Comments On Article: High Food Cost, Don't Waste The Decorations

If you would like to share your comments for article High Food Cost, don't waste the Decorations, this is where to do it! 

Click the Reply To This Topic button below to post yours.

Jennifer Reynolds wrote

Pumpkin is such a wonderful vegetable, and I was happy to see you enjoy the seeds roasted as a snack too...they are my favourite. I toss a little cajun spice through them, so delicious.
I'm in Australia and we're not known for making pumpkin pies, though we do make pumpkin scones (very nice) and pumpkin soup. When I roast pumpkin (with a bit of garlic) for soup I puree the roasted skin with the flesh, and the soup is incredibly tasty.
Or we roast the skins alone with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper, maybe some more spice...and we eat it like chips.
At the moment we have pumpkins growing in our front yard. It's late spring here in the tropics of northern Australia, and we grow summer vegetables in winter as most of them won't grow here in the extremely hot and humid summer months, but pumpkins will grow all year.
They are such a versatile vegetable, and I'm so glad your neighbour passed three along to you. Bless you heaps,
Jennifer

This comment was transferred from our old comments section.

Grandma Donna wrote

Jennifer, thank you for giving us some wonderful ideas of what to do with pumpkin. I especially like the tip about using the skin. I wish we had the space to grow pumpkin and just maybe we can find a good spot up at Myrtle's to grow them. :)

This comment was transferred from our old comments section.

Julie wrote

I tried a recipe for Croatian Green Pumpkin soup this fall with a green pumpkin that didn't ripen by frost time. It was simple, easy, and delicious. It would work with ripe pumpkin too. Found it thru online searching. Waste not, want not.

This comment was transferred from our old comments section.

Lora wrote

Good morning, I roasted pumpkin seeds just last night. Our youngest son was so excited. That's his favorite part of Halloween season! My family isn't a huge fan of pumpkin pie, Thanksgiving dinner is the only time they ask for it and it's more a tradition. I usually make pumpkin bread and cookies. Our oldest daughter was just married a few weeks ago and instead of a cake, she wanted different varieties of cookies. Alongside the family recipe of sugar cookies, I made a soft pumpkin cookie with white chocolate chips. Fit nicely with the autumn theme of the wedding. Warm wishes, Lora

This comment was transferred from our old comments section.

Grandma Donna wrote

Thank you LORA and JULIE for sharing what you make with your pumpkins. :)

This comment was transferred from our old comments section.

Galadriel wrote

Hi Donna, this year I cut ours into quarters and put it to simmer in the stockpot on our woodstove. When soft enough, I let it drain thoroughly (overnight) before pureeing and freezing. I'll save some for a baked pumpkin cheesecake on Thanksgiving; I also make a savory pumpkin cheesecake, along the same lines but with crumbled bacon and herbs instead of sugar, and some nice sharp Cheddar baked on top.

I kept one quarter uncooked in the fridge for adding chunks to stew and soup (I don't peel the skin off). Very nice. I usually grow about half a dozen pumpkins and squashes but this year I only got one.

This comment was transferred from our old comments section.

Grandma Donna wrote

Galadriel, thank you for sharing these wonderful ways to use pumpkin. I wish I had thought to save a quarter of one to add to stew. Hummm should I pick up a small one? Thank you for your comment. :)

This comment was transferred from our old comments section.

Jo wrote

I've made pie and bread from it, as well as muffins, but one thing that is addictive is candied pumpkin. It's a really special treat. It's much like candying orange peels, cooking it in a sugary syrup until the moisture has evaporated. An old recipe I've used called for it to be treated with pickling lime first, to keep it firm.
Pumpkin can also make pickles, similar to watermelon rind pickles.

This comment was transferred from our old comments section.

Helen wrote

Pumpkin is good for the pups if their bellies are upset or they need help “doing their business”

This comment was transferred from our old comments section.

Christina wrote

Mrs. Donna, I am so excited to see your post today! My 13 year old daughter has been asking all week to make pumpkin pie with fresh pumpkins we have for declaration (so proud she is thinking in this way). We will be using the method you suggest :)

This comment was transferred from our old comments section.

Grandma Donna wrote

Christina, I hope your pumpkin pie is good and with fresh pumpkin I am sure it will be, you daughter is very wise for thirteen. :)

Helen, yes we add pumpkin to their food and so does our daughter for her pets, thank you for mentioning this.

Jo, I have never made candied pumpkin, Ooooo, that sounds good. Thank you for the other suggestions.

Thank you all for your comments.

This comment was transferred from our old comments section.

Mary Nienhouse wrote

Wonderful post! I find it refreshing to use what you have. To think how it can be used with very little thrown away!
I enjoy mixing pumpkin in with yogurt and cinnamon for a morning breakfast treat!
Pumpkin butter would be very tasty during the Holidays. Also making beautiful little gifts for family and friends.
GDonna, I find your posts so enjoyable and encouraging to live a content life. Thank you.

This comment was transferred from our old comments section.

Grandma Donna wrote

Mary, I did not think about adding pumpkin in with yogurt, yum. I will add that one to my list. :)

This comment was transferred from our old comments section.

Sue wrote

What a blessing to receive the complimentary pumpkins from your kind neighbor. I usually freeze the cooked pumpkin too. We use it in my ways but some things I don't see mentioned yet are for smoothies and as a side dish or a light lunch. I also like a teaspoonful or so and some spices added to my morning coffee this time of year. Happy Fall to you GDonna!

This comment was transferred from our old comments section.

Grandma Donna wrote

Sue, thank you for your comment and Happy Fall to you too. :)

This comment was transferred from our old comments section.

Gail wrote

Hello Donna,
isn’t that lovely. Someone has blessed you and now you have all that pumpkin in the freezer. I learnt a lot from this post. I didn’t know that freezing it was a little better than dehydrating it. I have never roasted pumpkin seeds so I certainly will be doing that from now on. The other thing I do with my pumpkin is to bake it in little cube and add it to my salad. Not only does it look pretty in the salad bowl it is so tasty.
Our weather is really cool for this time of year. They are saying we’ll have a hot summer, however it hasn’t happened yet. There has been sooo much rain and the floods have been awful. Where we live, we have had 78inches of rain for the year so far.
Blessings Gail ????????

This comment was transferred from our old comments section.

Grandma Donna wrote

Hi Gail,
That is a lot of rain you have been having and we are the opposite with very dry conditions for several months. Thank you for sharing how you bake little cubes and add them to the salad, I will have to try that. Donna

This comment was transferred from our old comments section.

Felicity wrote

Oh this is a wonderful post, G Donna. I have lots of new ideas for pumpkins from you and also from the comments here- thank you. We love pumpkins in our house and this year have planted a lot in amongst pea straw down the side of our vege cage ( we have recently put this up to keep our growing produce for ourselves and not to share it with the local rabbits and white butterflies.) We like roasting pumpkin cut small for dinners but most of all we love pumpkin soup. It is a delicious winter meal.
I cut it small and toss it in butter and pepper and salt in a large pot on the stovetop. I let it start to brown a little (yum) and then add water - just enough to cover plus a pinch of nutmeg. It simmers until its soft and easily pureed. I use my blender sometimes to do this but a sieve or even a masher is ok. Serving it with a little dollop of thick whipped cream on top is delicious. And it can be made thinner with milk, or cream too. Grind a little black pepper on top or add grated cheese: all good. A decent big bowlful is warming and slips down rather nicely. ????

This comment was transferred from our old comments section.

Grandma Donna wrote

Hi Felicity, it has been wonderful how so many have been sharing the way they cook pumpkin and such wonderful ideas from all around the world. Thank you for sharing how you use your pumpkin and now I wish I had saved some smaller pieces for dinners. If I get another pumpkin I will do this. I hope that you have a very good harvest. :)

This comment was transferred from our old comments section.

Jackie wrote

Well, I learned something new tonight. I've been roasting pumpkins for years and never knew to soak the seeds in water to loosen them from the stringy bits! It was always such a chore. I wasn't going to but any pumpkin this year as I have some pureed and in the freezer from last year but seeing all of these wonderful ideas, I think I need to get 1or 2 small ones. Thanks to all for your great ideas!

This comment was transferred from our old comments section.

Grandma Donna wrote

Hi Jackie, yes many of them will float to the top and the others will loosen so it is easy to pull them apart. Oh yes, that would be good to get one or two, especially this time of year. :)

This comment was transferred from our old comments section.

Stephenie wrote

Yum! You are so inspiring. My mom used to roast our pumpkin seeds, unwashed with Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. She used a low heat, and also drizzled melted butter on them. They were such a treat! I loved the bits of pumpkin in with the seeds and butter. I enjoy seeing all that you are doing to save on groceries.

This comment was transferred from our old comments section.

Grandma Donna wrote

Stephenie, I have not heard of using worchestershire sauce, that and butter had to be delicious. Thank you for your comment. :)

This comment was transferred from our old comments section.

Jenny wrote

When the kids were young, we had a tradition of carving our jack o'lanterns on October 30th, displaying them on the 31st, and baking them on Nov. 1st. Our ducks loved to feast upon the pumpkin guts, too! I usually froze pumpkins like you. The seeds were kept for snacking, sprinkling on salads or pasta dishes, and adding to taco toppings.

My favorite way to use pumpkin is to add a cup or two to a pot of lentil chili! The pumpkin flavor really works well with the heat in the chili, and helps temper the spice for young tongues. My second favorite way is to use them to make a pasta sauce. A lot of people use butternut squash for this, but pumpkins serve just as well!

These days, I just store pumpkins and other winter squash whole until I need them. I'm in a maritime climate (Pacific Northwest), but not very humid, so they store well indoors in I rotate them every few weeks.

This comment was transferred from our old comments section.

Grandma Donna wrote

Jenny, I love hearing about traditions and your children will always remember no matter how old they are. Thank you for sharing how you use pumpkin and not I want to get extra pumpkins to store on the floor of the pantry where it is cooler and I love butternut squash as well. Butternut squash has the longest shelf life of all of our vegetables. :) Thank you for your comment, we are all learning from each other.

This comment was transferred from our old comments section.

Bee wrote

I've always wondered, do you remove the seed from the shell when you eat them, a la sunflower seeds?

This comment was transferred from our old comments section.

Grandma Donna wrote

Bee, I do "not" eat the shell on sunflower seeds but I normally do eat the shell on pumpkin seeds. Saying that, we all have different digestion so each person is different in what our stomach tolerates.
Sometimes I just chew on the pumpkin seeds after they have been roasted and get all the goodness out and then discard. That depends on how many I eat. Lol

This comment was transferred from our old comments section.

Last Fall, I made pumpkin butter-- similar to making apple butter.  I cooked it all day in the slow cooker along with all the classic fall spices.  I preserved it by freezing in small batches.  Its wonderful added to my yogurt or with toast.