Change It Up With Pumpkin Tapioca

When preparing for Thanksgiving its always tempting to go back to old family favorites. About five years ago, I decided that after nearly 30 years of eating the same meal every year, it was time for a change. To keep things fresh, I started picking a new theme every year to base my Thanksgiving dinner around. Last year my theme was chocolate, the year before it was Mediterranean. This year Ive really fallen in love with Kabocha pumpkins and have decided to have a pumpkin Thanksgiving this year. To give you some ideas for your table, Im going to be posting a Kabocha recipe every week until Thanksgiving. Kabochas are a Japanese variety of pumpkin with green skin and orange flesh. They are sweeter and milder than regular pumpkins and have a texture similar to sweet potatoes. While they tend to show up in most grocery stores around this time of year, if you cant find one, you can substitute butternut squash. What sweeter way to get this series started than with a pumpkin dessert? The vibrant pumpkin not only adds a beautiful color, it add an earthy flavor that compliments the rich creamy pudding. This dish can either be served steaming hot as a creamy soup, or you can chill it to make a luscious pudding.

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Marc Matsumoto is a culinary consultant and recipe repairman who shares his passion for good food through his website norecipes.com. For Marc, food is a life long journey of exploration, discovery and experimentation and he shares his escapades through his blog in the hopes that he inspires others to find their own culinary adventures. Marcs been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today, and has made multiple appearances on NPR and the Food Network.