Since I have nothing much to write about today I thought I
would ramble on about one of my favorite seasonal fruits, the pumpkin.
If you take the pumpkin away there would be no Halloween, sort of like
removing your pancreas. It is necessary to have it. But so many people
(most haven't given tasting pumpkin enough of a chance) say they don't
like the flavor of pumpkin. I consider those to be like the ones who
refuse to run under a hose and play because "adults don't do that".
Someone should force feed them a pumpkin muffin to introduce the delight
of eating pumpkin.
In addition to decorating and carving them at Halloween, pumpkins are eaten all around the world in various forms (The pumpkin is type of squash). Antarctica is the only place they don't grow. To show there versatility, try sampling pumpkin when you travel abroad. The variety from far away is likely to not look or taste like the one you know best from home. Pumpkins are native to the western hemisphere but were completely unknown in Europe when Christopher Columbus landed in America. Scientists say that pumpkins have been grown in America for more than 5000 years.
The Halloween variety, that big orange blob with the green handle is a great substitute for what the Irish first carved at Halloween, They used to carve white turnips. The pumpkin is more shapely, colorful and comes with accessory parts. Take the tendrils, for example. Sometimes attached to the stem are thin, hair like "tendrils" During the growing season, tendrils on the vine are green. They twist around objects on the ground to help anchor the vine and protect it from the wind. After harvesting, there are sometimes dried, brown tendrils on the stem. Too bad they aren't left on pumpkins when they are sold at Halloween.
One year in New Orleans, I planted some old pumpkin seeds in my garden and a pumpkin bush grew, and bore several pumpkins (all of which I removed early-on so the remaining healthy one would get all the nourishment on the vine). It is easy to grow pumpkin but hard to keep rot and pests from eating the final products. Fortunately, I read that a board should be placed underneath then early finished pumpkin to prevent it from rotting. I did that and saved my pumpkin's life.
If you want to murder your grown pumpkin there are plenty of easy ways to cook it. Here is a good site with some nice recipes using pumpkin. http://www.pumpkinnook.com/cookbook.htm#recipe
But I leave you with one of my own favorite recipes for a very nutritious drink, the pumpkin shake.
Pumpkin Protein Shake
4 oz plain nonfat Greek yogurt
1/3 cup canned pumpkin or fresh pumpkin puree
2-3 teaspoons raw sugar
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or 1/4 tsp. cinnamon, 1/8 tsp. cloves, 1/8 tsp. ginger)
1/2 cup ice
1 cup milk
Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.
Enjoy pumpkin today!
In addition to decorating and carving them at Halloween, pumpkins are eaten all around the world in various forms (The pumpkin is type of squash). Antarctica is the only place they don't grow. To show there versatility, try sampling pumpkin when you travel abroad. The variety from far away is likely to not look or taste like the one you know best from home. Pumpkins are native to the western hemisphere but were completely unknown in Europe when Christopher Columbus landed in America. Scientists say that pumpkins have been grown in America for more than 5000 years.
The Halloween variety, that big orange blob with the green handle is a great substitute for what the Irish first carved at Halloween, They used to carve white turnips. The pumpkin is more shapely, colorful and comes with accessory parts. Take the tendrils, for example. Sometimes attached to the stem are thin, hair like "tendrils" During the growing season, tendrils on the vine are green. They twist around objects on the ground to help anchor the vine and protect it from the wind. After harvesting, there are sometimes dried, brown tendrils on the stem. Too bad they aren't left on pumpkins when they are sold at Halloween.
One year in New Orleans, I planted some old pumpkin seeds in my garden and a pumpkin bush grew, and bore several pumpkins (all of which I removed early-on so the remaining healthy one would get all the nourishment on the vine). It is easy to grow pumpkin but hard to keep rot and pests from eating the final products. Fortunately, I read that a board should be placed underneath then early finished pumpkin to prevent it from rotting. I did that and saved my pumpkin's life.
If you want to murder your grown pumpkin there are plenty of easy ways to cook it. Here is a good site with some nice recipes using pumpkin. http://www.pumpkinnook.com/cookbook.htm#recipe
But I leave you with one of my own favorite recipes for a very nutritious drink, the pumpkin shake.
Pumpkin Protein Shake
4 oz plain nonfat Greek yogurt
1/3 cup canned pumpkin or fresh pumpkin puree
2-3 teaspoons raw sugar
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or 1/4 tsp. cinnamon, 1/8 tsp. cloves, 1/8 tsp. ginger)
1/2 cup ice
1 cup milk
Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.
Enjoy pumpkin today!
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