Journal 3 - Carving Pumpkins
Ingredients:
Sharp knife
vegetable oil
garlic salt
salt
big spoon
sharpie marker
big bowl
baking sheet
Going
to the pumpkin patch can be one of the most exciting adventures a child can
experience. Not only is carving a pumpkin a good way for a child to express
their creative side, it’s also very fun. The excitement and happiness that
children share while getting ready for pumpkin festivities is enjoyable for most
parents. Then, bam! Once that orange cap is off, there is highlighter colored
Orange gooey innards, guts and seeds all over! While the kids are having a ball
digging out the innards and squeezing the orange goop, the adults are focused on
the goopy orange mess left on the surface. The parents’ once enjoyment of
watching the child carving the pumpkin is over. If carving pumpkins is not done
right it can be messy, but not to worry if you follow this process, you will
surely get things done in a fun, organized and even delicious
way.
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| The wonderful Pumpkin Patch |
All
kids know that great feeling of enjoyment they get while walking around their
sprawling neighborhoods on Hallows eve going trick or treating. Illuminated
Jack-O’-Lanterns often sit and watch, as dressed up children admire their spooky
faces, on their way to candy bowl. The tradition of the carving of the jack- o’-
lanterns extends back to 1700’s Ireland where the local Irishman had a common
folklore of a man named Stingy Jack. Stingy Jack made a deal with the devil that
he didn’t have to go down to hell, but when he died the doors of Heaven would
not let him in. So, he had to wander the Earth for all eternity with only a
candle. Thus, this tradition was started on by the locals and brought on to
America with the Irish immigrants. Carving pumpkins is a wonderful past time and
it’s an exciting tradition to uphold to the new generations. There is nothing
better than seeing the enjoyment of a little kids face after completing his
first jack-o’-lantern. So, learn how to complete and keep a wonderful seasonal
tradition alive by carving and utilizing the wonderful seeds of the beautiful
pumpkin this fall.
The
first step in carving a pumpkin is: getting the actual pumpkin! It is one of the
most exciting parts of the process. Look up a local pumpkin patch. Some pumpkin
patches have pre picked pumpkins for sale, and others give you the thrill of
physically going to pick out a pumpkin from the field. Once you have picked out
the perfect pumpkin and paid, you can load it into your car and head on home.
Once at home, put the pumpkin outside your house until you are ready to carve
it! In the meantime imagine the face or picture you want to see on your
pumpkin.
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| Bringing the pumpkins home |
When you are ready to begin the fun of carving the pumpkin make sure you have all the materials needed. If your pumpkin has been outdoors for a while, then let your pumpkin thaw out for 10 minutes at room temperature just to make the carving process simpler. Carving the pumpkin outdoors eliminates the mess that may stress some parents out, but carving the pumpkins indoors is a commonality upon many. Wherever you are carving, make sure you have a bowl for seeds, and a bucked for goop. This will eliminate the sorting process later. The first step is analyzing the pumpkin and picking the side which will make your creative face look the best! The next step, with a large knife, preferable a special pumpkin carving large knife, cut a few inches around the stem, leaving a circle at the top of the pumpkin. Leave the cap of the pumpkin to the side. Next, use your hands, or a digging scoop to get all the goop. Put goop into one bucket and any loose seeds you find on the way, put into the seed bowl. Once the pumpkin inside is completely hollow and free of seeds, it’s time to carve! Wash the outside any gooey threadlike ick on the outside of the pumpkin off.
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| Paige Scooping the goop |
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| Jack Cutting the pumpkin |
After the
pumpkin is dry, all you need is your imagination and a marker! Think of what you
want on your pumpkin. You can stick with the classic Jack-O-Lantern face, like
our example, or attempt to incorporate a more modern, intricate design such as a
spider web. After you have decided on your design, you can map out and draw it
on the dry surface of the pumpkin with a sharpie or permanent marker. Once the
super scary face is drawn in black on the pumpkin, use the medium knife to carve
out larger features like the mouth, and use a smaller knife to carve out more
detailed features like the eyes. Make sure to pop out the pieces after carving
each one and add it to the guy bucket. To dispose of the guts of the pumpkin,
you can add them to your compost pile, if you have one, or you can throw them in
the woods since they are decomposable. Once the face is finished, there is one
last step before perfection.
Finally, you have successfully accomplished carving out your Jack-O-Lantern. To complete your work and make it look even better, wipe off your pumpkin with a cloth to remove any dirt or residue from the pumpkin. Illuminate your face and make it stand out by placing a lit tea candle inside the hollow pumpkin on an even surface. Lastly, display your decoration on your porch or driveway for others to enjoy throughout the Halloween season!
After
adding the finishing touch of a candle to your pumpkin, it’s time for the
delicious part. Rinse off the separated seeds in a colander in cold water,
making sure no bright orange pumpkin goop is remaining on the seeds. Let the
seeds dry out on a paper towel for about five minutes. While the seeds are
dehydrating, preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Depending on the size and genetics
of the pumpkin, seed amounts vary. To be safe, use one tablespoon of vegetable
oil per cup of seeds yielded. Dust a cookie sheet pan with vegetable oil prior
to laying the seeds down in a single layer fashion. Shake the pan back and forth
or use a spatula to turn over the seeds in effort to coat each seed with a layer
of vegetable oil. Next, shake about ½ teaspoon of garlic salt and ½ teaspoon of
table salt over the seeds on the baking sheet. At this point, the seeds are now
ready to be put in the oven. Set a timer for 45 minutes on your oven. On a
separate timer, set an alarm to shake or turn the seeds over every 7 or so
minuets in order to prevent burning. Each time that you check your seeds, look
for the perfect golden brown hue in the shell of the seed. Once the golden brown
color is achieved, remove your seeds from the oven and allow them to cool. Once
your seeds are cooled off, you are almost ready to munch! Just lay the seeds on
a decorative plate and enjoy your Jack-o-lantern masterpiece visually, as well
as orally.
| The Delicious part |
Carving
pumpkins is such an amazing tradition that we should cherish and share with the
generations to come. Everybody can enjoy this wonderful and relatively simple
process each and every year. There is no better sight then walking down the
street and seeing all the houses lined with decorations and the classic
jack-o’-lanterns. This fun and festive activity is a great way to spend time
with young children while they learn to express themselves and their artistic
abilities. The joy and sense of accomplishment can be seen on a child’s face
when they view their bright pumpkin and munch on their yummy seeds. Is truly an
amazing and scrimptions activity that only takes a few steps, but the memories
you make is priceless.
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| Sharing Life Long Memories |
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