Lois Allart knows her way around the pumpkin patch. As a retired schoolteacher, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, the 79-year-old Spearfish woman has carved her way through fields of vined vegetables to create a variety of homey visages for Halloween.

But it was when she cut up those pumpkin shells and cooked them that she found her true calling as an artist in the kitchen. Homegrown, economical and preservative-free, what's not to love?

Formerly of Bison, Allart taught in the rural schools of Perkins County before retiring for a brief 11 years. In the mid-1980s to 1990s, Allart returned to teaching as head of a remedial math and reading program at Bridger Day and Takini School on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation. It was in her classroom that she incorporated art, food and games into innovative math and reading lessons. It also was where she taught classroom teachers, principals and parents that pumpkins make up more than comely jack-o-lanterns.

"I don't know how it's done with an oven, but this is how I do it," she said of cooking pumpkins for pie. Overall, it's a pretty simple process. "You have to cut them into pieces. Use a sharp knife, and be very careful," she said. Allart cooks the pumpkin pieces in a pot of boiling water until they are fork tender. She drains them and lets them cool slightly, then mashes them.

Even a small pumpkin will produce quite a bit of mash. Allart likes freezing the mash and using it throughout the winter months in bars, breads, cookies and pies. Several of the recipes Allart shares have been retooled over the years, but she's also sent some that adventurous cooks might like to try.

"All of the recipes that I have tried have been good," she said.

Every fall, Tawra Kellam, publisher of www.LivingOnADime.com, receives questions about pumpkins. At her Web site, the Wichita, Kan., homemaker explains how to roast pumpkin seeds and make desserts, pie, pumpkin bread, cookies, pancakes and even smoothies.

"You can spend $4 on a pumpkin smoothie at a harvest festival and make it at home for 50 cents - and that's on the high end," she said from her home office.

According to a news release from Deb Rombough, South Dakota State University Extension Educator of Lawrence County, pumpkins help fulfill daily nutritional requirements. Bright orange in color, the pumpkin is loaded with the antioxidant beta-carotene. One serving (one-half cup cooked) supplies potassium and enough vitamin A for the day. High in water content, one-half cup of uncooked, unseasoned pumpkin contains 38 calories.

Small, immature pumpkins provide the most flavorful dish. They are tender and less stringy than the larger variety, Rombough said.

For cooking, you should choose pumpkins weighing 5 to 8 pounds with a 1- to 2-inch stem. If the stem is cut too short, the pumpkin will decay quickly.

Figure one pound of raw, untrimmed pumpkin for each cup of finished pumpkin puree. The puree can be used in recipes by substituting the same amount in any recipe calling for solid pack canned pumpkin.

Highly perishable, pumpkin must be cooked the same day it is cut open to avoid molding. Cooked pumpkin should be chilled immediately. During the cooking phase, the pulp will turn a dark brown. The pulp puree should be used within 36 hours. If planning to use cooked pumpkin at a later date, freeze it or can it in a pressure canner, Rombough said.

Pumpkins can be diced into chunks, steamed as a vegetable, spiced with nutmeg to enhance the flavor and served as a side vegetable to any dish. It also can be mixed with a variety of fruits and vegetables such as apples, pears and rhubarb. Even the seeds can be used as a snack, she said.

Contact Jomay Steen at 394-8418 or jomay.steen@rapidcityjournal.com.