MESH POTATO BAG RECIPES

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook and stir until tender. Stir in tomatoes; cook, uncovered, over medium heat 25-30 minutes or until tomatoes are softened., Press tomato mixture through a fine-mesh strainer; discard solids. Return mixture to pot; bring to a boil. Cook, uncovered, until liquid is reduced to 1-1/2 cups, about 10 minutes., Place cinnamon, celery seed, mustard seed and allspice on a double thickness of cheesecloth. Gather corners of cloth to enclose spices; tie securely with string. Add to tomatoes. Stir in sugar and salt; return to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 20-25 minutes or until thickened., Stir in vinegar, paprika and, if desired, chili sauce; bring to a boil. Simmer, uncovered, 10-15 minutes longer or until desired consistency is reached, stirring occasionally. Discard spice bag., Transfer to a covered container; cool slightly. Refrigerate until cold. Store in refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Steps:

• Select a couple of small-ish pumpkins. Cut the pumpkin in half. With a spoon or a scoop, scrape out the seeds and pulp from the center. You don't have to be too thorough with this. Place all the seeds into a bowl (you can roast them later and make pepitas). Repeat until all the pumpkin pieces are largely free of seeds and pulp. Place pumpkin pieces on a baking sheet (face up or face down; I’ve done both) and roast in a 350-degree oven for 45 minutes, or until pumpkin is fork-tender. They should be nice and light golden brown when done. Peel off the skin from the pumpkin pieces until you have a big pile of the stuff. If you have a food processor, throw in a few chunks at a time. A blender will work, too, if you add a little water. Or you can simply mash it up with a potato masher, or move it through a potato ricer, or process it through a food mill.  Pulse the pumpkin until smooth. If it looks too dry, add in a few tablespoons of water during the pulsing to give it the needed moisture. (Note, if the puree is overly watery, you should strain it on cheesecloth or over a fine mesh strainer to get rid of some of the liquid.) Dump the pureed goodness into a bowl, and continue pureeing until all the pumpkin is done.  You can either use this immediately in whatever pumpkin recipe you’d like, store it in the freezer for later use. To store in the freezer, spoon about 1 cupful of pumpkin into each plastic storage bag. Seal the bag with just a tiny bit of an opening remaining, then use your hands to flatten out the pumpkin inside the bag and push out the air. Store them in the freezer until you need them.