Pumpkin Shell Stew

The original American casserole was surely an orange pumpkin shell, just as our original wrapping paper was a corn husk. Filling a pumpkin shell with chopped vegetables and meats to bake in a modern oven is but a step or two away from filling a pumpkin to bake in the earth in a stone-heated pit. “Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater” understood the usefulness of pumpkin shells, but one wonders about the size of his wife. Today’s best eating pumpkins, like small sugar or Cheyenne bush, are a bit smal