Halloween is over, Time to Start Eating Pumpkins !

On the way to Hyde Park, NY, we stopped at "Outhouse Farm Stand".
They had a great Pumpkin Patch. That Orange Pumpkin Field reminded me that Pumpkins are not for only "Halloween" decorations.
I had to start cooking Pumpkin for dinner.  Did you know how many different kinds of Pumpkins we can get in New York ? 
My personal choice for dinner is "Kabocha"
Some say "Kabocha" is a squash, but I think it is definitely a Pumpkin !
When I was in Japan there were only a few ways I had them; "NImono(stewed)" or "Tempura".  We sometimes mix with Sweet-Potato or Chestnut to make sweets. 
But now, I choose to roast them. If you never tried roasting "Kabocha", I think you should try it. The hardest part of cooking is peeling the skin. Other than that, the oven does all the work for you. It will get so sweet when you roast them.
If you care to know how I do them, here are the steps.

First before you start, wash it very well.

Pre heat your oven 300 ~ 350F.

Cut into half then seed them.

Carefully peel the skins.

Cut into 3/4 ~ 1 inch wedges. 

Toss them with olive oil.

Oil should be just enough to coat Pumpkin Slices.

Sprinkle Sea-Salt.

Place sliced Pumpkins on the foil lined cookie sheets.

Put into the oven.

Wait until you smell when they get Brown. Ready to be turned.

Carefully turn every slice. Put them back into the oven.

Whole cooking time will be 30 ~ 45 minutes.

By the way, I roasted Green-Califlower at the same time.

This is how it will come out.

If you'd like to have some kick, sprinkle Black Pepper when they are still hot.

Since we don't like to use Black Pepper, I use "Kuro-Shichimi" from Kyoto.

It is a Black Japanese Chili Powder.

"Ichimi  & Kuro Shichimi" from Kyoto.

This is a lovely gift package I got from Tomoko-K's Mother in Japan. She got them for me when she visited Kyoto. It is from the Shop in Gion Kyoto that specializes in Japanese Spices.

You will see "Too-Karashi"( which means Chinese-style Japanese Ground Chills ), in most of Japanese Restaurants. We use them to add some heat to dishes, specially for "Udon" or "Soba".  Come to think of it, we use them for almost everything. I think we use them so much more than "Wasabi" which is basically for "Sushi" or "Sashimi".  We originally got "Too-Karashi" from China in the 6 ~ 7 century.  The monks who went to China to study "Buddhism" and "Culture" brought them back to Japan, along with the idea of noodle making.  

"Too-Karashi" are nothing like Black Peppers nor White-Pepper. They are more like Ground Chills.

In this gift package, I've got "Ichimi" and "Kuro-Shichimi". "Ichimi" means one flavor, so this one is made from only one kind of chill. The other one is "Shichimi", which means a Chill made from 7 ingredients. It is usually Orange to Red. But, this particular one is in Black. I think this is the only shop that makes "Kuro-Shichimi"( Black Chill made of 7 ingredients). It is more like ground Ancho Chili. But it has a Sesame-Seed flavor to it and something more.

It is not just adding Heat, it adds Nutty Taste to Pumpkins-Slices.

If you have chance to go to Kyoto you should visit this fantastic Spice-Shop.