Before we leave the subject of pumpkins (see yesterday’s post), I want to tell you about an unusual variety to look for at this time of year.  It’s the beautiful, so-called “true” or French pumpkin, also known as Rouge Vif D’Etampes.  You’ll recognize its classic shape, which artists copied when they drew Cinderella’s fairy-tale carriage.

Cooks disagree over the taste of this rather flat pumpkin with brilliant red-orange skin.  Some says its flavor is sweet and custard-like, while others grumble that the flesh is watery and not fit to grace a humble pie crust.  Even if you don’t puree it for pie, it’s still attractive enough to display on a porch or side table.

Although this variety doesn’t have many seeds, it is an heirloom, which means that you can save and dry its seeds, and plant them next year to grow your own Cinderella-carriages.  (You can plant the seeds of non-heirloom varietites, too, of course, but they don’t always grow true-to-type.  That simply means you won’t get baby pumpkins that look exactly like the one you started with.)

And just for fun, here’s a recipe from my book, Gardening with Heirloom Seeds.  The recipe was originally published in 1896 in a cookbook called The Thorough Good Cook, authored by George Augustus Sala:

“Take a ripe pumpkin, and chip off the rind or skin; halve it, and take out the seed and puffy part in the centre, which throw away. Cut the pumpkin into small, thin slices; fill a pie-dish therewith; add a teaspoonful of sugar, with a small quantity of water. Cover…and bake in the ordinary way. Pumpkin pie is greatly improved by being eaten with clotted cream and sugar.”

pumpkins for pie or the porch? the choice is yours!

Well said, George!

Lynn

www.LynnCoulter.com

begin by carving out your pumpkin; find an empty glass jar that fits inside.

Got a dollar?  That’s all you need to make a pretty arrangement for your Thanksgiving table.

You see, many grocery stores have pumpkins on sale right now—poor, little wanna-be Jack O’Lanterns that nobody bought to take home and carve.  Because the stores need to make room for fresh produce, they’re often willing to sell these orange orbs at bargain prices.

Our local Publix had some beauties on sale last weekend for $1 each.  I choose a nice, small pumpkin, took it home, removed the top, and cleaned out the innards.  (I like to dry the seeds and then put them out for the birds, but I could’ve roasted and salted them for a yummy snack.)

Next, I filled a clean glass jar with water and put it inside the hollowed-out pumpkin. I added a saucer underneath, in case of leaks. Finally, I filled the jar with an assortment of materials from my yard, including dried grasses, berried stems, branches studded with colorful leaves, sprigs of ivy, and, for color, a few blooming mums.  If you make your own ornamental pumpkin, and you have small children or pets, just avoid using potentially toxic berries or other plant parts indoors.

Voila–a handsome harvest arrangement that can last up to two weeks.  All you’ll need to do is replenish the water as the cut flowers and foliage drink it up.

use autumn grasses, leaves, and flowers from the yard for your table top pumpkin, or buy a small autumn bouquet to arrange instead.

This is just one design idea.  Come to the 2009 Southeastern Flower Show, and see what else we’ve got to share!

Lynn