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Health & Fitness

Smashing! Pumpkins

If you love pumpkins and pumpkin pie, enjoy our quick and easy pumpkin pie recipe for Halloween and the autumn holiday season.

 

Have you ever seen jack-o-lanterns carved out of turnips?

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Believe it or not, that is a common sight at Halloween time in Ireland and Scotland. I’m glad that tradition was applied to pumpkins here in North America since they are considerably larger and therefore easier to turn into jack-o-lanterns. In fact the term “jack-o-lantern” was first associated with pumpkins in 1866.

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What do you do with the gooey insides of pumpkins when you make your jack-o-lanterns?

 

Many people separate the seeds from the “goo” and bake them to make a delicious and nutritious treat. They are a good source of protein, magnesium, copper, and zinc. When my kids were younger we roasted our seeds each year, after giving them a very light coat of oil and a generous sprinkling of salt. I looked forward to making that crunchy treat, and rued our decision one year to paint our pumpkins instead of carving them. We’d planned to “harvest” their seeds on All Saints Day, the day after Halloween. My 7-year old daughter sobbed when we passed our smashed pumpkins on the way to the bus stop that morning. The following year we hedged our risk by leaving our paintbrushes in the drawer and made carving jack-o-lanterns our permanent tradition.

 

Have you ever had a pumpkin pie made from fresh pumpkins rather than the canned pumpkin pie filler? 

 

My grandmother used to make one. It was fabulous. She used a “pie pumpkin.” They are available in most grocery stores, although some stores call them “sugar pumpkins.” My Nana Walsh baked her halved and seeded pumpkins in the oven. Some people steam theirs. Whichever method used, the object is to cook the inner flesh of the vegetable until it is soft so you can puree it. There’s nothing like the flavor of pies made from fresh-baked pumpkin. If you’ve got the time and the gumption, go for making your pie completely from scratch!

 

But these days I’m usually too busy to go that route, so I use the delicious and easy pumpkin pie recipe in Easy Weekly Meals for Moms on the Go. (Sorry Nana, I’ll get back to your recipe some day!) I’ve posted a link to it on my Sample Recipe page, so pay it a visit if you’d like me to send you that recipe for your holiday use.

 

Have a safe and easy Halloween and holiday season!

 

Pie Pumpkin by Felixco, Inc. via FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Pumpkin Pie Photo Courtesy of Easy Weekly Meals

Carved Turnip Photo Courtesy of shining-garnet.xanga.com

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