Pumpkin Love

When we were down in Dorset last week driving back and forth to my Mum's cottage, we drove past a small farm house selling pumpkins. Each day there would be three or four beautiful orange pumpkins of varying size placed on the wall in front of the house, with an "honesty box" and a hand written sign pricing them at £2.50.

I spent many hours sat with my Mum last week whilst J took the Little People out and about. When we got back one afternoon the Little Peeps made me close my eyes as I went into the kitchen (I honestly had no idea what was going on), then there was this big Ta-daaaaaaah!! and this amazing pumpkin was revealed. It was such a sweet thing for them to do to cheer me up, as they know how much I love carving our annual halloween pumpkin.

Because of the way the pumpkin had come to me this year, I wanted to do something a bit special with it. I hopped onto Pinterest and began drinking in all sorts of ghoulish ideas for spooky pumpkin lanterns. Nothing quite grabbed me until I came across this Night Owl. The design came from a website called "Zombie Pumpkins" (yes, really) and I managed to fairly easily print the design and trace it onto the front of my gorgeous Dorset Pumpkin. 

On Friday afternoon, The Little People were off getting dressed and made up ready for a Halloween Party, so I was given full, peaceful permission to Do The Pumpkin. I used an ice cream scoop to carve out the pumpkin flesh, then a small sharp kitchen knife to carefully cut out the shapes. Finally, I used a lino cutting tool to carve some extra patterns, and I tell you I was one happy, satisfied, Halloween Mummy!

I was absolutely chuffed to bits with how it turned out and couldn't wait for it to get dark so that I could light up the candles inside.

Everyone who came to our door trick or treating that evening loved it, and even took photos of it. It's definitely my best halloween pumpkin to date, and the Little People were suitably impressed by my carving skillz.

I was left with 600g of scooped out pumpkin innards, so on Saturday I decided to have a go at baking a pumpkin pie.

I don't think any of us here in the Attic have ever eaten pumpkin pie before, so it was a bit of a gamble really, but I did want to give it a go. I found a recipe on the BBC Good Food website, then set about doing pastry stuff and making my spiced pumpkin filling. It took an age to do.....and the result? I have to confess that none of us really liked it! I mean, it was oh-kay, the spice flavours were really quite strong (I might've put too much ginger in) and I thought it was going to be much sweeter. But anyhow, we all really tried to like it, and bless the LP, they didn't want to tell me they didn't like it until they saw me screw my face up then they were able to breathe out and admit they didn't much care for it either. Oh well, you can't win'em all. Pumpkin soup next year then.

I've had pumpkins on my mind all weekend, thinking about how much I loved doing the carving and how I would really like to have a go at making more pumpkin lanterns. The above pages are cut out of an old Country Living magazine and have stuck in my mind (they're about 6 years old I think), I just loved the simplicity of making these sort of seasonal decorations for the home.

Last week I also came across these beauties on Facebook, which has certainly fuelled my carving-craving! Aren't they beautiful? They were designed and carved by a super talented artist called Amy Swann, who is perhaps better known for her incredible wedding cakes.

And then today, I found these wonderful designs on a US website giving ideas for things to do to celebrate Fall. I mean Autumn. Autumn-Fall.

So can you guess what I did this morning? Yeah, course you can, I am nothing if not predictable.....

....I got out my nifty little lino cutter, ready for an hour of peaceful gouging. I bought my cutter from a local shop but they are easy to come by online (on Amazon UK here)

I wanted to do another pumpkin, but in the days after Halloween there was not a pumpkin to be found. So I had to settle for a short, squat little Butternut Squash. I chopped it's top off then set about getting rid of the innards. I can definitely recommend the ice cream scoop method, it works a treat.

I hollowed out the lid too, but in the end I discarded it and made a candle pot instead of a full candle lantern.

I didn't bother to draw the design, just waded straight in with an idea to create some stems and leaves and maybe a birdie. I didn't really faff too much, just went with the flow....

....and produced something rather pleasing and very rustic shall we say. But oh the pleasure! I was sat in my little back yard with a cup of coffee, scraping and cutting and piercing to my hearts content.

The instant results were very gratifying, and I immediately put my carved butternut lantern to good use on the table.

Oh, cute!

This little project has really pleased me today and delivered a welcome dose of happy. I know the lantern won't last long, but that just makes it more special. It's of the moment, and I like that.

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Comments

[Trish Geisler]

Hello Lucy. I have just come across "Attic 24". I was looking for Autumn Leaf crochet "recipes", and found your so Beautiful creations! you are such a warm and wonderful writer, it warmed my heart. I copied all the patterns for the leaves, and then came across the Gorgeous pumpkins, so they ended up in my folder too!!. I am looking foreward to trying the patterns. (I had better finish the scarves I am in the middle of!.) Much love and very big Thank you from your newest Fan from "Down under". Trish From Adelaide South Australia, Land of Oz

[B]

Just beautiful! What do you do with the empty pumpkins after they've outlived their life as lanterns? Are they still good to chop up and eat, say, roasted or boiled into soup?

[Lizy Tish]

I'm woefully behind on your blog - but I love your owl pumpkin!!!!!! I'm very into owls these days and yours is just wonderful. I tried a lino cutter pumpkin myself last year and it was so much fun.

[Jamie Saphow]

So...is there anything you can't do? Those are beautiful, thanks for sharing!

[Gillian]

Lucy, these are amazing!! I've always found pumpkin carving a thankless task, but clearly I have the wrong tools. Lino cutter! Who knew. Your creations are beautiful. xx

[Bekah]

That pumpkin is fabulous! Love all those designs :)

[Merran Phillips]

You could try pumpkin fritters, they are very good. Here's a recipe you could tweak http://www.ivillage.com/pumpkin-fritters/3-r-72722

[Nicole]

Another vote for canned pumpkin. My grandmother was a wonderful pie maker. She was a great 'from scratch' cook - but she told me one of the only times she'd use a can was pumpkin pie filling.

As well, you don't have to make a pie - you can just bake the filling in ramekins with a bit of cream. Even better!

[Madeleine]

Wonderful pumpkins! Next time, you might like to try the classic American pumpkin pie recipe. You could substitute fresh pumpkin for the canned (did you use a pie pumpkin for your pie? - there are pumpkins grown for pies and pumpkins grown just for carving), but the canned is so easy.

https://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/18470/libbys-famous-pumpkin-pie/

I use regular milk in lieu of evaporated milk. Serve with whipped cream. It's a seasonal delight!

[Phyllis Modgling]

Lucy, I am so glad you had a wonderful time and were able to find healing in time with your Mother. The normalcy of being with family is healing. I'm sorry about the pumpkin pie. Here in the states we don't let "bad for you" stop us! Our pie mixture has a can of evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, pumpkin spice (a prepared combination of cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon). I think we put so much other stuff in it that it's not all that "Pumpkin-ey)! I love your carved squash! It would be soooo nice if it would retain its shape and dry so that you could use it again --- beautiful! You have mad talents!

[TracyBzz]

Great carvings. We have some tools that make it easier to carve versus using a big butcher knife. We tack our paper down then poke with another tack along the outlines of the image. Then take the paper off and there are lines to follow when cutting.
Pumpkin pie is so good, not sweet but warm spicy. We just use canned pumpkin pie filling here. Or better yet Costco sells huge ones really cheap and they are just as good as homemade. Usually homemade is better but pumpkin pie and Nanamio bars are cheaper and just as good store bought.

[Jilly Pigg]

Hi Lucy
Glad your window is open again, love your blog.

Rarely comment about anything, and this isn't about your beautiful lanterns, but.... I had a brainwave with you in mind. What about a Mandala Beret? Lovely these cold mornings. Don't laugh!

With best wishes

Jilly

[Sarah]

Lucy ,
I forgot salt and pepper.
And also to say have a happy and safe bonfire night.
Have a nice day.

[Sarah]

Hoi Lucy,
Clever girl.
A couple of years ago i grew my own pumkins. By the end of the season i had 27 pumkins, oops.
We carved some (when you buy new shoes you get those little sachets for moisture, well sprinkle them inside your pumkin it will last longer) .
Now with the flesh ( sounds gross). You will need

One medium pumkin. De fleshed.
One onion, fry this off.
Add flesh,
One teaspoon of curry powder. How strong is always personal taste.
One tin of coconut milk, bilzt this. With a staf or blender.
Now add one tin of sweet corn, with one litre of chicken stock.

This is good like this as a starter but mostly i make this soup for a main meal with one of your tasty breads.
So to make it a main meal i add 500g of cooked chicken.
You can bake it off fresh or maybe you have left overs.

If it is a left over carcas then boil that up for a couple of hours or in the slowcooker over night with a bay leave. This makes it even beter.
I hope i've made sense, its been along time since i've written so much english.
Feel free to ask ...

[Hanneke maakt]

I did not read all the comments, so maybe someone had already said it (and my english is not the best of the best, but oke, you probably will understand it). The first pumpkin you have carved is not really eatable. Well, it is eatable but nog the most tasty pumpkin. The butternut pumpkin is really tasty! I don't know if you have tried it? It is delicious for soup! In general are all pumpkins with a thick stalk eatable (and some with a small stalk, like the butternut). If you search on the internet, you will find a bunch of information about tasty pumkins!

PS, The carving looks nice!

[Cate]

I think pumpkin pie is an aquired taste, and if you didn't grow up with it you're probably not going to like it. I don't like it either and I feel the same about all the other pumpkin dishes that make an appearance at this time of year. However I love all other types of squash. Great job with the carving.

[Ditto]

Hi Lucy and family! A week before Halloween my family got together and did pumpkins carvings, which went rather well! Everyone enjoyed it and did not rush through it. My niece made chicken stew, biscuits and pumpkin bread, she fed us well! My nephew lit the fire pit and we took our pumpkins outside to light them when the sun went down. I ended the evening with a fun spooky poem which I wrote, and everyone loved it. They said they felt like a kid again! It was a magical night! May be starting a new tradition....HAPPY HALLOWEEN! USA

[Jen]

Pumpkins and apples are my favorite fruits to bake with. If you don't like pumpkin pie (one of my favorites, but I grew up with it) there are always pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins (the bread in muffin cups for less baking time), pumpkin scones, pumpkin cake, pumpkin cookies -- the list goes on. If you have ever made zucchini bread and liked it you will like the other baked pumpkin treats. All the recipes I use are in American measurements, but you can always convert by weight.

[Anna]

Gorgeous pumpkins...I think you need to look for an American pumpkin pie recipe because the one I make is quite sweet and I have found when i make it here the Australians love it. It should be yummy and sweet and custardy. I just use any old pumpkin here...we don't usually get the big orange ones so I usually use the Queensland Blue. Am happy to pass my recipe on if you are game to have another go!

[Susan M]

The other thing about making pies from fresh pumpkins....there are pumpkins that are for pie making and then much bigger ones that aren't as good for pie. Our pumpkin farm always has the "pie" pumpkins separate from the others and marked as "pumpkins for pies".

[Peg]

Lucy they're fantastic, I don't carve pumpkins but I do like the 'fruit', I've froze it for later, made jam, soup and like it as a veg. I've never had pumpkin pie never fancied it.
What a lovely warm and snuggly post:)

Peg x

[Kim]

One of the things I like best about your blog is that you are from England and I live in a small farming community in southeastern Michigan. I found it so hard to believe that none of you had ever had pumpkin pie, as it's a fall favorite here in the states! I might suggest that you look for a pie pumpkin next fall and try it again. Carving pumpkins are not the kind you would use for making a pie :-)

[Barb]

Those pumpkins are just fabulous.

As for pumpkin pie, sometimes it is better to use canned pumpkin rather than the pumpkin you scoop out of a fresh pumpkin. Just a thought if you ever wanted to try a pumpkin pie again or pumpkin bread. Much easier to use and probably better tasting.

[Havok]

Pumpkin isn't really that delicious, no matter what you do with it! Pumpkin pie, even from a can, is only good with tons of whipped topping! And even then, its only good for one slice and then that's enough pumpkin for the year!
I did manage to make up a pumpkin pie dip earlier in October, which turned out alright, when eaten with Nilla Waffers! But even then it wasn't fantastic...just alright enough to eat with what is basically a cookie!

[Jennie]

Fantastic! LOVE them both so very much!!