Pumpkin Chunks Becoming Pie - I made this pie for a Thanksgiving dinner I hosted in Eastern Ukraine in 2005. I bought part of a pumpkin in the market. The usual spices were available whole, not ground, and I didn't have access to a aspice grinder. I decided to put the whole spices in a tea ball (see in center of pot) and cook the flavor into the pumpkin while it was cooking down to a paste. I removed the ball and strained its contents through cheesecloth afterwards, then beat the mashed pumpkin with the cream, eggs and sugar. I made the crust with a combintion of lard and butter along with the usual flour, etc., and flavored it with grated orange zest. Pumkin pie was an unknown and exotic dessert to my Ukrainian guests, and they loved it!