Are you looking forward to scary Monday?

Personally, I could give Hallowe’en, as an event,  a miss.  I am not sure I like the idea of children knocking on strangers’ doors and trick-or-treating and there are enough real-life scary things in this world already.  If you want scary, forget black plastic spiders, come and look at the larger than life tarantulas that lurk in the recesses of our shed.  They move, they are scary.

Anyway, I usually soften up at the sight of jolly jack-o’-lanterns.  Pumpkins have featured large (literally) in our garden for a good few years and we have had a reasonable harvest this year.  They are very easy to grow and much more forgiving of our climate than the elusive Butternut Squash which usually sits and sulks.  We have a designated 2 metre square pumpkin patch because you can grow them in same place year after year, as long as the soil is well manured, composted and kept weed free.  I usually grow two plants (plus a couple of spares), starting them off in pots in the greenhouse and then planting them out when the soil has warmed up.  Cloches also help pumpkins bed in and get going.  They love a bit of warmth.

They need moisture, lots of it and are heavy feeders but basically they get on with it.  They do have a habit of trying to escape but once lots of fruits and flowers are forming, I pinch out the growing tips to keep the plants in check and reduce the foliage so the plants concentrate their energy on bulking up the fruits.  I place old tiles under the pumpkins to keep them dry and when I spot early signs of mildew, I remove the affected leaves.  Usually mildew gathers momentum towards the end of the summer so although the plants look tatty, they are okay really.

The pumpkins must be harvested before the first autumn frosts and I put them on trays in the greenhouse for a couple of weeks to ripen and harden.  I leave a good ‘handle of stalk’ because that is where the rot begins.

This year we had 14 pumpkins to harvest and they were not as large as last year’s crop because of the dry summer.  Nevertheless we have enough pumpkin for us to ponder and scratch our heads.  This is another challenge for the Springfield Food Processing Department.

I have given two of the pumpkins to the boys next door, for their lanterns.  I have made one into soup and there is one with Number One Daughter’s name on it.  I can’t give Number One Son his treasure because none of the airlines will let me take pumpkins on the plane to Northern Ireland.
 
So that leaves me with 10 beauties and they are in boxes in the garage at the moment, waiting for my inspiration (or desperation) to dawn.

Pumpkins have huge potential in the kitchen but they do need a bit of work.  You need gloves on when cutting into the monsters - to avoid a visit to the A & E Department - and the flesh needs flavour adding, usually in the form of spices.  I also roast pumpkin to caramelise the sugars and this really does make a difference.

My recipe of choice is my Spicy Pumpkin Soup, best enjoyed by a log fire or around a roaring bonfire.  You see, I am just an old romantic at heart.  This recipe should serve 4 but it depends how greedy you are.

1 Kg (2.2 lbs) pumpkin
Chilli oil
3 large onions, peeled and chopped
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
Spices: 3 tsps cumin seeds, 1 tsp coriander seeds, 1 tsp caraway seeds, pinch cayenne pepper, 1 tsp ground ginger.  (Or you could use Garam Masala or curry powder)
Chicken or Vegetable stock
Salt and pepper
Crème Fraiche

Method
Cut the pumpkin into thick wedges and remove the seeds and stringy bits.  Place on a baking sheet and drizzle with chilli oil.  Roast in a hot oven for 50 minutes to 1 hour until tender and brown at the edges.  Peel the skin from the flesh and discard.

Grind the cumin, coriander and caraway seeds in a pestle and mortar.  In a heavy flameproof pot, sauté the onions and garlic in a splash of chilli oil and add the ground spices, cayenne and ground ginger.

Add the pumpkin flesh and barely cover with stock.  Simmer for about 15 minutes so all the ingredients can get to know one another. Liquidise the soup to a smooth texture, adding more stock if necessary.  Season to taste.  Serve with crème fraiche swirled on the top.  It freezes well too.

This soup can be quite fiery so add fewer spices if you wish.

Hope you like this photo.  This is Number One Daughter’s carving masterpieces.  I know I am biased but I think they are really good.  She is a florist and they form part of Arcade Flowers (Ringwood, near Bournemouth) autumn window display.  I think I maybe a Halloween convert after all. 

I said that I liked her carvings so much that I would like one of the Taj Mahal, please.  Because she is a loving, clever and dutiful daughter, she has delivered!  Here it is: