Eat That Pumpkin

During the Halloween and Thanksgiving season, fall is when pumpkin picking and pies are in their prime. Pumpkins are a keystone of autumnal traditions, but when you’re carving away at them, you might as well save every part you can. Here are some of my favorite well-researched pumpkin tips to ensure you take advantage of all that pumpkin season has to offer. There are three main parts of the pumpkin to address: the seeds, guts, and the flesh (that sounds gruesome).

After scooping out a pumpkin for carving or any other purpose, separating out the seeds from the pulp is always a great first step. Carving a pumpkin without roasting the seeds is practically a crime, and it’s too easy to skip. After washing the seeds well and boiling them, a little seasoning and olive oil is all that’s needed before popping them into the oven. My favorite roasted pumpkin seeds recipe this year was from Love and Lemons -- don’t pass up your chance to try these by wasting the inside of your scooped-out pumpkin.

Speaking of the stringy mush left after creating the perfect jack-o-lantern, another essential fall food is pumpkin bread. Pumpkin bread is, in my opinion, one of the best foods on the face of the earth. I am passionate about it, and feel it’s my duty to share the means of making such a perfect loaf. Eating Richly’s Pumpkin Gut Bread takes advantage of the whole veggie.

Finally, baking a pumpkin’s flesh (aka the part between the skin and the guts) is a fantastic additive to any fall meal. Honey roasted pumpkin is amazing and incredibly easy to make, so that after using all the inside bits, the outside of your pumpkin can get used as well. All you need is a few tablespoons of honey, a few tablespoons of butter, and a few dashes of cinnamon, then just brush that mixture all over the flesh and throw in the oven for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. It’s so simple I didn’t even need to link a recipe! Serve it hot or cold with any meal and enjoy.

You can’t truly have a fall season without pumpkin, so you might as well make use of the whole thing, guts and all.