Print edition: 
I've been pondering pumpkins the past few days. I had heard there might be a shortage of canned pumpkin, but did not give it much credence. A colleague reported she purchased a whole case of pumpkin to be sure she had enough for the pumpkin rolls that she customarily makes.
I personally thought she was an alarmist, but had second thoughts after another friend who owns a restaurant reported she had ordered several cases for the pumpkin bread she serves. Now two of my friends were stocking up; that got my attention.
Although I don't need canned pumpkin yet, I am an ardent supermarket shopper, so I began to take notice. What I have discovered is a lack of canned pumpkin on some supermarket shelves — and when it was present, it was the store brand.
However, recently I was in the checkout line of yet another store. A gentleman behind me had a shopping cart filled with nothing but cans of Libby pumpkin. Now that tweaked my interest!
Since I am not a shy person, I struck up a conversation with him. Bottom line — he didn't take it all; that store still had plenty of Libby canned pumpkin. As soon as I go back and get my stash, I will update you on what I find.
Fresh pumpkins are plentiful in our local markets. Displayed among bales of straw, they set the mood for fall. We are seeing different varieties and even colors, which have given rise to some interesting questions about fresh pumpkins.
We bought a white pumpkin for the first time with the intentions of carving it. We found out after finally getting through it that it is very thick (2-3 inches) with meat on the inside, and not much room for carving unless we removed a ton of the meat. I am wanting to know if I can prepare this white pumpkin meat, like a regular orange pumpkin, for pumpkin pies, breads, cookies, etc., or is it just strictly decorating only?
Actually, I have not dealt with a white pumpkin, but it is intriguing. After doing a little research, I have found that albino pumpkins have been bred by pumpkin growers as a novelty to be used in fall decorating and are quite prevalent in New England. It appears they are great for painting and carving but can also be used as regular pumpkin in recipes.
I got carried away when I took my children to the pumpkin patch and bought an extra pumpkin that is huge. Is this the kind of pumpkin I can cook for pies?
Field pumpkins are grown specifically for decorating and carving, but are not very sweet and are not recommended for cooking. For cooked pumpkin, it is best to use the small, sweet pie pumpkins. A 4-pound pumpkin will only yield about 1 1/2 cups of pumpkin puree.
