I Gave Birth to Two Pumpkins!

No, I didn't have twins. Two Kabocha pumpkins grew in our garden and I am so proud you would think they were my babies. Actually, I didn't have anything to do with the fact that they grew in our yard. We have a compost pile and surprisingly the pumpkin vine just started growing there. It grew and grew for almost a year. The vine had lots of flowers but all the pumpkins fell off after they were marble-sized. Then one day we noticed two baseball-sized pumpkins. For many weeks we guarded the pumpkins and then we had to leave them to go to Washington D.C. so we picked one and left one on the vine. What is really amazing is that I usually microwave pumpkins (make holes in them first to avoid an explosion) before attemptng to cut them so the seeds are microwaved too. I can't believe that the microwaved seeds would sprout from the compost pile and be able to produce real pumpkins. Anyway, this is a long diversion from my usual posts but I hope it makes up for the lack of posts lately. As I mentioned, we were in D.C. where my son met President Obama at the Presidential Scholar gathering. They shook hands and he (Obama) gave a 'shaka ' wave.

Here are a few more photos of the pumpkin from the vine to the pot. The pumpkin was delicious with chopped pork and shrimp. First I seasoned and fried the pork (1lb). Then I added some garlic, ginger, and shrimp (1 lb.). Next I added the cut-up microwaved pumpkin and 3/4 cup shoyu, Splenda or Agave syrup (to taste), 1 T. red wine vinegar, and 2 cups water. Don't microwave the pumpkin for too long or it will be mushy in the final dish. You can use raspberry or Balsamic vinegar if you have them. Cook everything in a large covered pot on medium heat. Even if you don't have pumpkins growing from your compost pile, I hope you'll try and enjoy this simple dish.