PUMPKINS!
If only Charlie Brown had been friends with Nic “The Pumpkin King” Steimel. Steimel has been growing monster size pumpkins (like the one in the photo that weighs over 500 pounds) for years on his Leelanau Peninsula farm near Black Star Farms Winery, where they proudly display his pumpkins. Weather conditions this summer and fall have been great for the grapes, but challenging for pumpkin farmers, and this year’s crop is expected to be about 50% less than last year’s. But there are pumpkins out there.
While pumpkin pie remains one of the season’s musts, the Michigan Department of Agriculture reports that 99% of pumpkins are grown for decorative purposes. Okay - making jack-o-lanterns is fun, and people do get pretty creative. My family and I take a drive around the neighborhoods to check out the carved pumpkins on the porches. But that is just a bunch of fluff, as I and others like to eat and even drink pumpkins.
Pumpkins taste great in beer (see Bottoms Up), and I love the pumpkin coffee from Leelanau Roasting Company. Sure, I love pumpkin pie, too, and we could spend hours debating who has or makes the best pumpkin pie. My favorite pumpkin recipe, though, is grilled pumpkin. Use olive oil, oregano, and fresh ground salt and pepper, and marinate and grill on medium heat for about 7 minutes a side. Small baking pumpkins quartered work best, but a freshly carved jack-o-lantern also works if you use within a day of carving.
And don’t forget about the seeds; roasted or toasted pumpkin seeds are very tasty and easy to prepare. Rinse the seeds, simmer in water for 10 minutes, spread on a baking tray, sprinkle with olive oil and sea salt, and toss in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Finally, when carving pumpkins, give it your complete, undivided attention - pumpkin carving does not go with watching the World Series, and I have the scar to prove it.
For more info on where to find the best pumpkin patches in the area, check out www.tastethelocaldifference.org.
Funkin Punkin
One might conjure up all sorts of possible meanings behind the name for Joe Short’s pumpkin ale. At times, Short has close to 30 brews available at his Bellaire brewpub, and he has been known to be quite creative in naming them. Brewing beer is tough,and it gets tougher when you add to the basics of water, malt, yeast and hops. Having brewed a batch of pumpkin ale myself several years back, a certain choice word slipped out on occasion. I am not sure if Joe Short, a brewing wizard, expressed any verbal frustration during the brew process that served as the inspiration for the name, so I will leave the speculation alone and let the brewmaster tell the tales of how he names his beers when one visits his pub.
What is important here is that Short has paid wonderful homage to “The Great Pumpkin.” (Hmm... now I am wondering if Charlie Brown perhaps muttered “Funkin Punkins!” when he was on his search...) There are close to 200 pumpkin beers in the marketplace, and the challenge is the balance between it tasting like a beer and not being over-indulged with too much pumpkin and/or pumpkin spice flavors. Short has succeeded on all accounts. This ale first and foremost stays true to all its “ale characteristics,” while delicate pumpkin and seasonal spices find their way into the aroma and on the palate.
Funkin Punkin pairs well with other seasonal offerings, such as wild game; try your venison topped with pumpkin chutney, and be sure to use Funkin Punkin when making that chutney. This ale also holds up with spicy foods such as a Thai stir-fry or Indian cuisine. Consider using it when making pumpkin soup and be sure to serve the soup out of hollowed out small pie pumpkins; then you can use the pumpkins for pie. Short and his crew will be hosting their annual Halloween costume party on October 27, and will serve pints of Funkin Punkin out of pumpkins, along with goulash and garlic bread. Get the details at www.shortsbrewing.com.
If only Charlie Brown had been friends with Nic “The Pumpkin King” Steimel. Steimel has been growing monster size pumpkins (like the one in the photo that weighs over 500 pounds) for years on his Leelanau Peninsula farm near Black Star Farms Winery, where they proudly display his pumpkins. Weather conditions this summer and fall have been great for the grapes, but challenging for pumpkin farmers, and this year’s crop is expected to be about 50% less than last year’s. But there are pumpkins out there.
While pumpkin pie remains one of the season’s musts, the Michigan Department of Agriculture reports that 99% of pumpkins are grown for decorative purposes. Okay - making jack-o-lanterns is fun, and people do get pretty creative. My family and I take a drive around the neighborhoods to check out the carved pumpkins on the porches. But that is just a bunch of fluff, as I and others like to eat and even drink pumpkins.
Pumpkins taste great in beer (see Bottoms Up), and I love the pumpkin coffee from Leelanau Roasting Company. Sure, I love pumpkin pie, too, and we could spend hours debating who has or makes the best pumpkin pie. My favorite pumpkin recipe, though, is grilled pumpkin. Use olive oil, oregano, and fresh ground salt and pepper, and marinate and grill on medium heat for about 7 minutes a side. Small baking pumpkins quartered work best, but a freshly carved jack-o-lantern also works if you use within a day of carving.
And don’t forget about the seeds; roasted or toasted pumpkin seeds are very tasty and easy to prepare. Rinse the seeds, simmer in water for 10 minutes, spread on a baking tray, sprinkle with olive oil and sea salt, and toss in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Finally, when carving pumpkins, give it your complete, undivided attention - pumpkin carving does not go with watching the World Series, and I have the scar to prove it.
For more info on where to find the best pumpkin patches in the area, check out www.tastethelocaldifference.org.
Funkin Punkin
One might conjure up all sorts of possible meanings behind the name for Joe Short’s pumpkin ale. At times, Short has close to 30 brews available at his Bellaire brewpub, and he has been known to be quite creative in naming them. Brewing beer is tough,and it gets tougher when you add to the basics of water, malt, yeast and hops. Having brewed a batch of pumpkin ale myself several years back, a certain choice word slipped out on occasion. I am not sure if Joe Short, a brewing wizard, expressed any verbal frustration during the brew process that served as the inspiration for the name, so I will leave the speculation alone and let the brewmaster tell the tales of how he names his beers when one visits his pub.
What is important here is that Short has paid wonderful homage to “The Great Pumpkin.” (Hmm... now I am wondering if Charlie Brown perhaps muttered “Funkin Punkins!” when he was on his search...) There are close to 200 pumpkin beers in the marketplace, and the challenge is the balance between it tasting like a beer and not being over-indulged with too much pumpkin and/or pumpkin spice flavors. Short has succeeded on all accounts. This ale first and foremost stays true to all its “ale characteristics,” while delicate pumpkin and seasonal spices find their way into the aroma and on the palate.
Funkin Punkin pairs well with other seasonal offerings, such as wild game; try your venison topped with pumpkin chutney, and be sure to use Funkin Punkin when making that chutney. This ale also holds up with spicy foods such as a Thai stir-fry or Indian cuisine. Consider using it when making pumpkin soup and be sure to serve the soup out of hollowed out small pie pumpkins; then you can use the pumpkins for pie. Short and his crew will be hosting their annual Halloween costume party on October 27, and will serve pints of Funkin Punkin out of pumpkins, along with goulash and garlic bread. Get the details at www.shortsbrewing.com.
