What Do You Do With Your Pumpkins?
It’s that time of year when the kids, young and old, want to carve pumpkins. Creating scary and artistic designs, and why not carve pumpkins it’s great fun. But I urge you, please don’t just carve the pumpkin. Make the most of every bit.
Around 15 million pumpkins will be sold, in the UK, this autumn, just think how much farmland/growing space that takes up. With farmers struggling to produce the amount of food, we the consumers, are demanding, we can’t afford to waste this commodity.
There are so many things you can do with the flesh, the seeds and even the carved shell once halloween is over.
I know. I can already hear some of you saying “I don’t like pumpkin”! I’ve heard it often enough from my children, and Green Grandpa, over the years. But there’s more to pumpkins than the orange pulpy mush so many of us think of.
Soup is probably the most commonly thought of recipe for pumpkins use, and why not, pumpkins do make a great, warming autumnal soup, but only if you like the taste of pumpkins. (See below tips on how to disguise the pumpkins taste, if you don’t like the taste)
Pumpkin pie, is a great sweet dish to make with the fleshy innards.
Roasting the seeds give a delicious crunchy snack.
Pumpkins are a great treat for dogs.
We have quite a lot of dogs between us in our family and the dogs love roasted pumpkin, either as a treat or mixed in with their dinner. I often cook extra pumpkin or squash just the dogs. - I chop up the flesh into chunks, place on a tray, no oil or seasoning, and bake for 30 mins in the oven, at 180 or gas mark 4, and then cool and freeze. Honey, our golden retriever, loves it as a frozen cube on hot days, or mixed with natural yoghurt and spread on her licky mat.
I enjoy growing squash and pumpkins, I love watching the flowers transform from little buds into bulbous fruits. I also like eating them, but green Grandpa doesn’t. So, like I did when the children were little, I hide it in his food!
I tend to bake pumpkin and split it in 3.
some to make into soup for my lunches (the soup freezes really well)
One section for the dogs (baked without oil or seasoning
And the last third I don’t tell Green Grandpa about (shhhh don’t tell him). I purée the baked pumpkin, input into curries, tomato sauces and other strong flavoured saucy dishes. It bulks out the sauce but doesn’t impact on the flavour. Neither Green Grandpa, or the kids, have ever noticed it’s there! - let’s hope they don’t read this post!
Still need convincing to eat pumpkin?
Pumpkins are low in fat, low in calorie, a great source of vitamins and mineral - some of which are said to support healthy skin and play a part in the production of collagen. (Could your laughter lines do with a bit of a boost?) They also contain vitamins that support your immune system (great at this time of year)
And, 3 tablespoons count as one of your 5 a day!
Go on, don’t waste your pumpkin, make the most of it!
