If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Now that your jack-o-lantern has been laid to rest, it is time to think about pumpkins in a different way — as food and home decor.

Pumpkins are an integral part of November’s main holiday in the U.S. They are the prime ingredient to the most popular dessert, pumpkin pie. But you can also use pumpkins a variety of other fall recipes such as pumpkin soup (my favorite is a curried pumpkin soup), pumpkin bread and even pumpkin cookies.

But they also make great decorative items. Toss a few miniature pumpkins and gourds together, add some maize and a wicker cornucopia and you’ve got a perfect fall decoration.

Recently, I visited the atrium at the Belagio in Las Vegas. They made great use of pumpkins for decoration. I thought I’d share a few of them with you here. I’ll be putting up a whole gallery of images later — after I’ve settled into my new home and the holidays are through.
Read more »

The other day, as my husband was listening to one of his podcasts, it occurred to me that the world is so amazingly connected. The podcast was talking about the issue of bee die offs happening throughout the U.S. They even interviewed a pumpkin farmer about how bees were affecting his crops.

Also, to help me develop content for this blog, I have a Google Alert set for the keyword “pumpkin” and so I get a lot of news about how weather — both lack of rain and too much rain — are adversely affecting the pumpkin crops around the country.

When you hear about global climate change, does it occur to you that this might affect what kind of pie you’ll be able to serve with Thanksgiving dinner? If you don’t like honey, a bee die off might not catch your attention. But this simple fact actually might raise the prices of the vegetables in your local grocery store because the crops are smaller. Read more »

When I was a kid, my parents used to take me and my sister to the local pumpkin patch to find our very own pumpkins. We’d walk down the rows of vines, turning promising pumpkins around to see if they were just right on all sides. This was the first of the end-of-year traditions, the signal that celebrations aplenty were on their way.

I can still remember the feel of the pumpkin stem’s prickles in my fingers as we cut it from the vine. Then hefting our find back to the car and home to gut them and carve them into creepy creations.

Nowadays, I don’t think kids get that opportunity as often. Yes, there are still pumpkin patches, but they’re more remote and available to people who either live in a rural or semi-rural area or those who don’t mind driving a bit to get their pumpkins.
Read more »

Guest Writer: Melania Karel

Halloween is nearly here once more, and if you’re like many people, you’ll be making a Halloween pumpkin lantern. Carved vegetable lanterns, or Jack O’Lanterns as they’re often known, are part of an ancient tradition that originated with the Celts. However the original lanterns made by the Celts in Europe were usually made from turnips, swedes or mangelwurzels. Halloween lanterns made from pumpkins only became popular relatively recently, after the Halloween holiday started to be widely celebrated in the US, where pumpkins are plentiful. They have since gained popularity elsewhere in the world too, thanks to the relative ease with which they can be carved, and the brilliant orange glow they produce when lit up.

Pumpkins are very versatile and can be carved and decorated carved in any number of ways and it’s very easy to produce a lantern that will make a beautiful addition to your Halloween decorations. Read more »

I regularly add a heaping tablespoon of canned pumpkin (the plain pumpkin, not pumpkin pie mix) to my dog’s food each meal. Her vet suggested it when she was having issues with her anal gland. Ever since I started, she’s been more regular than rain, and she snarfs up food lickitty split!

But I just learned that in addition to providing fiber and making her regular, the pumpkin may be providing her with other benefits. Apparently, pumpkin is good for when your pet has a tummy ache and can ease the transition to a new type of food. So, if you don’t have white rice and boiled chicken the next time your pet get sick after going through the garbage in the summer, try giving him or her a bit o’ pumpkin.

For more everyday food tips for your pets, check out the article at www.newsday.com/news/columnists/ny-lspets5322037aug06,0,7557446.column

By now, you have probably figured out that I love pumpkins. But did you also know that I love trains? Well, that’s why when I heard about the Pumpkinliner, I just had to share it with you.

Starting Oct. 6,  Fillmore & Western Railway Co. in Santa Clara, Calif., will be running trains to the “Icabog” pumpkin farm, where pumpkins go for $1 and up. The private pumpkin patch also has a carousel, a haunted hay maze and an arts & crafts fair. Sounds like a great family fun day to me.

For more information, visit their website at www.fwry.com.

Yesterday, we were driving by our local Food 4 Less and as I looked in through the store’s open windows, I saw a big box of pumpkins.

Wow. It’s only half-way through September and its already time to think about your October Jack-o-Lantern.

But, as I’ve mentioned in earlier posts, the pumpkin crop isn’t going to be as big as it was in the past. In fact, many pumpkin farmers are advising you to expect quality over quantity.

Also, keep in mind that the purpose of your pumpkin dictates which kind of pumpkin you should choose. “For carving jack-o-lanterns, select Happy Jack, Halloween or Spookie varieties, which are larger than 12 inches and weigh 20 to 40 pounds,” Dr. Dymple Cooksey, nutrition specialist with the Texas Agricultural Extension Service, told Texas A&M Agriculture News. “These are too coarse, stringy and dry for eating.”

If you want to cook with your pumpkin, you want to choose the smaller, sweeter varieties such as Small Sugar or Triple Treat, which are 8-10 inches in diameter, weight around 6-8 pounds, are more rounded than your typical Jack-O-Lantern varieties.

O.K. I just have to say it — pumpkins rock! They are an excellent source of fiber and vitamin A, are a good source of antioxidants, and now, they may contain an compound that helps protect against diabetes.

Researchers in China found that an extract from pumpkin (Cucurbita ficifolia) promoted the regeneration of damaged pancreatic cells in diabetic rats, boosting levels of insulin-producing beta cells and insulin in the blood.

The rats used in this study, conducted by scientists from the East China Normal University, modeled type-1 diabetes, but the researchers believe the pumpkin extract may also play a role in type-2 diabetes. It is also their hope that the research can be reproduced in humans. Read more »

A Malaysian research has discovered that a component of a special pumpkin flour can weaken cancer cells. The component is resistance starch, which leads to the production of propionic acid.

“The acid causes the starch to remain indigestible thus fermenting the bacteria and weakening the cancer cells,” Technology Industry Department lecturer Noor Aziah Abdul Aziz told reporters after receiving the gold medal in conjunction with the Universiti Sains Malaysia’s participation at the Malaysian Technology Expo on March 29. “It changes the oxidation process.” Read more »

A Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) School of Industrial Technology lecturer and Associate Professor has developed a flour made from pumpkins. According to Noor Aziah Abdul Aziz, who developed the pumpkin flour for bread with her partner, there is difference in taste from traditional wheat flour, but it does offer more health benefits.

She claims that the pumpkin flour is a good source of dietary fiber, is a natural colorant, and, due to its beta carotene content, has antioxidant properties.

Noor Aziah took three years to develop the flour. She chose flour because bread “is one of the most widely consumed food products by all age groups.”

The pumpkin flour won the gold medal at the 18th International Invention, Innovation, Industrial Design and Technology Exhibition (Itex) 2007 held in Kuala Lumpur in May. It also won Noor Aziah the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Award for Best Woman Inventor at the exhibition.