Fall is just around the corner and I can’t wait. There’s something about walking outside on a fall morning and feeling a slight bit of chill hit my face or going to a ball game and needing a sweater. The crisp feeling ignites my energy, whereas summer’s humidity pokes a leak somewhere and I feel it ebb slowly away, leaving me lethargic and irritable. Fall’s beauty is picturesque with vibrant color: mums, pumpkins, changing leaves, golden hay, white cotton fields; the once a year fragrance of cinnamon, brown sugar and all spice. I can’t wait to wear flannel shirts and cowgirl boots to stomp around on crunchy leaves and sit in front of a bonfire sipping homemade apple cider, singing funny songs and roasting marshmallows for dessert.
Fall brings a plethora of festivals to Santa Rosa County, celebrating the harvest of peanuts, heritage, Halloween and giving thanks so well it’s almost exhausting. There’s something to do every weekend. It’s exciting how it flows right into our hometown Christmas celebrations. Fall at my house finds me baking from scratch, making white chicken chili and also putting up pumpkin for the summer. Pumpkin is my favorite squash and, to me, it’s a valuable commodity. The first time I bit into a piece of pumpkin pie made from a Long Island cheese pumpkin I never wanted to go back to store-bought canned variety. Pumpkin is a versatile veggie. Jack o’ lanterns are not tasty and I don’t recommend trying to bake the large, bright orange squash. This type of pumpkin is best for decorating and carving. It’s the heritage pumpkin variety viable for baking, and these particular pumpkins are typically yellow or golden colored and appear kind of flat. Baking a pumpkin to make puree is not difficult, just time consuming to cut the pumpkin in quarters, (leaving the skin and taking out the stringy seed part, setting the seeds aside for later), and roasting the quarters in the oven until tender. Once tenderness is achieved, puree away. Roasted pumpkin seeds are a healthy, tasty snack.
The scent of freshly baked pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin soup, achieves the comforts of home during busy weekends celebrating fall, football and harvest. By the way, add a dash of cloves to a pumpkin pie recipe for a bit of flavor.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Don't eat a Jack o' lantern