That time of year. Pumpkins

Turned 60, just carved my first ever pumpkin, just makes me wonder how do the growers make a profit @ £1.50 a pumpkin

 

Looking good

 

You've found a new talent mazambo, you've made a good job of that!

 

Good job ! I only carved my first pumpkin last year . They are infinitely easier than carving a turnip , the vegetable of choice when I was a nipper . A turnip lies somewhere in-between Topaz and Diamond on the Mohs hardness scale. Bought two pumpkins on Saturday for my 2018 carving. Watch this space

 

Last one this year,

 

Brilliant!!!
@HarryS as kids we had carved turnips/ swedes my poor Mam carving two, never mind one
Having said that, we felt ‘ dead posh’ some kids had a potato

 

Yours have set the standard @mazambo can’t wait to see more

 

Does make one wonder. In my 'Younger' days. My dad and I grew pumkins on the plot, 'allottement'. Halloween wasn't heard of then, well not by us. The pumkin served as an extra veg, soups,pies and even jam. As far back as I can remember, dad always bred rabbits and kept chickens for the table. Those days there was no supermarket with lots of ready meals and the like. Most families were poor, so you tried everything so as to survive. We gre the usual range of veg including swedes, parsnips, spuds, beet, turnip etc also mangles for animal feed, surplus pumkins were a treat for the chickens. Regarding carving or slicing, swede has to be the hardest. Nowadays most veg can be bought frozen, already diced etc. Certainly cuts down on preparation time and waste.

 

I bought one from the market yesterday - cinnamon pumpkin soup next week

 

A few years I grew a decent one, weighed about 12 stone, not massive but spent a good four or five months growing it.
Gave it to a mate who had kids, they had fun carving it for one evening, it then stood outside their house for another evening, with a couple of candles inside.
Next day they took it down the tip.

Can there ever be anything more wasteful, let alone pointless in growing these stupid things.

I'm guessing it will taste of cinnamon

 

Not massively. Half a cinnamon stick in with half the pumpkin for the base. Remove the stick, blitz and add the rest of the pumpkin and spices and cook.
Any of the warm spices go well with pumpkin, and squashes in general.

 

Yeah but does it taste of pumpkin?
If not, you could leave that out and add,......er tap water.

 

I'm enjoying some pumpkin raisin cookies I made. I like my cinnamon as well.

I also make pumpkin muffins which are so nice to have in the morning.

 

Yes. That is the reason for going light on the cinnamon and blending half the pumpkin.

 

I really do hate the smell of pumpkin, I can't imagine eating it Each to their own though
Tonight was pumpkin night!
I soooo wish I'd took a shot/ picture of the mess! I think I just went into cleaning mode, it had to be removed! Stringy pumpkin pulp all over my table
The twins loved it!!! They kept scaring me with gooey pumpkin pulp up to their elbows
I'll try to add photos of their masterpieces, don't blame me for their ideas though!
Why do the photos come first?
Do you like the tool kit though?