Oh, Sweet Betty!

We still have our Halloween pumpkins in the lobby.  Have you noticed?  How can you remove something so festive?? AND so good for you.

Pumpkin is a superfood.  And I like to collect superfoods in my brain and think about eating them more often.  The trouble is, when I DO eat them, I mostly douse them with delicious things so they taste like candy.  And then I’ve suddenly mitigated all their superpowers.

Now that I’ve confessed, I can share what I made with pumpkin, after mentally cataloguing the ones in our lobby.

I got this recipe when I was a teenager, from Betty West, who was the sweet, community grandmother figure in my church’s congregation.  It’s so easy even 15-year old me couldn’t mess it up.  Give it a try.

Betty’s Pumpkin Crunch

1 (15 oz) can solid pack pumpkin
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 box yellow cake mix
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 cup butter, cut into pieces

Combine pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl.  Pour into a greased 13×9 pan.  Combine cake mix and butter pieces in the bowl of a food processor.  Pulse until crumbly.  Stir in pecans.  (I actually use a cup and a half of pecans.  BECAUSE YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MANY PECANS.  And, besides, pecans are a superfood.)  Sprinkle evenly over pumpkin mixture. Bake at 350º for 50-55 minutes.

Serve it warm with vanilla ice cream or REAL whipped cream.  Cool Whip not allowed.

NOW SMILE.

You’ve just gotten 140% of your recommended daily allowance of Vitamin A!  
And that’s super.