Friday Fruits: Fall Gourds

I haven't written much about local food this year but we have made it a habit to visit our regional markets and nearby roadside farm stands frequently. My cousin told me about the farm pictured above. It is just a few minutes from the hospital and I have detoured by several times this fall for the best corn, onions, garlic, and other vegetables. The corn is done but there are plenty of squash, pumpkins, and root vegetables available.


Pumpkins are grown around the world and are a staple vegetable in some areas including southern Africa. The entire plant, from the leaves to the seeds can be eaten. It is one of the most nutritious foods on the planet with plenty of vitamins and phytonutrients and deserves better than being carved for Hallowe'en and then discarded in the trash. I cut them up, bake them in a large roasting pan then run the cooked pulp through the blender and freeze it in containers.

We eat other varieties of squash often as well. Turban and butternut are my favourites and spaghetti squash is a tasty substitute for pasta ( I haven't convinced my family of that yet!)

Small ornamental gourds come in an interesting array of colours and shapes and are great for fall decorating. Our children used to love to select a few from the big bins of them at the market.

Do you have a favourite pumpkin recipe or story?
For starters, here is KGMom's recently posted recipe for Pumpkin Soup.

P.S. My last post was not picked up by blog feeds (?).
The link is here.