Pumpkin Scramble

Autumn and spring are my favorite seasons. Moderate, gorgeous, and mostly sunny with just the right amount of rain, I can't get enough of these seasons. Here in Montana, these seemingly intermediary seasons never stick around long. This year's fall, however, is glorious (for the moment, anyway -- snow is predicted for later this week!).

Along with the amazing colors of tree leaves, the crisp air, and the ever-more pervasive scent of fall bonfires, autumn also brings with it the advent of another cool-weather personality. Enter the pumpkin. One of my all-time favorite foods is pumpkin, particularly in pureed form. Pumpkin muffins and cookies are a must during the autumn months, and pumpkin pie is of course ubiquitous around Thanksgiving.

I also enjoy using pumpkin (and its squash relatives like butternut and spaghetti varieties) in less conventional ways. A delectable burrito variation finds its way into my weekly menus as canned pumpkin becomes more available at lower prices (thank you, Costco!). In fact, I make pumpkin burritos so often that I don't think to blog about them much. I think I owe you an updated recipe, because my latest rendition is better than ever. In addition to burritos, I use pumpkin while baking, in smoothies, and for other breakfast treats.

My most recent adventure in the blissful goodness that is pumpkin pureed involves eggs. That's right. Eggs. Scrambled, to be more exact. I've been wondering for quite some time how pumpkin would taste mixed into some scrambled eggs. At first I was quite excited about this, but after a rather lackluster experiment mixing pumpkin into plain yogurt, I didn't know how successful this endeavor would be. Still, I thought it was worth a shot.

I started scrambling one cup of egg replacers in a small pan, then added one half-cup of pumpkin puree. I also added some grated zucchini, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stirring often, I let the mixture cook for a few minutes, then served it up in a bowl topped with a little ketchup.

The result? It tasted delicious, and the meal had a good "stick to your ribs" kind of feel to it. My only disappointment was that the whole thing was a little runny. Next time I will cook the eggs for slightly longer before adding the pumpkin. All in all, this healthy meal (lunch for me, although definitely good at any time of the day or night!) was pretty satisfying.

How do you like your pumpkin? Pumpkin scrambled eggs might not be your dish, but what about pumpkin bread? Pumpkin soup? Pumpkin ice cream? Or some crazy and amazing pumpkin invention that I've yet to discover? Do tell, please, from one pumpkin lover to another!