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Garden Advice, Recipes

Pumpkin & Squash Recipes Perfect for Fall

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When you harvest your winter squash and pumpkins, sometimes the actual size of your harvest can come as a bit of shock. These prolific plants are excellent at hiding even more produce under their large leaves than you thought was possible. Thankfully, if you properly cure them, they’ll keep for months. Plus, there are so many fun ways to use them. Here are some of our favorite pumpkin and winter squash recipes perfect for this time of year. 

Dehydrated Pumpkin Pie Leather Roll-Ups

Ever wish you could take pumpkin pie on the go? These Pumpkin Pie Roll-Ups Colleen shared on her blog Grow Forage Cook Ferment are the perfect fall snack. They’re sweet even though they’re sugar-free. If you’ve got a dehydrator, give these a try.

Pumpkin Spice Waffles

Who doesn’t love a big stack of waffles on a cool, crisp morning? Adding a bit of your pumpkin or winter squash with this Pumpkin Spice Waffle recipe makes them extra special for fall.

Chocolate Hazelnut Pumpkin Pie Truffles

These Chocolate Hazelnut Pumpkin Pie Truffles from Kathie of Homespun Seasonal Living are a great treat, even if you’re not an experienced candy maker or baker. These truffles are decadent yet straightforward and perfect for fall get-togethers. 

Moroccan Cushaw Salad

Cushaws are popular southern winter squashes that were commonly grown by enslaved people in the late 18th century. One of our favorite culinary historians, Micheal Twitty, shared a great recipe for Moroccan Cushaw Salad on his blog, Afroculinaria. 

Pumpkin Butter

Pumpkin Butter is one of our favorite pumpkin recipes at Southern Exposure, and it’s surprisingly simple to make. While some people pressure can pumpkin butter, we use this easy recipe and store it in the refrigerator. 

Pumpkin Soup

Eva Kosmas Flores has tons of pumpkin and winter squash recipes that are as tasty as they are beautiful. If you’re looking for something to warm you up on a chilly fall day, we recommend her pumpkin soup recipe that she learned in Germany.

Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls

These pumpkin spice cinnamon rolls are a delicious treat that pair perfectly with your morning cup of coffee or tea. They also make excellent gifts. 

Pumpkin Peanut Butter Dog Treats

Last but not least, you can’t forget your furry friend! This Pumpkin Peanut Butter Dog Treat recipe from Timber Creek Farm is perfect for including your pet in the fall festivities or gifting to a dog-loving friend. 

What’s your favorite pumpkin or winter squash recipe? Let us know if we missed any great ones on Facebook. 

Garden Advice

6 Easy Steps to Saving Pumpkin Seeds

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Not everyone is ready for fall, but for many gardeners, it’s officially pumpkin harvest season! Native Americans were the first people to save pumpkins seeds. They domesticated them over 9,000 years ago! They created the sweet, large pumpkins we’re familiar with today through their years of breeding and selection. 

Saving seed from your pumpkins is a great place to start if you’re new to seed saving or want to involve the kids. Their large seeds make them easy to work with. 

  1. Select a pumpkin.


    Pumpkins, winter squash, and other members of the cucurbit family cross readily. If the pumpkin was grown near other cucurbits, you might end up with fruits that look and taste entirely different next year! 

    This may be a fun experiment if you’re just interested in growing pumpkins for decor. However, if you’re growing pumpkins for eating like Winter Luxury, you may want to ensure that they weren’t crossed. Cucurbit crosses sometimes end up being bitter or even non-edible. 

    Check out our growing guide for more information on isolation.

    You also want to select a pumpkin that is fully ripe so that the seeds are fully mature. The pumpkin should have firm skin, and the vines should be dying back when you harvest.

  2. Scoop out the seeds.


    Slice your pumpkin in whatever was you’re planning to use it, whether that be for a jack o’ lantern or in halves or quarters for baking. Then scoop out the seeds. A large metal spoon can be helpful for this.

  3. Clean them. 


    Clean the seeds as best you can. Separate and compost any fleshy parts clinging to the seeds. Then give them a good rinse in a colander.
     

  4. Ferment them.


    Several types of seeds should be fermented before drying and storage. These include tomatoes, cucumbers, summer and winter squashes, and pumpkins. Some people think that this step is unnecessary; however, we recommend it for a couple of reasons. 

    Fermentation removes any bits of flesh you may have missed as well as the slimy coating on seeds. This will ensure better germination. Second, fermenting the seeds kills and soil-borne diseases or fungus that may be on them. This will help keep your garden and the gardens of anyone you share seeds with healthy.

    Place your pumpkin seeds in a jar and cover them with clean water. Cover loosely with a lid or just a towel. Make sure air can escape. Let them sit for 3 to 4 days, stirring them once a day. Add a bit more water if it begins to dry out.

    It’s okay if the mixture smells bad or you notice some mold growing on top. After three days, add more water and stir the mixture again. The viable seeds will sink while the pulp and bad seeds will float, and you can pour them off the top. Drain and rinse your viable seeds.

  5. Dry them.


    Lay the seeds on a towel to dry. Let them dry until they’re completely dry. This may take 5 to 7 days. If you store them before they’re fully dry they’ll mold and rot.

  6. Store them. 


    Store seeds in an airtight container in a cool dark place. Pumpkin seeds will remain viable for four years or more under the right conditions. 

    Learn how to do a germination test here.

Are you saving seeds this year? Tag us on Facebook or use the hashtag #southernexposureseed on Instagram to show us your projects.

Garden Advice

Harvesting & Curing Winter Squash & Pumpkins

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How do you tell they’re ripe?

If you’ve never done it before determining if winter squash is ripe can be a bit more difficult than picking tomatoes or green beans. It’s also very important that it is ripe if you want it to store well through the winter.

The biggest indicator that winter squash and pumpkins are ready to be harvested is their stems. The stems should be hard and dry. Often you can tell that the plant is beginning to die. The fruits should also be their mature color and sound hollow when patted with an open hand.

Harvest

When they’re ready it’s time to harvest! Simply cut the fruit from the plant, leaving about 1 inch of stem with a knife or garden shears. Lightly wipe off large clumps of dirt with your hand.

Never carry your squash or pumpkin by their stem as breaking them off often drastically reduces their storage ability. Also try to avoid handling them roughly to reduce bruising and nicks.

If a hard frost is imminent you should go ahead and harvest any squash left on the vine even if it’s not perfectly ready. Hard frosts can damage squash and make them rot. Just keep in mind that squash harvested early may not keep quite as long so it should be used first. Leaving a longer stem can help them finish maturing properly.

Curing

Before you can store your winter squash it needs to be cured for about 7-10 days depending upon the variety. The best way to cure squash is to lay it out on a dry surface with enough space for air to move around it. Every day or so your squash should be moved or turned over to a new position.

A picnic table in your yard will work if the weather’s still warm enough, a pallet in your hoop house, your kitchen table, or even sunny windowsill.

The curing process allows the skin to toughen up so that your squash will be ready for storage.

Storage

Winter squash is one of the lovely foods that takes little effort to store at home. Ideally you should find a dry place to store your squash where the temperature stays between 50°F and 68°F degrees.

You might find a place in a spare bedroom, office, under a bed, or in a coat closet. You should store your squash in a single layer and not touching. That way if one begins to rot it won’t effect the others.

While your squash is in storage you should be careful to check it at least once a week for soft spots or mold. Use any squash that are starting to go bad immediately.