Pumpkin Bowls with Wild Rice

12 baby pumpkins, approximately fist-sized

Rice Medley

1/2 cup dried cherries
1 cup boiling water
1 Vidalia onion, finely chopped
1 Tbsp oil, for sautéing
2 cups of your favorite
rice blend (I like Lundberg Wild Blend)
1 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
1 scallion, finely chopped
zest of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Place pumpkins on a cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool. Cut off tops and scoop out seeds, creating a bowl for the rice mixture.

Prepare the rice medley: Soak the cherries in boiling water. Meanwhile sauté the chopped onion in 1 Tbsp oil in a medium pot. When soft, add the rice and coat with oil. Add water according to package directions, along with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, and then lower heat to a simmer. When the rice is almost finished cooking, add soaked cherries with about 1/4 cup of the water they were soaking in. Finish cooking, remove from flame, and stir in chopped scallions and lemon zest.

Fill pumpkin cavities with the rice mixture. Rewarm all together on a cookie sheet, or serve at room temperature.