Carving a pumpkin was serious business during my childhood.
First there was the trip to Jones’ Farm, the local pumpkin patch, where my father would lift my sister and I onto the the platform for a hayride, and I would successfully avoid exposure to fruit by turning down apple cider. We’d come home with four pumpkins: two miniatures for my sister and myself, a small sugar pumpkin for our mom, and one large, with a specific destiny: our jack-o-lantern.
ezekiel wrap, goat cheese, pumpkin, white beans, spinach
Our dad was the designated pumpkin carver. Though his artistic skills were not exactly legendary, his role as man of the house gave him power over the hefty-sized pumpkin knife.
My sister and I always hid across the kitchen while the initial carving began. We coined the gourd’s innards “pumpkin guts” and wanted a safe distance between ourselves and the slime. In the meantime, we were busy with pencils and pads, sketching out amateur faces to compete for the official Halloween design. The eyes on my paper always ended up misshapen and crooked; the lips often disproportionate from one side to the other. I call it an early penchant for oddity; others would probably attribute it to lack of ability to illustrate.
pumpkin oats [oats, soy milk, banana, pumpkin, raisins, walnuts, maple syrup, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves]
Pumpkin guts successfully extracted and safely guzzled down the garbage disposal, our family would reconvene for a discussion on facial features. Would our pumpkin have eyebrows? Ears? Teeth? How much would Dad manage before his patience in hole-cutting wore thin?
The final product would be a combined effort: a blend of my sister’s and my designs, plus a dose of practicality from our father (read: hair or a moustache – not happening). And though our jack-o-lantern was more Picasso than Da Vinci, it was a labor of familial love.
brown rice pasta, mushrooms, and kale with pumpkin sauce [pumpkin, hemp milk, sage, nutmeg, salt]
These days, though I’d rather eat my pumpkin than let it go to candlelit waste, the seasonal treat always stirs childhood memories. Halloween would arrive, I’d don a ballet costume from that summer, give away all my candy except the Hershey’s bars, and see our pumpkin brightly lit outside our front door.
Did your family carve a jack-o-lantern? What’s a childhood pumpkin memory of yours?
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I never so much as touched a fresh pumpkin (or any pumpkin!) until I was in my twenties… but I do not envy those who carve jack-o-lanterns, if my troubles with cutting winter squashes are any indication of what that’s like.
<3 <3
I have yet to carve my jacko lantern this year.
I am SO excited too!
or more so, to eat its insides! muahaha
x
Childhood pumpkin memory = I carved it and put my little Cinderella and Prince Charming figurines inside
oh i love the pumpkin theme! the pasta looks fantastic!
we always carved pumpkins when my sister and i were younger. we came up with the designs while dad did the carving, cleaning (with laytex gloves), etc. such a trooper lol. but now we just display a series of gourds for outside decor.
happy early halloween, love! xo
i’m dyyinnggg to make & eat pumpkin-y foods!
i think i want to tell my boyfriend that we should go buy a pumpkin this afternoon and carve it and then roast its pumpkin seeds.
when I was a kid, my parents were never much into the holidays, I was always the one making sure I got to carve a pumpkin. celebrating the seasons always seems to special & novel to me; i love it. traditions are so comforting
you’re such a good writer, btw
love this post, and reading about your childhood! and love your pumpkin oats!
its one of was the nicest memories i have. 
when i was little i have so many memories around autumn and pumpkin picking and apple picking, i mostly remember going on hay rides in the orchard and picking apples.
through kindergarten to 2nd grade i went to a Waldorf school, its like a type of private school with a interesting approach to teaching, very cool actually, all organic and yoga this and that, and all spirituality etc…well i remember carving jack o lanterns around this time and they had this walk on Halloween called the lantern walk, where they would have stands and give the kids healthy little treats like corn muffins with honey and butter and homeade treats and apples slices with caramel
and love your pasta by the way, i am so copying that sauce!
love you xx
Eliza
Holy yum your pumpkin sauce sounds amazing!! We carved pumpkins every year when I was growing up. I haven’t carved them for the past two years, but I’m hoping to carve one this year, still.
I have never carved a pumpkin! But one of my mom’s favorite photographs is of me, aged 4, at a pumpkin farm surrounded by pumpkins bigger than me
Looking forward to Tuesday!
hmm i have only had pumpkin for the first time about 2 weeks ago so no childhood memories. we dont celebrate halloween in germany. the first time i did celebrate it was when our american neighbours in our former house invited me to join them on their trick or treat tour. it was amazing and i was so proud to get all these candies. i was about 7 years old and couldnt believe that in my culture this celebration did not exsist. well thank you america for making my child’s dream come true
xoxo
Adorable story & post. We used to pick pumpkins at the local farm, too. There are plenty of classic photos of this annual event–I should scan them when I’m home! You and your sister sound like quite the little artistic youngsters
Love the pumpkin recipes!
Pumpkin picking is so fun! My favorite pumpkin memory is actually from this year, picking one out on my birthday… BUT my dad and I always gave Jack a good carve (same face every year) and it was a lot of fun.
We loved carving pumpkins, but I loved pulling out the guts! And we would sort out the seeds and roast them, so yummy!