Pumpkin carving

 

My son and his 1st pumpkin 2012

 

Winnie the Pooh pumpkin lit up

 

 

Halloween is once again upon us!

In St. John's this year, pumpkins have sold out early, and are quite in demand.  In the past few days, radio stations have offered pumpkins as prizes in contests.  Hopefully you have your pumpkins.  Here are some little facts about pumpkins.

1) Pumpkins are considered botanically to be fruit because the pumpkin itself is the only seed bearing part of the plant, which comes from the flower.

2) Pumpkins belong to the squash family.

3) Pumpkin seeds are a good source of zinc, copper, magnesium and protein.

4) Pumpkin is full of fibre and can be eaten to help alleviate digestive issues such as constipation and diarrhea.

5) If you carve a pumpkin, it can be preserved for a few days longer by rubbing petroleum jelly over the exposed flesh.

6) Carving a pumpkin is similar to watermelon carving; you can trace any pattern or image onto a pumpkin and etch it out using Thai carving knives or an exacto knife.  You do not have to cut all the way through in order to have light shine through from the inside.  For step by step instructions on how to carve watermelon (or use the same technique for pumpkin) please see my blog entry on watermelon carving. 

Happy Halloween!!

Doraemon pumpkin carved, 2013

Doraemon pumpkin lit up

My wife is a huge fan of the Japanese cartoon Doraemon!