Let the Fun Begin

It’s time to clean out your pumpkin. Using your hands, scoop out the seeds and put them in the garbage bag, unless you want to put them in a bowl for later roasting. Using either a wooden spatula or serving spoon, scrape out the meat. Hopefully you have already decided on which side you will be carving the face, as this will need extra removal of the flesh.

Draw Your Design

After the pumpkin has been cleaned out, it is time to draw the design of your choice. Use a semi-permanent marker or a pencil and draw your design on the pumpkin.

If you don’t have an artistic mind it’s ok. You can use a stencil available on several Internet sites or one that may have came in your tool kit. (www.hersheys.com is a good site for designs.) Take a copy of the design and place it over the pumpkin. Secure this with masking tape. With a needle, push pin or nail, start poking small holes through the paper and into the pumpkin. Make sure you do them close enough as this is the pattern from which you will carve.

It’s Finally Time to Carve

Preparation pays off. Now, let’s get carving this pumpkin. Be particular in your carving as any little slip with the knife is likely to ruin your design and may cause injury. With your paring knife or other preferred choice of carving tool, carve along the pattern lines cutting all the way through the rind. Cut away from yourself and into the pumpkin. After each feature has been cut out slowly push out the cut pieces from inside the pumpkin.

Hint: Keep your blades as sharp as possible to ensure accuracy and ease of carving.  

Clean Up

Take your newspaper and fold it over on all sides, keeping your pumpkin “gunk” on the inside. Once folded, throw it in the trash can or garbage bag.

Congratulations! You’ve now carved your first pumpkin. Once you’ve finished and cleaned up the mess, place that baby out on the front porch and add your lighting. Show it off for the entire neighborhood to see. Don’t forget to take a picture too – after all you only have a first carved pumpkin once. Enjoy!

So you’re ready to carve your first pumpkin? Congratulations in joining the ranks of many who rank pumpkin carving as one of their favorite Halloween activities. To avoid a huge mess you’ll have to clean up later, the first thing you’ll need to do is prepare your workspace.

Choosing Your Pumpkin Carving Space

Select a flat work area. Lay down several layers of newspaper being sure to overlap them.

Gather Your Supplies

Ø      Pumpkin

Ø      Pumpkin Carving Kit or Butcher Knife & Serrated Paring Knife

Ø      Permanent Marker

Ø      Container lined with a garbage bag to deposit your waste

Ø      Lighting Source of Your Choice (Candle, glow sticks, etc.)

Preparing Your Pumpkin for Carving

Turn your pumpkin on its side. Using your permanent marker, draw a large circle on the bottom of the pumpkin. Be sure it’s large enough to fit a large spoon and your hand inside. By cutting out the bottom (instead of the top) you’ll make it easier to place your light source in it. Using your large butcher knife carefully cut out the circle. Make note of the best side for carving your chosen design or face.

As a banana gets old, the skin will get thinner. It will turn black and oily looking. At this point, the fruit inside will have soft bruised spots and will break apart easily. At this point, the best choice for Mr. Banana is not to throw him away, but to bake him into bread.

Banana bread is the best specialty bread I know. Even when I wasn’t in love with the banana, I was in love with banana bread. My mother told me that the best banana bread is made with overripe bananas. When the skin starts to turn black and the stem won’t hold the banana anymore, they are ready to use. Bananas in this stage are very sweet. You don’t need very much sugar for your bread mixture.

Bananas are sliced up on cold and hot cereal as well as in yogurt and on bread with some mayonnaise (a Southern thing!). They work as a dessert too. Ever had a banana split? Find new uses for those more than ripe bananas.

Bananas are one of the most widely eaten fruits. They are easy to handle, go anywhere, and kids love them. I never used to like bananas when I was a child, but I have found a new appreciation for them as an adult.

I remember that commercial with the girl who had the basket of fruit on her head. It was a commercial for Chiquita bananas. Bananas are portrayed as a food for monkeys and other primates, but humans love them too. They are filled with much needed potassium and not too sweet.

Bananas are available year round. They are imported from South America to the United States. Bananas are yellow in color and come in bunches. A fully yellow banana is ripe for eating. If you don’t plan on eating the entire bunch in the next few days, consider buying a bunch of bananas that is at least half green. The bananas will continue to ripen in your kitchen.

I never met a strawberry that I didn’t like. Those fuzzy little fruits are delightful all by themselves. Picking them can be a chore, but you can avoid this by heading to the grocery store or your local farmer’s market.

You can get strawberries year round from several places that import them. Their season is April to July. So, they are ready to pick now. Strawberry picking is a favorite pastime that has been observed in my family since I was a young girl. Back then, I used to go with my grandmother each year and get buckets full of the succulent sweets. Now, my sisters and I still keep the tradition going.

When choosing a strawberry, be sure to check for an even color. Ripe strawberries are shiny and bright red. If the tips are white, they are not quite ripe enough to pick. If they are green, don’t bother picking them from the vine. You won’t have the opportunity to use the same criteria for strawberries at the farmer’s market because they will already be packaged into pints or quarts. Hopefully the picker has done their homework and picked some good ones.

I pick at least fifteen pounds of strawberries each time I go. I want to make sure that there are enough to last, well, a long time. Of course I can’t keep fifteen pounds of strawberries on the counter or in the refrigerator for very long. We eat plenty covered with sugar and in strawberry lemonade, but more will be left.

The primary use for watermelons is as a sliced snack. Cut the watermelon in half and slice into wedges for easy eating. I loved watermelon as a kid but hated to keep spitting out the seeds. It would ruin my eating experience. But, you can also choose seedless varieties and avoid that annoying spitting habit. The little white soft seeds can be eaten and most are because they don’t crunch when you bite into them.

So, the watermelon is getting older and you aren’t interested in eating too much more as it is. Cube some of that watermelon and mix with mango, onion, and some cilantro to make a salsa side to complement your meat dish at dinnertime. Use more of that cubed watermelon for fruit and green salads.

Even the rind of the watermelon can be used. Since the watermelon is technically a member of the gourd family like the cucumber, you can add some spices and pickle the rind. Pickled rind can be eaten by itself or used as a garnish.

Every part of your watermelon can be used. This year, you won’t have anything to throw away but the seeds.

What can I say about this quintessential summer fruit? Watermelon is a favorite at picnics and family gatherings. It is tasty fruit that is also healthy for you. But make sure that you choose the watermelon that is perfect for you.

Watermelon comes in many varieties. There are icebox watermelons and mini watermelons and seedless watermelons and yellow watermelons. They grow in a long oval shape most of the time but can be round like a cantaloupe. The outer rind can be of a deep green color or striped light and dark green.

How do you choose a watermelon? I’ve never been quite sure how to tell a good watermelon from a bad one. That whole thumping thing never quite worked for me. I didn’t know what I was doing. They say that if you thump a watermelon and hear a hollow sound then it is a good watermelon. By good, I mean sweeter than sweet. I don’t know what those other guys mean.

Anyway, the experts say that you can tell if the watermelon is ripe if the underside is yellow. That will let you know how long it sat on the ground. A rind that is shiny and smooth is a good indicator of a healthy ripe watermelon. Also, avoid melons that have soft spots, bruises, splits, or any kind of fluid leaking out.

Now for the tasty part; Watermelons can stay at room temperature for a week with no problem. When you cut it, put it in the refrigerator and cover with plastic wrap.

After consuming so many of the fruits, it is conceivable that you will have some left over. You are in luck here. Peaches are popular in all sorts of recipes.

Let’s start with dessert. If you plan on baking your fruits, say in a pie or tart, choose freestone peaches. A freestone peach is one whose flesh separates easily from the pit in the center. A peach grower will know the difference between freestone peaches and clingstone peaches—one that is harder to separate from the center seed.

Peaches can be enjoyed at breakfast in the form of preserves and jams. Instead of paying three bucks at the store, you can make your own fruit jams at home. A softer peach is easier to manage and juicier. Hard peaches aren’t usually very tasty.

Peaches can be sliced up for cereal. It always looks so appetizing on the cereal boxes when they show them pouring milk over a bowlful of flakes topped with fresh peaches. Peaches are good on oatmeal and Cream of Wheat hot cereals. Don’t waste those peaches; put them to good use.