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Show SOUTHERN UTAH NEWS WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2000 Community 6 an I have my pumpkin and eat it too? Answer by Jean Alder, Utah State University Extension Cache County Home Economist There are more things you can do with a pumpkin than just carve it. Pumpkins are high in vitamin A and fiber, low in fat, and a good source of vitamin C, potassium and phosphorus. pumpkins may be too stringy to eat and are Jack-o-lante- m often too large. For cooking, select sugar pumpkins, which are a smaller, sweeter variety with closed-grai- n flesh. Pumpkin can be prepared in a variety of ways: baked and eaten as a vegetable; baked into a pie, or made into soup. The seeds are a popular snack when dried and sometimes roasted and salted. Here are some things to try with your pumpkins: Basic preparation: Rinse off any dirt before using. For pumpkin puree to use in soup, bread or pie, you can steam, boil or bake. Peel pumpkin and cut into 1 12 to 2 inch chucks. Steam for 15 to 20 minutes, or cook in boiling water for 8 to 12 minutes. Puree. Or ifthe pumpkins are small, split and clean out the 'seeds and pulp. Put flesh side down in a baking pan with a bit of water. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 12 hours or until the flesh is tender. in the plastic wrap. Microwave at high until fork tender, about 8 to 10 minutes per pound. Cut into wedges and serve with butter, salt and pepper. Or you can scoop out flesh, mash and add desired seasonings, or use in many other creative ways. For just plain pumpkin eating, wash a 1 12 to 3 pound sugar pumpkin; cut off the top, and save the lid and stem for a handle. Scrape out the seeds and pulp, wipe out the inside, then brush with melted butter andor sugar or salt, if desired. Replace the lid and bake in a 350 the dinging fibrous pumpkin tissue. The seeds can be dried in the sun, in a dehydrator at 115 or 120 degrees for 1 to 2 hours, or in an oven on warm for 3 or 4 hours. Stir them frequently to avoid scorching. Store in airtight container. Roasted pumpkin seeds make a tasty snack. To roast, take dried pumpkin seeds, toss with oil (1 teaspoon per cup of seeds) andor salt, and roast in a preheated oven at 250 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes. Another way is to wash and drain the seeds, then place on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. For seasoned seeds, melt a tablespoon of butter and toss on clean seeds. Season with salt and pepper or other seasonings and bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes. Roasted pumpkin seeds will stay fresh for up to 10 degree oven for 35 minutes. Coat the inside flesh once again with butter, sugar, or salt and bake another 10 to 15 minutes, or until it is fork tender. Slice into wedges and serve plain. Try making a stuffed pumpkin by cutting the top off and scooping the seeds out. Prepare a casserole of mostly days. browned such as ingredients meat and cooked vegetables. With the ingredients still hot, place inside the pumpkin, set pre-cook- 4 ed the pumpkin on a baking sheet and cook at 350 degrees for 1 to 3 hours, depending on the size of the pumpkin. A scooped out pumpkin also makes a nice serving bowl for salad or soup. Make pumpkin pancakes by adding fresh cooked pumpkin to your favorite pancake batter. Cook as directed and serve with warm applesauce. To dry pumpkin seeds, careplastic wrap. Make a small hole fully wash the seeds to remove Microwave preparation: Wash a 1 12 to 3 pound sugar pumpkin; cut off the top, saving the lid, scrape out the seeds and pulp, and cover the opening with for t, Kane County Dental Group PERSONALIZED & COMFORTABLE Ask us about our new orthodontic procedures, with new techniques that decrease treatment time up to 40 Call today for a consult with Dr. John Armstrong. K. John Armstrong DDS Robert Gibson DDS Larry Staples DDS Nileen Whitlock RDH Call now for an appointment 435-644-41- 81 355 N. Main Street Kanab, UT 84741 ! And now at the sanctuary: A Waltzing Bear By Carolyn Mitchell Virgil Barstad is never far moved from animals, even when hes making music. The Best Friends accountant won $1,000 in an international contest for his orchestral composition, If a Bear Goes Waltzing in the Forest, Will His True Love Put on her Tutu and Join Him? It was the only possible title for the piece, Virgil says. Music lovers may decide for themselves when g the piece is performed at the Symphony of the Canyons ' Spring Concert next year. Virgil, who acts as concertmas-te- r for the symphony, made his violin solo debut before his first grade class in San Francisco. The precocious young musician went on to serve as student conductor for his school orchestra in the 8th grade. By the time he was a senior, Virgil had added the viola and string bass to his repertoire of instruments. And he helped form a Dixieland band that placed in a national contest and appeared on the 1950s teenybopper TV hit, The Dick Clark Show. At San Francisco State, Virgil studied under the famed Hungarian musicians Laszlo Varga and Ferenc Molnar, both renowned soloists and former section leaders ofthe New York Philharmonic. For several years Virgil played string bass professionally in jazz and Latin bands in the Bay area, then in the 1970s he led a folk-roc- k band in New Orleans called The Stars of David. I was the only member who wasnt Jewish, Virgil says. I was lead singer, bass player and fiddler. We appeared in coffee houses and sometimes on TV, including some popular morning shows in Nashville. When Virgil moved to Kanab in 1984, he was so busy helping, launch Best Friends he put music aside for a time. Now he is a pillar of the Southwest Symphony and the Southwest Symphony Strings, as well as the Symphony of the Canyons . Virgilsnextpublicperformance will be on December 1 at the orchestras Christmas Festival Dinner at Kanab High. Also playing that evening will be Kathy Holley, a sanctuary computer programmer. Kathy plays violin, reviving a girlhood interest, primarily to act as a role model for her daughter, Shaunessy, an orchestra, cellist. Tania Brown, a Best Friends re- prize-winnin- newcomer in the Cats Depart- ment, is another classically trained musician who will perform at the dinner and in various Messiah performances. The Illinois native joined the orchestra a couple ofmonths ago but she is also fond of hoedown fiddling, bluegrass times and Celtic numbers. And shes jammed with bands at nightspots in Flagstaff, Page and Springdale. Still another sanctuary staff rookie uses her music to enrich the cultural atmosphere and support local institutions. Long before Karen Arndt joined Best Friends donations office, she was picking with The Slick Rock String Band. Karen and the other band members, Terry and Doug Griffin, organized the popular Kanab Bluegrass Festival. Besides their paying gigs, Slick Rock performs pro bono forevents, such as the yearly fundraiser for the Kanab public library. Talent at the sanctuary extends of course to the visual arts. Photographers Raphael and Jana de Peyer and painter Cyrus Mejia enjoy regional reputations, and now a sculptor. Mama Bastian, has joined the Humane Education staff. Mama holds an MFA degree from Northern Illinois University and taught high school art in Wisconsin. One of her porcelain abstract pieces, Sunflowers, was selected for The Regional, the annual juried show on display at in-ki- nd the St. George Art Museum through January 6. And speaking of artists, lets not forget Picasso and Matisse, two sanctuary kitties wholeft Best Friends some time ago to enrich the composition of their new households. O i, tz A ? i Imgt ? ' t) if vs Prize winner Virgil Barstad and Shelby. Photo by Jana De Peyer. |