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9 PUMPKIN CARVING TIPS

9 PUMPKIN CARVING TIPS

Aug 29th 2019

We love Halloween in the Brown house. We don’t let a year go by without our traditional family pumpkin carving a day or two before the big night. Here are some helpful hints to have mess-free, non stressful, pumpkin carving success at your house.

  •  Head to the pumpkin patch as a family to pick your pumpkins. Great photo-ops, awesome pumpkins that will last, and great memories! If you don’t have the time or energy to make that trip, (or in my case, your kiddies are getting older and over the pumpkin patch) buy your pumpkins a week or two ahead of time. I got mine at Sam’s Club this year. If you wait, there will be slim pickings and you will be out of luck!

    • Purchase battery operated plastic tea lights from the dollar store. They will last for one or two nights and you won’t have to worry about a fire on your front step.
    • Purchase one or two pumpkin carving kits from your local grocery store… you will start to see these on the shelves in August!
  • Prepare your pumpkin for carving the night before. This way it won’t be such a daunting task when it’s go-time. Also, the pumpkin will dry out a little and be easier to work with. To gut a pumpkin, prepare a work space with newspaper, wax paper or butcher paper, cut a circle around the stem, pull away from the pumpkin, and dig out all of the seeds and guts. Clean out all of the seeds and pulp. (Note: DO NOT put pumpkin pulp in your garbage disposal—nothing but trouble! I learned that the hard way!) Save the seeds, wash the pulp off and set aside for a yummy treat. (see recipe below!) Your pumpkin is ready for carving when all of the pulp is cleaned out and the sides are a solid light orange color with no hair like pieces of pulp. You have to use elbow grease to get there!

    • Google away when it is time to carve. The internet is a useful resource for templates for any kind of pumpkin you can imagine. You don’t have to be an artist; you just have to follow the directions and the dotted lines!

  •  Do not set your pumpkins on your door step until Halloween night. You don’t want the squirrels to decide to eat your hard work for lunch, and believe me, they will!
  • Take lots of photos to remember the fun.
  • Sit back and enjoy as your trick-or-treaters saying, “Hey! I like your pumpkins!” 

      
    Recipe for Perfect Pumpkin Seeds

    I always cook the pumpkin seeds on Halloween night. Here are the directions for preparing perfect pumpkin seeds:
    1. Place the mass of pumpkin seeds in a colander and run under water to rinse and separate the pulp form the seeds.

    2. Measure the pumpkin seeds in a cup measure. Place the seeds in a medium saucepan. Add 2 cups of water and 1 tablespoon of salt to the pan for every half cup of pumpkin seeds. Add more salt if you would like your seeds to be saltier. Bring the salted water and pumpkin seeds to a boil. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and drain.

    3. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Coat the bottom of a roasting pan or thick baking sheet with olive oil a teaspoon or so. Spread the seeds out over the roasting pan in a single layer, and toss them a bit to coat them with the oil on the pan. Bake on the top rack until the seeds begin to brown, 5-20 minutes, depending on the size of the seeds. Small pumpkin seeds may toast in around 5 minutes or so, large pumpkin seeds may take up to 20 minutes. Keep an eye on the pumpkin seeds so they don’t get over toasted. When lightly browned, remove the pan from the oven and let cool on a rack. Let the pumpkin seeds cool all the way down before eating.