An Ode to Pumpkins
True confession: I’ve always been a bit pumpkin crazy. You might even call me a “pumpkinista” (kinda like a fashionista but with gourds!). Maybe it’s the shades of orange that catch my eye – although I’m also fond of green, cream, gold, and white pumpkin hues as well.
Perhaps it’s because I’m a native girl from the Midwest, where most pumpkins are grown in the U.S. Other top pumpkin-producing states include Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and California.
Fun fact: Morton, Illinois, a town near Peoria, is the Pumpkin Capital of the World based on how many pumpkins are grown there and also processed as canned pumpkin by Libby’s.
Last autumn, I joined friends Heather, Laurie, and Kathy on a road trip to another central Illinois town, Arthur, and we lucked into visiting on the opening day of the local pumpkin farm. (Check out our “Pumpkins, Buggies, and Baked Goods: A Quick Girls’ Getaway to Amish Country in Arthur, Illinois” blog post for all the fun details).
Yet another contributing factor influencing my love of pumpkins must be my memories of Halloween – both as a kid and as a parent. In my younger years, I was excited to carve a jack-o-lantern to set out on the front porch with a lit candle glowing through the eyes, nose, and mouth I had given my pumpkin. My daughter and son also loved carving pumpkins, and it was fun to watch them enjoying this holiday tradition just as I had.
Now, I’m not so interested in cutting into pumpkins and scooping out the goopy, stringy innards. Instead, I’ve found lots of other ways to celebrate pumpkin season, and each year I add to my collection of pumpkin-themed décor, recipes, and even clothing.
Pumpkins Around the House
Photo 1: This cross stitch design is the perfect combination of autumnal colors and motifs. Photo 2: Our front porch decked out with colorful flowers, pumpkins, and rocking chair pillos. A close-up of the front porch decorations
Photo 1: This cross stitch design is the perfect combination of autumnal colors and motifs. / Photo 2: Our front porch decked out with colorful flowers, pumpkins, and rocking chair pillows. / Photo 3: A close-up of the front porch decorations.
Decorating with pumpkins, gourds, and other fall-themed items always seems like such a change of scenery after the hot, humid days of summer. Over the years, I’ve accumulated several pieces, and I rotate which ones I set around the house each year. I also drape quilts I stitched over the back of the sofa to show off the gingham-patterned pumpkin blocks and display a quilted wall hanging with striped pumpkins in different colors of batik fabrics.
Fun fact: Our ingenious early settlers dried pumpkin shells and then cut them into strips to weave into mats.
This year, I turned to one of my other crafting hobbies to cross stitch a floral design that features pumpkins. The frame is on order, and I have the perfect spot picked out for this piece on the built-in shelves next to the fireplace. (Pattern source: Autumn Pumpkins from Soft Bloom Patterns on Etsy)
Decorating outside is by far my favorite way to incorporate real pumpkins. Living in a climate where the summer heat can linger well into late September or even mid-October, I try to wait a bit before I set them out or else I’m disposing of some very squishy gourds using a snow shovel just after Thanksgiving.
This year for the front porch, the star of the show is the assortment of pumpkins in different colors, shapes and sizes that I grouped around the flower containers that flank the front door. I updated some of the fading plants in the containers with brightly hued coleus and kalanchoe, and added a couple more planters with purple, yellow, white, and burgundy pansies – one of my favorite flowers. I found some cute orange pumpkin and green-checked pillow covers to accent our two white rocking chairs. The final touch: a new wreath for the door.
How do you like to decorate for autumn?
Pumpkin on the Menu
I’m a pumpkin pie fangirl, but I don’t go wild for everything pumpkin spice. At Thanksgiving and Christmas, I look forward to the pie – or even a pumpkin cheesecake. In the fall and winter, I can’t wait to order pumpkin pancakes when we go out for breakfast or a couple Pumpkin Pie Blizzards from Dairy Queen.
Fun facts: Pumpkins are actually fruits. More precisely, they are a winter squash in the same family (Cucuribitacae) along with cucumbers and melons. You can eat every part of a pumpkin: skin, leaves, flowers, pulp, seeds, and stem! They are low-calorie since they are 90% water.
Recently, I found a recipe online for an easy Two-Ingredient Pumpkin Cake with apple cider glaze. This super moist cake has tons of flavor from the canned pumpkin puree. My glaze probably needed a bit more apple cider to thin it a bit and to blend the flavors more. I tasted too much of the confectionary sugar for my liking, and I might cut the pumpkin pie spice down a bit as well. I’ll definitely make this dessert again.
This weekend, I’m planning to try a Savory Pumpkin Sage Soup recipe that also uses canned pumpkin puree and not a lot of heavy cream. Sounds like the perfect lunch while watching the Chicago Bears football game on Sunday.
What are your favorite recipes that feature pumpkin?
Pumpkin Love
Photo 1: My new T-shirts featuring quilt-like pumpkin designs. / Photo 2: A pumpkin-shaped pin cushion that I'll be making for my friends attending an upcoming quilt retreat. / Photo 3: I have a good start on a jigsaw puzzle of an assortment of colored pumpkins.
My ode to this fall food and décor staple wouldn’t be complete without sharing the other ways I express my pumpkin love.
Not surprisingly, pumpkins have found their way into my wardrobe. I’m anxious to wear two new T-shirts with pumpkin designs – with a dash of quilt inspiration. Go figure, right? (T-shirt source: Threadsmuse) They will be the perfect attire for a quilt retreat with friends at the end of October.
Fun fact: National Pumpkin Day is October 26. (Yes, I’ll be wearing a pumpkin T-shirt that day!)
I’ll be spreading the pumpkin love around at that retreat when I gift my quilting friends some pumpkin-shaped pin cushions that I’m making next week. I’m using this pattern and an assortment of fabric scraps to make them.
Finally, I’m working on a jigsaw puzzle that I’ve had in my collection for a few years. With the wide range of pumpkin colors, sizes, and textures in the design, this puzzle is providing quite a challenge. The other challenge is keeping the puzzle pieces safe from the curious paws of my two cats! I hope to finish the puzzle before I leave in about a week for the quilt retreat.
How could you show your pumpkin love?
In Praise of the Pumpkin
This iconic symbol of autumn, harvest, Halloween, and Thanksgiving deserves some true accolades – for adding beauty, providing sustenance, promoting creativity, and encouraging our whimsical sides to come out to play.
As Linus Van Pelt from the Snoopy cartoons wrote to The Great Pumpkin: “You must get discouraged because more people believe in Santa Claus than you. Well, let’s face it: Santa Claus has had more publicity, but being number two, perhaps you try harder.”
Let’s not forget the pumpkins!
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