We still have pumpkins in storage. In February I watch them very closely for signs of little black spots, because since they are living plants, I know that inside the pumpkins there are seeds seriously thinking about how to sprout and are hoping the orange flesh around them will rot away to let them out. My job is to make sure I cook it first.

It is so odd that we see pumpkins in the stores in October and November but all through the winter grocers mainly stock winter squash. In the past, people ate pumpkin pie all winter, and if they thought the pumpkins were going to go by, they cut them up and dried them so they could keep on making pumpkin pie well into spring or early summer.

This recipe came from a whole sheaf of pumpkin recipes that Ruth Thurston sent me from Machias. She had given a talk on pumpkins to her Extension group and had assembled recipes to pass out from various cookbooks in her collection. I remembered how much Jamie enjoyed the pumpkin cheesecake made at Kristina’s in Bath, lo, these many years ago, and I decided to give it a try.

The recipe only needs 1/2 cup of cooked pumpkin, so you will want to have another pumpkin project in mind when you open the can or cut up a whole one. Sometimes when I cook pumpkin, I freeze 1-cup portions in plastic bags to thaw when I want it. You could also use any nice orange winter squash that you like – butternut, buttercup, kabocha; take out what you need for this recipe and serve the rest as a side vegetable at dinner.

Don’t be afraid to fiddle with the seasonings and even the sugar. I used a graham cracker crust, which reduced the sugar somewhat.

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Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie

2 8-ounce packages cream cheese

1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

1/2 to 3/4 cup cooked pumpkin

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

Dash of cloves

Prepared crust (regular pastry or graham cracker crust)

Beat together the cheese, sugar and vanilla until very smooth, then beat in the eggs. Set aside 1 cup of that mixture, and beat the pumpkin and spices into the remaining batter. Pour the plain batter into the prepared crust, and spread the pumpkin batter over the top of it. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes. The top should be slightly puffed and the center mostly set. Let it cool completely and firm up before cutting it. Top it, if you wish, with whipped cream.