I personally love fall, as did my Mom, because of the wonderful array of mums, the great red, orange and yellows colors produced by the trees and vegetation and also the aspect of creating a wonderful welcoming accent at our doorways. I personally create a array of butternut, acorn and spaghetti squash, small pumpkins, and a large goose neck squash. I plan to use all these items this fall in preparing great home style and healthy dishes. The goose neck squash will be dried and painted to be used as a bird feeder later on.
Maria's Welcoming Front Door Accent
Pumpkins are a true American vegetable, a favorite of the Aztec, Inca and Mayan people before becoming a staple of early European explorers and settlers in the New World. Pumpkins belong to the same family as gourds, melons and cucumbers. And, according to the American Institute for Cancer Research, pumpkins are packed with beta carotene, a powerful antioxidant that fights cancer.
While some particularly meaty varieties of pumpkins are specifically grown to be eaten (including Sweet Jack-be-Littles, Cheese Pumpkins, Sugar Pumpkins ), any commonly available pumpkin is perfectly edible. Best of all, at Halloween (and immediately after Halloween) you can usually buy pumpkins at more affordable prices. Why not pick up a couple extra just to eat?
If you're buying a pumpkin specifically for eating, the smaller ones are usually the best. If you're going to use it as a jack-o'-lantern as well, you can eat or freeze some of the pumpkin when you carve it, and then pickle the remaining rind when Halloween is over, provided that it's still in good shape.
And for those who use the pumpkin to carve, then place it on your step........don't throw it in the garbage, cut it it for your compost pile or at least place it in your garden or another spot for it to decay into natural matter. That also goes for the seeds you scoop out and don't roast. Those seeds can produce a surprise pumpkin vine in your garden next year.
So, Here's How to Eat Your Jack-o-lantern:
Seeds First
Toasted pumpkin seeds are a healthy snack filled with zinc, magnesium, manganese, iron, copper and protein. They're also great in salads, muffins, bread, and in other recipes as a nut substitute. Remove the seeds, rinse them in water to get rid of the stringy inner membrane, and dry them out a little on a towel. Flavor with coarse salt for a traditional taste, or let your imagination and spice rack run wild. Some options for flavoring designer seeds include: pumpkin pie spice; Cajun seasonings; ginger powder; garlic salt; curry powder; Tabasco; cinnamon; vinegar and salt. Once seasoned, bake the seeds on a lightly oiled cookie sheet (single layer thick) in a 250-degree oven for about an hour, stirring every 20 minutes. Or, my preferred method is to cook them in a spray-oiled skillet over medium heat on the stove top, stirring and shaking constantly. On the stove top, they'll be toasted nicely brown in only about five minutes. Store in air-tight containers.
Roasted and Seasoned Pumpkin Seeds
Save the Soap: What do you do with all those little bits of left over soap? That is not a problem in my household. Even the high end hotels are saving the soap left behind by customers to send to 3rd world countries.
But as you may know by know I am in the "Soap Business", and often referred to as the "Soap Lady." Soap in this household is not taken for granted. As I produce all our soap using natural ingredients and labor over making, pouring into molds, curing and cutting our soap, it becomes a personal "thing". I have several methods of using those discarded pieces. One is to save the pieces and then place in my own natural fiber "soap saver bag." Some I purchase and other bags I crochet by hand. So all the soap pieces sort of mess together when moistened and the bag is used to scrub up lots of lather for your bathing purposes. These little bags are a sell out at most shows. I am a great believer in using everything to its fullest potential, even though I was not brought up in the depression era. There is alot to be said for our society wasting lot of items that still has a life.
Images of my Soap Saver Bags:
Bits of Soap and Sissal Soap Saver Bag
Maria's Hand Crochet Spa Cloth and Soap Saver Set
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Thanks for visiting and happy autumn.
Happy Birthday and Love to My Mom.
Maria L B
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