Let’s talk pumpkin, because you and I both know it doesn’t really taste all that great and yet we all swoon over pumpkin in October!
What Is Pumpkin?
Squash! Pumpkin is a vegetable, a big ole giant squash! The thick shell is not edible, though its pulp and even seeds are what we’re after.
We want to love it and yet we’ve also created a spice, called pumpkin spice, that was brilliantly created to cover the taste of pumpkin!
Don’t bother trying to grow pumpkins unless you have a huge yard or farm because they take over and by summer’s end look like Jumanji.
Have you ever tried cutting a large pumpkin open to scoop out and carve fun faces? I found it ‘not so easy’, so I also found the best tools for the job to use every October!
Growing Pumpkins
One year I tried to grow pumpkins in a large garden I have. The location of the garden has proven successful for numerous edible plants I like to grow.
Each pumpkin, alone, needs about a 3 to 5-foot distance from another pumpkin. They need to be planted on a fertile mound of dirt about 3-feet wide so the pumpkin vines will have room to spread, and spread it will!
It will take about 3 to 4 months to obtain a pumpkin that you can pick and cook. Pumpkin blossoms will be ready sooner but remember, each blossom you pick, was going to be a pumpkin!
Support your local farmer’s markets and let them do the pumpkin growing!
Cooking With Pumpkin Blossoms
The pumpkins gave me magnificent Pumpkin Blossoms, of which I picked a few and created a fabulous recipe for.
Stuffed Pumpkin Blossoms are a popular dish throughout Mediterranean regions. Most often they are fried, which I think is a rather ignorant approach to this delicate flower.
Therefore I created a recipe that respects the integrity of a delicate flower blossom and enhances the most of its flavor.
Let’s Talk Pumpkin Spice – Not!
Let’s face it, pumpkin spice has nothing to do with pumpkins, other than to mask their vegetable flavor and magically turn them into something else.
In the Autumn there are a few flavors and scents we look forward to enjoying. We call it pumpkin spice but it really is just a culmination of warm spices blended together.
Pumpkin Spice Blend is so easy to make yourself, for a fraction of the cost you will pay in Autumn to buy it mixed.
Some of my favorite recipes for sweet pumpkin dishes are as follows, though I create new ones practically every year:
- Keto Pumpkin Bread – a fabulous and easy recipe for those who would prefer almond flour to a gluten flour treat
- Maple Pumpkin Bread – my ‘now’ famous bread that I brought to PBS on The Great American Recipe program
- Pumpkin Ganache Spiced Cake with Cardamom Cream – this recipe is divine but suggested for those cooks who don’t mind the extra work for a showstopper, signature dish
- Pumpkin Spice Pie Crust – a luscious pie crust with all the warm spices that go into pumpkin spice and is perfect for anything from a Creme Brûlée filling to an Apple Pie or, or course, a pumpkin pie
- Pumpkin Seed Cake – let’s not forget those precious and very nutty flavored pumpkin seeds, crushed into a flour and sweetened with dates, making for a lovely Autumn cake
- The Best Pumpkin Pie – check out this recipe for yourself and tell me it isn’t the best pumpkin pie recipe you’ve ever seen
Let’s Talk Savory Pumpkin
Let’s go back to what I said earlier; pumpkin is a squash… a vegetable and not a sweet fruit!
Therefore… do I have some fabulous savory pumpkin recipes for you! In fact, while I was living in Brazil, most Brazilians had only, ever made pumpkin as a savory dish. That is, until I introduced American’s favorite October Pumpkin Pie!
And so, I want to share with you several of my favorite savory pumpkin dishes.
- Pumpkin Pita Bread – to die for delicious and so easy to make
- Pumpkin Hummus – a hummus dish that is also fabulous with chili oil drizzled on top
- Stuffed Pumpkin Blossoms – using only the blossom of the pumpkin before it becomes a pumpkin, stuffed with a cheese omelette
- Fesenjan Chicken Stew – a rich Iranian chicken and walnut stew traditionally made with pumpkin
Let’s Talk About Halloween Pumpkin
Even us adults must admit how much we enjoy the fun of Halloween! A visit to a pumpkin patch to pick the pumpkin we will carve.
Kids love Halloween and so do us adults. In fact, I’d say the adults really know how to have a blast for Halloween!
My favorite Halloween dinner party, Boo’s and Booze for adults, is right here for you to be inspired by! Enjoy a little of my witchery.
Enjoy a little of my witchery and by all means try some of my favorite recipes with Pumpkin!
I believe the table... that place that draws people to gather, is the most powerful symbol of togetherness. All that happens before the table is set, the planning, the gathering, the preparing, are all an intricate part of the dance that create the mood of celebration to share with friends and loved ones.