Pumpkins- not just for Halloween!

My mom has had some success in growing pumpkins. These aren't for carving Jack'O Lanterns- they are for eating! Here is a recipe for a casserole that's just divine:

Cinderella’s Coach

1- 1½ pound pumpkin

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons rum (I use Captain Morgan’s Spiced Rum)

1 medium onion, chopped
1 can Ro-Tel (chopped tomatoes and chilies), medium to hot
1 can coconut milk
1 cup uncooked white rice

1 pound raw shrimp, peeled and de-veined

4 tablespoons butter

1. Pre heat oven to 375°.
2. Cut lid off of the pumpkin, and scrape out the seeds and stringy fibers. Scrape some of the pumpkin out of the shell, about one cup, and set aside.
3. Place pumpkin in a large, heavy roasting pan and bake for half an hour, until tender but still firm.
4. Rinse rice, and cook in 2 cups of water (salt to taste) for 20 minutes or until tender. Add one tablespoon of butter. When the water has been absorbed, add coconut milk and set aside.
5. In a small bowl, combine lime juice, rum, and soy sauce. Set aside.
6. In a skillet, melt remaining butter and sauté the onion. Add shrimp, and cook until pink and firm. Stir in the lime juice mixture, and then add the pumpkin, tomatoes and chilies.
7. Add the contents of the skillet to the coconut rice.
8. Fill the pumpkin with the rice mixture.
9. Bake pumpkin for another 15-20 minutes or until the pumpkin is golden brown. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Serves 6-8


I don't know what makes this dish great. The combination of rice, coconut milk, pumpkin, shrimp, and lime juice is very satisfying. All this dish needs on the side is a nice green salad and a loaf of crusty French bread.



This variety of pumpkin is called Long Island Cheese. No, it doesn't taste like cheese- it just looks like a big wheel of cheese!