http://www.care2.com/greenliving/playdates-with-pumpkins-annies-fave-13.html
Playdates with Pumpkins: Annie’s Fave 13
Dear Annie,
I am new mom and never learned the fun ways that my mother used pumpkins with us when we were kids, and I am looking for ideas. Can you help? –Dana, MA
Dear Dana,
You are in for a treat. Over my lifetime I’ve found that fun with pumpkins goes way beyond food and jack-o-lanterns, although making my mother’s slow roasted pumpkin seeds is my all-time favorite pumpkin activity. I am learning new ways of using pumpkins all the time, such as how to use pumpkin on my skin. (Why not give yourself from fun, too?) And, the pumpkin’s bright sunny orange color makes it the perfect decorating item, one to radiate its presence in any scheme. I particularly love to put them, uncarved, on the steps to my front porch as their color is so vibrant.
Try making floating pumpkin candles using the miniature pumpkins found at this time of year in most supermarkets. My daughter and I have had no end of pleasure making these for dinner parties over the years, and we float them in blue-glass bowls.
Pumpkin air fresheners are also fun to make, using, of course, pure essential oils.
Decorating ideas just scratch the surface of unusual ways to use pumpkin. See below for ways to use pumpkin on your body (girls love this, too), and for sublime pumpkin soup and dessert dishes.
Body Care
Pumpkin is incredibly healing for the skin because the pumpkin enzymes work so powerfully as a skin peel.
Pumpkin Face Mask
Honey Pumpkin Exfoliating Mask for Gorgeous Skin
Luscious Pumpkin Body Butter
Food
There are more nutrients in pumpkins than Vitamin A to make them the perfect comfort food in the fall, especially when combined with ginger and cinnamon. They’re rich in a variety of nutrients including vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene), vitamin C, potassium, fiber, manganese, folate, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B1, copper, vitamin B6, niacin-vitamin B3 and pantothenic acid. Sitting down to pumpkin-anything is a perfect pleasure.
Slow-Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Harvest Pumpkin Soup
Pumpkin Pie With Pecan Crust
Pumpkin Biscuits
Pumpkin Tamales with Cherry Mole
Gingered Pumpkin Soup
Razzle-Dazzle Pumpkin Bread Pudding
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If you like carving pumpkins, consider stacking them one on top of the other (in a corner of you porch) like a totem pole. If you have kids, this is a great way to let everyone carve their own pumpkin without covering your porch in them. Just make sure you get either pumpkins that will stack nicely sideways or cut the stems off them. Use flashlights instead of real candles to be on the safe side!
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Have your kids take a bath with their pumpkin! My son's teacher gave him the assignment as homework when he was in kindergarten, and it's become a family tradition. They assume that their pumpkin will sink because it is so big and heavy, and it's like magic when you drop it in and it floats! My kids are now 8,10, and 11, and we still come home from the pumpkin patch and clean up those pumpkins.
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I learned how to carve pumpkins using clay carving tools. The blades shave, cut and detail the pumpkins perfectly to create depth, shades of light when lit from the inside, and offer a detail not seen with the traditional saw blade sold in most kits.
I will post a couple photos on my page if anyone is wondering how the finished product can turn out.
My favorite pumpkin cookie recipe is one that has chunks of dried apricot added for the substance most people want in a cookie. Great for people that don't like nuts.
A front porch decoration that is a huge hit came from a certain well known Home Decorator person. She bought several small pumpkins and cut random holes through all but one pumpkin. The first pumpkin was the head and the rest were the tail that climbed down the stairs. She strung lights (choice of color determines the mood) throughout the whole line and created a fun snake/serpent for the Trick-or-Treaters.
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I love to grow pumpkins! I love the way they pop out of the warm soil in the late Spring and bring with them the promise of a wonderful warm Summer and a bright and happy Harvest. Pumpkins make your heart feel warm and happy. How can any person be depressed about anything when there are pumpkins growing in their yard? Thnkyou for your love of the wonderful orb.
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Thank you for all these great ideas. I'll use them with my kid as well as with my students at junior high- =)
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