkin cake, pumpkin ice cream--even, I believe,
pumpkin chutney and pumpkin pickles.
     None of those recipes ever convinced me to retire my carving
knife, but I recently came across one that's got me thinking:
Pumpkin Bread Pudding. Now I'll admit that I'm a recipe tinkerer,
so the first time I made this recipe I substituted mashed sweet
potatoes for the pumpkin. But I think I like the pumpkin better.
The pudding offers an appealing color, and if served chilled like
the recipe suggests, its custard-like texture is enhanced.
Everyone I've served this to thinks its pretty tasty too.
     Maybe next year I'll try my hand at carving some sweet
potatoes for Halloween. 
 
     Pumpkin Bread Pudding
     From SOAR--the Searchable Online Archive of Recipes,
University of California, Berkeley
(http://soar.Berkeley.EDU/recipes/)
 
     Yield: 4-6 servings
     Ingredients:
     1 cup milk
     3/4 cup sugar
     2 eggs, slightly beaten
     1/2 teaspoon salt
     1 teaspoon vanilla extract
     1 cup canned pumpkin, mashed 
     2 cups stale bread cubes, cut small
     1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
     2 tablespoons brown sugar
     
     Procedure:
     In medium size bowl, combine milk, sugar, eggs, salt,
     vanilla and pumpkin, blend thoroughly. Stir in bread cubes.
     Pour into a greased 1-1/2 quart baking dish. Bake 35-40
     minutes at 350 F. While pudding is baking, combine brown
     sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle mixture on top of the pudding.
     Return pudding to the oven and bake for about 10 minutes
     more. This is delicious served chilled with a dollop of
     whipped cream. 
 
What's Your Take on This, Julie?
 
     Pumpkin is one of those foods that's so good for you it's
almost a shame to assign it to a role as a grinning centerpiece.
Pumpkin belongs on your plate. 
     Pumpkin is high in fiber and an excellent source of
beta-carotene, which provides it-- and most other yellow-orange
fruits and vegetables--with its characteristic color. Carotenoids
are converted into vitamin A by the body. Among its many roles,
vitamin A helps with night vision, helps keep skin and body
tissues healthy and serves as an antioxidant, which could protect
body cells from cancer and other diseases. While it's possible to
overdose on vitamin A from vitamin supplements, carotenoids from
foods have not been linked with overdoses. 
     A slice of pumpkin bread pudding won't throw you off the
healthy-eating bandwagon, either. One slice (one-sixth of the
recipe) has less than 300 calories and less than four grams of
fat, or about half the fat content of a piece of Grandma's
pumpkin custard pie. 
     If you want to reduce the fat content of the bread pudding,
try using skim milk and four egg whites in place of the two whole
eggs. Another option is to cut the pieces smaller. But you won't
want to.
                              ###
NDSU Agriculture Communication
Sources: Dean Hulse (701) 231-6136
Julie Garden-Robinson (701) 231-7187