The Lush Life: Pumpkinheads!

Hey-lo all, Annaleigh back again and getting ready for some pumpkin carvin’!  The boyfriend and I picked out our pumpkins over the weekend (we found a few gigantic ones at the local grocery store, but if you can make it to a pumpkin patch it’s totally worth the trip) and we’re going to be spooking up our brand new balcony later tonight.  As such, in preparation, it’s time to share with all of you a few tips, tricks, and links to awesomeness featuring none other than the traditional holiday decoration: the jack-o’-lantern.

Now, if you’re anything like me, growing up you mostly had pretty basic pumpkins…at least until those kits started becoming more popular/cheaper.  I remember the big kitchen knife we used to carve basic faces and the year I started branching out and trying to get a bit artsy with my pumpkin (there ended up being a lot of toothpicks holding pieces together).  Though, instead, you might have been lucky like my boyfriend.  His mother was a veritable pumpkin artist…he tells stories of amazing Transformer, Ninja Turtle, Terminator, and other crazy pumpkins.  Since I’m no sketch artist, I’m only just starting to adapt and figure out the best way to make the coolest pumpkins…so I have my methods which I will (so kindly!) share with all of you!

Some tips from the experts:

• Make sure, when choosing your pumpkin, you find one that has minimal bruising and doesn’t appear rotted.  If the stems are moldy, chance are your pumpkin will not last.  If you can lift the pumpkin by the stem, it will usually last (be careful when doing this, however, and keep one hand under the pumpkin to catch it should the stem break).
• Be careful not to carve your pumpkin too early: we usually only carve ours no more than a week before the holiday itself here in Kansas City.
• When you cut the top off of your pumpkin, make sure to keep your knife at an angle (about a 45-degree one is suggested) so that your lid doesn’t fall through.  Also, make sure to either cut a flat side or a “tooth” for ease of lid placement.
• Scrape out the seeds and guts using a metal spoon.  It will cut through the gunk better and make your life a bit easier.  Also, while you scrape make sure to get the walls to about a 1″ thickness for ease of carving (and be sure to save your seeds…baked pumpkin seeds are extra-yummy!).
• If you’re going to freehand a design, grease pencils work great but regular #2 pencils will also do the trick.
• The best pumpkin knives are serrated ones…to properly carve the pumpkin and avoid carving fingers, use short sawing motions and go slowly.  It’s not a race and the more careful you are, the better your jack-o’-lantern is bound to turn out.
• When you first carve up the pumpkin, light a candle inside similar to the one you’ll be burning the night of Halloween.  Let the candle burn for a bit and look to see if there are any black spots on the lid.  If so, your design is not airy enough and you need to cut a chimney.  This helps ensure you don’t catch your front porch on fire the night all the trick-or-treaters are out and about.

As far as candles for your jack-o’-lantern, there are many suggestions out there.  I personally use a tea light (they’re cheap and burn fairly long) inside of a glass candle holder (to protect the flame from the inevitable spooky breeze).  Votives also work really well and won’t cost you an arm and a leg.  I use unscented candles, but a lot of people like to burn ones that are scented things like pumpkin spice or cinnamon to double the decoration as a freshener.  Alternately, you can sprinkle the bottom of your pumpkin with cinnamon or nutmeg and still use an unscented candle.

To extend the life of your jack-o’-lantern, there are many suggestions for keeping it fresh.  You can soak the cleaned out pumpkin in a solution of 1 teaspoon of bleach to 1 gallon of water and then rub down the cut edges (inside and out) with vegetable oil or petroleum jelly.  You can also simply rub the edges with the petroleum jelly or there is even a product on the market called “Pumpkin Fresh” which gets some pretty good reviews.  Another method to keep it fresh is to wrap it in plastic wrap when not on display and stick the pumpkin in the fridge.  Personally, I don’t do a thing and just wait to carve it.

If you’re looking for some awesome patterns, you can check out sites like SpookMasters (they’ve got all sorts of patterns from traditional to the awesome geeky stuff like Yoda and Batman…some patterns are free, some are just for subscribers), GeekTonic’s list of pattern websites (an exremely comprehensive list), or Zombie Pumpkins (with amazing patterns including Harry Potter, Star Wars, and The Lord of the Rings characters).

If you’re looking to do something a little more unique with your pumpkin, check out these ideas from Anne Marie Helmenstein, PhD (that’s an awesome mad scientist name, just saying) or the amazing Extreme Pumpkins for inspiration.

And, since I already mentioned it, I can’t talk about it and not list the recipe for Roasted Pumpkin Seeds!

First, wash your pumpkin seeds well (I just put mine in a big bowl of water and use my hands to clean off the gunk) and lay them out to dry.  You can speed dry them using various methods, but I find it best to just pat them dry with a lint-free towel and let them sit out for the day or overnight.  Next, preheat your oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit while you coat your pumpkin seeds with either melted butter or olive oil (butter works better if you’re going to be doing a sweet seasoning, but I prefer olive oil) and season them with your choice of spices.  Spread the seeds out in a single layer on a cookie sheet and bake for between 10 and 45 minutes at 300 degrees Fahrenheit.  Keep an eye on your seeds and stir often as ovens (and the seeds themselves) usually vary.

Every year I do different seasoning or, alternately, when I have a bunch of really seedy pumpkins, I bake a couple of different batches.  Last year I did cayenne pepper, sea salt, and a cheddar powder (like the kind from macaroni and cheese boxes) and I’ve also done Italian seasoning with a touch of onion powder and garlic with black pepper and sea salt.  Some people simply do salt on their seeds…it’s all about your taste!

And, of course, onward with the history!

One of the popular stories as to why we use jack-o’-lanterns (or why they’re even called jack-o’-lanterns) is the story of Stingy Jack.  Stingy Jack was a drunkard and quite the manipulator.  The story tells of a night in which the Devil himself decided to drink with the Irishman and, when it came time to pay the tab, Jack convinced Old Scratch to turn himself into a coin.  Upon the change, Jack stuck the Devil-turned-coin in his coin purse with a silver cross…which made a change back impossible.  He would not release him until the Devil promised to not collect on his soul for the next 10 years.  Ten years later, the Devil came to collect on Jack’s soul and Jack, being the ever deceitful drunkard, convinced the Prince of Darkness to climb a tree.  After he was up the tree, Jack scratched crosses all around the base and made the Devil promise not to collect on his soul ever.

Now, some years later when Ol’ Stingy Jack finally died, St. Peter stopped him on his way through the Pearly Gates- after all, Heaven was not the place for sinful folk.  When Jack went on down to Hell, Satan made good on his promise and refused to admit the man.  And so, since he could neither go to Heaven nor Hell, Stingy Jack was forced to walk the Earth for eternity.  However, the Devil, having shown a bit of compassion to the tricky old man, gave Jack an ember from the very fires of Hell itself…something Jack carries around in a carved out turnip.  As such, Jack “of the lantern” eventually became “jack-o’-lantern,” which was used to describe the various vegetables carved and used to scare away evil spirits like Jack’s on Halloween.  When the people of the British Isles began migrating to the states, it was found that the pumpkin, native to the Americas, worked better than any other vegetable previously used.  And, voila, the tradition as we know it today.

The Schedule

October 17th: Party Ideas
October 19th: Costumes
October 21st: Decorations and Crafts
October 23rd: Recipes (Food and Drink- Alcoholic and Non)
October 25th: Jack-o’-Lanterns
October 27th: Last Minute Makeup Tips
October 29th: Halloween in Geek Culture
October 31st: An Extra-Special look at Halloweens of this Lush’s past…yeah, I’m going to bare my costumed soul for you all!