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Confessions of a Pumpkinhead

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Confessions of a Pumpkinhead
Me and my Sugar Pie pumpkin: I wear it proudly (well, at least inside the house).

 

Hi, my name is Tom and I’m a bona fide pumpkinhead. Yes, I admit it; I’m a man who loves the genus Cucurbita. Whether pepo, moschato, or maxima, they’re all pumpkins to me.

winter squash and handsome  bulldog Boz
Boz, protector of pie pumpkins, when not treating them as chew toys. (I need a taller wheelbarrow or a shorter dog.)

Food for the body, sustenance for the soul, candy for the eye, pumpkins and winter squash pack a culinary and visual punch few veggies can boast. (Apologies to rutabagas and beets.) The versatile and stunning orbs have always captured my imagination in the kitchen, on the table and in the fields.  Stay tuned for my latest list of tendrilled lovelies, my pageant of pumpkin-awesomeness and some of my favorite winter squash, all of which I grow, cook with and savor.

Sneak peek: Amish Pie pumpkin and Sweet Meat winter squash share a wheelbarrow bath after a Northwest shower.

A word of caution: if you wish to join the brotherhood and sisterhood of pumpkin lovers, choose your pumpkin wisely. No one wants to be mistaken for a butt-head.

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22 COMMENTS

  1. Fellow Pumpkinhead! I agree, I’m obsessed with pumpkins…delicious, nutritious and oh-so-pretty! I even had a pumpkin as a topper to my wedding cake! You have such lovely pumpkins. We picked up a few at the farmer’s market the other day for jack-o-lantern carving, but I plan to pick up some more for pies. YUM!

  2. One day I found two pumpkin seeds.
    I planted one and pulled the weeds.
    It sprouted roots and a big, long vine.
    A pumpkin grew; I called it mine.
    The pumpkin was quite round and fat.
    (I really am quite proud of that.)
    But there is something I’ll admit
    That has me worried just a bit.
    I ate the other seed, you see.
    Now will it grow inside of me?
    Author?

  3. Tom…mercy! Just look at your beautiful pumpkins and squash! I am green with envy…I planted 10 curry squash plants, only to discover, my biggest raised bed is now too shaded by big trees. I did shed at tear, yes I did…but looking at this post, puts a smile on my face!

  4. I’m crazy for pumpkins. Currently have four sugar pumpkins and am on the lookout for cushaw squash, which I love as much or more than pumpkin. I use it in place of pumpkin in all recipes.

    Thanks for all the advice for the pumpkin fanatics, Tom. You’re saving us!

    Shirley

  5. He he Tom you sure know how to brigten up my so far rotten day 🙂

    I loved your very informative article and can’t think of learning it from anyone by a true blue pumpkinhead 🙂

    chow! Devaki @ weavethousandflavors

  6. So when are you having me over for pumpkin pie? I’d settle for a baked slice with butter, cinnamon and brown sugar-make that two slices!

    • –Tamara, I’ve got a better option, pumpkin gratin. You don’t mind if I use you for my culinary guinea pig, do you?
      –brion, around here it’s the top that rots first and eventually ruins the pumpkin with rot. My suggestion is to wipe down the pumpkins of excess moisture and dirt and place on something that allows air underneath, such as straw or a pallet of sorts. Keep them dark and cool in a root cellar or basement.
      –Karen, great idea; there’s no way to get gloomy with that hue on your walls.

    • Grace any pumpkin is better than no pumpkin, so you did awesome with Three! Next year plant the seeds on a heap of composted manure, and you will be well rewarded with many pumpkins — oh and don’t forget regular watering.

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