Beef Stew With Pumpkin In A Pumpkin Shell

By Nalli

The Victory Garden Cook Book is full of wonderful vegetable focused recipes. This one looks good and tasted good too.

Ingredients

• Herb bouquet:
• 10-12 lb field pumpkin
• 5 tbsp butter
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 lb sugar pumpkin
• 2-3 peaches or pears
• 1 1/2 - 2 lb stew beef or venison
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp chopped garlic
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 1 cup sliced carrots
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
• 4 cups beef broth
• 1/2-2 cups peeled, seeded, and chopped tomatoes
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 6 sprigs parsley
• Salt
• 3/4 lb white potatoes
• 3/4 lb sweet potatoes
• 1 lb zucchini
• 1 1/2 cups corn kernels
• Freshly ground pepper

Preparation

Step 1

Clean out the field pumpkin: slice a lid and save the seeds for snacks. Melt tablespoons of the butter, and brush it i on the pumpkin interior. Sprinkle sugar on the interior, turning the pumpkin so that the sugar adheres to all surfaces. Cover pumpkin with lid, and bake in a preheated 375 degrees oven for 4 minutes. Clean the sugar pumpkin, peel the flesh, cut into inch cubes, and set aside. You should end up with 1-1 ¼ pounds. Meanwhile poach, peel and seed the peaches or pears. Cut them into quarters and set aside. (you can use canned fruits as long as you drain them.)
Cut beef into 11/2-inch chunks.