02 03 Adventure with the RMKK People: Pumpkin Trivia and Then Some! 04 05 15 16 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 31 32 33

Pumpkin Trivia and Then Some!

It’s so dang pretty outside today, I can hardly keep from staring out the windows. The weather has been fantastic, better than last fall. It’s almost like a second spring…the autumn leaves I mean, the splash of colors is simply awesome. Each morning, I've been stepping out onto my porch to embrace the day and take a deep breath of crisp autumn air. It’s been setting the tone for some very fine days. Besides thinking about the lovely weather, hot chocolate, cozy sweaters, and hearty soups, I’ve been thinking a lot about pumpkins. They are everywhere…lying around in gardens, greeting us from porch steps, sitting atop hay bales, and of course begging for attention right next to the squash in the supermarket.

There are big pumpkins,

According to the Guinness World Records, the largest pumpkin is 1,810.5 lbs.

little pumpkins,

Giving thanks that a friend of E gave us these cuties straight from the garden.

squatty pale pumpkins,

Kind of strange. The whole photo looks washed out. This is straight out of the camera.

oval pumpkins,

This may be my favorite...next to the hay bales.

piles of pumpkins,

Just a sampling of the 1.5 billion produced each year in the U.S.

and scary pumpkins.

Boo!

Here's a little pumpkin trivia to help you impress your friends.

Pumpkins are fruits. I asked this question to M and E, "Are pumpkins vegetables or fruits?" Thank goodness they answered correctly. Fruits have seeds and so do pumpkins. They are a type of squash and are a member of the gourd family.

Pumpkins are low in calories and high in fiber. They are good sources of Vitamin A, Vitamin B, potassium, iron, and protein. But, you probably knew how healthful they are, considering they don’t come prepackaged in a box.

U.S. farmers produce over 1 and a half billion pumpkins each year. Now, that’s a lot of pumpkins Paw, Paw. Sure hope they don’t go to waste.

Pumpkin flowers are edible and so are the seeds. Mallory roasted some pumpkin seeds and described them as “the popcorn of autumn”. I like that.

Morton, Illinois is the self-proclaimed pumpkin capital. It is also the home of the Libby canned pumpkin factory.

Unsightly freckles you want to remove? Pound some pumpkin seeds into a pulp, spread all over your face, let dry. I don't know about this, but I can tell you that strawberries help whiten your teeth.

Ever wonder what to do with pumpkins besides the obvious? The possibilities are endless. You can make pumpkin bread, pumpkin soup, pumpkin waffles, pumpkin chili, pumpkin butter, pumpkin stew, pumpkin coffee, and even pumpkin ice cream. For heavens sake, if you don’t like pumpkin pie, all you have to do is Google “100 ways to fix pumpkin” for something different.

We love pumpkin pie! It's a Thanksgiving family tradition in our home. It’s been a mighty long time since I’ve made a truly homemade one. E wants to bake one from a real pumpkin this year, not from a can, so perhaps we’ll give it a go. This pumpkin pie with caramelized pecan topping sounds simply divine, so click here if you want the recipe.

Till next time y'all,

Labels: pumpkin, pumpkin trivia, pumpkins

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