Do You know
your pumpkin?

Display Them

Pumpkins can be displayed in many ways. One of the more famous ways to display a pumpkin at Halloween is to carve the pumpkin. If you are going to carve your pumpkin you need to pick a pumpkin that is suitable. For some tips on picking a pumpkin click here. Before carving the pumpkin you will need to prepare the pumpkin. If you have never prepared a pumpkin before we have created a short list of helpful tips. For some tips on preparing a pumpkin click here.

Carving the pumpkin can be done with anything from a simple kitchen knife or with specially designed pumpkin saws sold at most department stores. In the past most people just carved out a simple face on the pumpkin, but now days pumpkin carving has become an art. Pumpkins can be seen with everything from images of halloween characters to full action scenes. Usally these are accomplished by using printed stencils. The stencils can be obtained by purchasing the pattern books, downloading pattern stencils from the Internet, or simply drawling your own stencil. No matter how you obtain the stencil you will need to mark out the stencil on the pumpkin. One of the most common ways is to use push pins (thumb tacks). You simply tape the stencil to the pumpkin and insert the push pins around the outline of the object you wish to carve into the pumpkin. Now you can remove the pin and stencil with the image drawn on the pumpkin. You simply carve out the image with the knife or pumpkin saw. Now you simply need to add a candle or battery operated light. You may want to use a votive candle or tea candle so that they sit flat or the bottome of the pumpkin. These types of candles don't get as hot as some of the larger candles. Recently we have seen a lot of new battery operated candles designed for using inside your carved pumpkins. These allow you to turn it on and off when you want without the chance of a fire. Another nice option that the battery candles have is some come in different colors or with sound.

But carving isn't the only way to display your Halloween pumpkin. Another way is to decorate the pumpkin with cut out construction paper or felt. If you wanted to make your pumpkin look like a puppy dog's face you can cut out the shapes of ears, nose and eyes from the construction paper or felt. Then simply glue or tape these to your pumpkin. This method of decorating works really well if you want the pumpkin to last a long time. Since the pumpkin is never cut it doesn't break down and go bad. This will also allow you to take off the decorations and change them often. Or you can take off these decoration and just use the plain pumpkin for Thanksgiving.

Another very popular way to decorate your pumpkin is to paint the face or design onto the pumpkin. This method allows you to use lots of color. Painted pumpkins usally last a long time and can allow younger kids to complete their design more on their own.

No matter which way you decorate your pumpkin the goal is to have fun. Creating decorative pumpkins can be something you do alone or a lot of fun doing it as family.

Eat Them

Pumpkins can be made into a variety of wonderful dishes but we would like to share a few recipes for using your pumpkin seeds. When your carving your pumpkin don't just throw away your seeds. Simply place them into a collinder or bowl. Then you can rinse off the stringy pumpkin bits. (Hint: It is easier to get all the pumpkin bits off if you rinse them before they dry) Once you have rinsed away all the the pumpkin simply pat them dry with a paper towel. Now you will need to spread them out on a cookie sheet or other clean flat surface to dry. After the seeds have dried they will be ready to use in one of these recipes or one of your own. Don't be afraid to try different seasonings. You never know which combination you'll like best.These recipes can also be used for other types of seeds such as squash.

• Plain Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
  
  

  Grease a baking sheet or other long flat baking pan with either cooking spray or vegetable oil. The pan should be moderately coated. Spread pumpkin seeds out in the bottom of the pan into a single layer. Stir seeds to lightly coat the top with the oil. Place seeds in a preheated oven at 325 degrees for 25 minutes. Stir seeds every 5-10 minutes to insure both sides get toasted. Seeds should be a lightly golden brown when finished cooking. After removing from oven allow seeds to completely cool. Store in an air tight container. Toasted seeds make great TV snacks, trail mix, great take-a-long snack for sporting events, and more.

• Spiced Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
  
  

  This one works just like the one above except that you create a "seasoning mixture" that you stir the the seeds into before you spread them on the baking sheet. You create the "seasoning mixture" by placing 1 1/2 TB of melted margarine in a mixing bowl. Next add 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/8 tsp. garlic salt, and 2 tsp. worcheshire sauce and 2 cups of uncooked pumpkin seeds. Let set 10 minutes before baking as in the above recipe.

• Cinnamon Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
  
  

  This is another recipe using the basic cooking procedures of the Plain Toasted Pumpkin Seeds but this time you make the "seasoning mixture" by mixing 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon. You then mix in the 4 cups of Pumpkin seeds. The seeds are then spread on the baking sheet and baked as above.

• Seafood Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
  
  

  This recipe is a little less used but makes a nice appetizer for any seafood meal. Of course it can be eaten at anytime that you would normally eat pumpkin seeds. For this recipe you would simply mix 4 cups of Pumpkin seed with 1/4 cup of your favorite seafood seasoning and prepare as above. Any good seafood seasoning mix that you would usally use on fish or lobster will work nicely.

There are many other great ways to season your pumpkin seeds. If you have one you wish to send us please feel free to email us at tech@dragonbbs.com

Play Games with Them

There are many games that can be played with pumpkins. Depending on the size pumpkins you have to what games you can play. If your having a Halloween or fall harvest party you can use the same pumpkins as decorations as you use for the games.

• The first game is a ring toss. Simply line up some pumpkins in an area. The pumpkins must have stems around 2" high or more for the game to work. Then you will give each contestant a group of rings to throw. The idea is to get the rings on the stems. You can position the pumpkins so that some are harder to get the ring on, these would be worth more points. Don't forget to have a line that the contestants must stand behind to make it fair. You can make this game more fun by painting faces on the pumpkins, placing the pumpkins in odd formations, or using some of the odd shaped pumpkins. You can use canning jar bands, plastic rings, plastic braclets, or most ring shaped objects for your rings.

• Another fun game is a ball toss game. You setup hollowed out pumpkins. And each contestant tries to toss ping pong balls into the top of the pumpkins. Now you can just prepare the pumpkins like you would if you were carving them or you can actually carve the pumpkins. The carved pumpkins look nicer and add to the decorations of the room. The biggest thing is to leave the lid off the pumpkins. To make this game more challenging for older kids you can arrange the pumpkins on different height levels and different distances. Another variation is to use large and small pumpkins and make the smaller pumpkins worth more points or a special prize. This game takes some time to prep but can really add to the atomosphere of a party or festival. This game can be made easier for younger players or more challenging for older players.