We have an awful lot of pumpkins to get through
And on a rainy Saturday I have made a start. By the end of this winter I should be able to fill a book with pumpkin recipes.
Richard is a fanatic when it comes to growing pumpkins. This year he must have grown at least 12 varieties - from a tiny little sport of some 'Jack-be-little' which we grew last year to a few absolute mammoths from seed his brother sent him from the US. These are called Dill's Atlantic Giants. James (Richard's brother) lives in Oregon and Oregon State University seems to have some expert pumpkin growers. It seems Dills Atlantic Giants were developed in Nova Scotia and have now crossed the Atlantic. They promise to be about as invasive as Grey Squirrels. I just hope they don't drown out the lovely smaller varieties which you can at least get out of the pumpkin patch without the need of four well built young men to help. (That wasn't too bad an experience as it happens).
See the photograph of our more conventional pumpkins, above, this year - which have spent the last few weeks drying out and toughening up on the front porch. We find that if we can get the skins nicely dried then we can keep some pumpkins for an entire twelve months. They need lots of sun and not too much humidity at this stage to achieve it.
These are the pumpkins we brought into the house this morning to use throughout the year:
Today I am experimenting with pumpkin, roasted red pepper and tomato soup - still cooking as I write. Should it work I will write out the recipe. I also want to try and make an apple, pumpkin and ginger jam. The apple should provide the necessary pectin.
We find our pumpkins are somewhat incestuous and this year we grew some unexpectedly green and white Turk's turbans (see bottom left of the picture above). We suspect this is a cross between a traditional Turk's Turban and something undefined. Normally we keep seeds from pumpkins we have particularly liked, dry them out on kitchen paper and then store them until next spring, when they are planted. Over the last few years there has been a bit too much inbreeding going on amongst our favourite varieties so this year we have resolved to keep no seeds and start afresh. The internet has proved a tremendous place to trade seeds and every year someone sends us something new and interesting to plant. This year, our friends John and Julia, who each have an allotment in London, sent us some and Richard's daughter, Luci, is a genius at finding really unusual varieties.
Finally - a picture of the big boys - at least four of them. A fifth was guest of honour at a halloween party on Thursday night and ended up providing soup for everyone, as well as becoming a stonking great lantern.
Richard is a fanatic when it comes to growing pumpkins. This year he must have grown at least 12 varieties - from a tiny little sport of some 'Jack-be-little' which we grew last year to a few absolute mammoths from seed his brother sent him from the US. These are called Dill's Atlantic Giants. James (Richard's brother) lives in Oregon and Oregon State University seems to have some expert pumpkin growers. It seems Dills Atlantic Giants were developed in Nova Scotia and have now crossed the Atlantic. They promise to be about as invasive as Grey Squirrels. I just hope they don't drown out the lovely smaller varieties which you can at least get out of the pumpkin patch without the need of four well built young men to help. (That wasn't too bad an experience as it happens).
See the photograph of our more conventional pumpkins, above, this year - which have spent the last few weeks drying out and toughening up on the front porch. We find that if we can get the skins nicely dried then we can keep some pumpkins for an entire twelve months. They need lots of sun and not too much humidity at this stage to achieve it.
These are the pumpkins we brought into the house this morning to use throughout the year:
Today I am experimenting with pumpkin, roasted red pepper and tomato soup - still cooking as I write. Should it work I will write out the recipe. I also want to try and make an apple, pumpkin and ginger jam. The apple should provide the necessary pectin.
We find our pumpkins are somewhat incestuous and this year we grew some unexpectedly green and white Turk's turbans (see bottom left of the picture above). We suspect this is a cross between a traditional Turk's Turban and something undefined. Normally we keep seeds from pumpkins we have particularly liked, dry them out on kitchen paper and then store them until next spring, when they are planted. Over the last few years there has been a bit too much inbreeding going on amongst our favourite varieties so this year we have resolved to keep no seeds and start afresh. The internet has proved a tremendous place to trade seeds and every year someone sends us something new and interesting to plant. This year, our friends John and Julia, who each have an allotment in London, sent us some and Richard's daughter, Luci, is a genius at finding really unusual varieties.
Finally - a picture of the big boys - at least four of them. A fifth was guest of honour at a halloween party on Thursday night and ended up providing soup for everyone, as well as becoming a stonking great lantern.
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