"You HAVE to give us sweets!"

[Micer]

Same issue, we live in a complex with tons of kids, stocked up on candy, had the pumpkins out, porch light on. One kid.

Granted it was a very cute little kid in a bee costume... but argh!

Prolly didn't help that the news stations were all 'OMG Sexual Predators handing out candy due to legal Florida loophole!!!!!' that week. They're right... the holiday is nothing like it was when we were kids, I used to be out walking the neighborhood at sun down and not return until 10... or until mom wanted us to go up to Pringle Hill and look at the family that loaded their front yard with pumpkins every year.

[Shalom]

Does anyone know, are those huge pumpkins edible, or are they intended for decoration only?

(On my way to work on 11/1, I passed a pickup truck pulling a trailer, both of them full (to the point of overloading, IMO) of pumpkins. No idea what he planned to do with them, but I was assuming he'd picked them up cheap from somewhere, maybe an Orange Apron, who had a batch left over after the 31st and didn't need them anymore.)

[Andara Bledin]

Um. I'm pretty sure most pumpkins can be used for pie fillings, shakes, and the seeds for roasting. And you could likely can the excess filling material. I'm no expert, tho.

^-.-^

[BeenThereDoneThat]

What if you were burying bodies in your backyard?

What I want to know is since when does Trick or Treating start BEFORE dark? I always set out at dusk to get a good start, but nowadays it seems like all the candy is gone and all the kids are home by 6pm.

When I was a kid I'd see the littlest ones out with their parents before dark, and in east central NJ it got dark pretty early by October 31 (especially since this was when Daylight Saving Time still ended in *early* October). Most of the older kids went out after dark.

BTW, sometimes it's good to have a husband who is big and can be scary looking. If someone were to come to our door pounding after the lights were out on Halloween night, he'd put a REAL scare into 'em. (I'm sure he'd go easier on little kids but it's doubtful little kids would be POUNDING on a door after 8 or 9 PM.)

[EricKei]

Does anyone know, are those huge pumpkins edible, or are they intended for decoration only?

To the best of my understanding:

The tiny little pumpkins people use as decorations or the slightly larger ones sold as "pie pumpkins" are often used for just that; I presume that their taste tends to be more intense and maybe sweeter.

Mid-sized, "normal" jack-o-lantern pumpkins should be just fine, tho I would recommend asking around on a food site like chow.com. I guess their taste would be milder, closer to that of other types of squash.

The really huge, "county fair award winner" mutant pumpkins that are too big for one person to lift? I'd stay away. Oversized fruits and veggies -- from what I've heard -- often do not taste anything like what one would expect, if they're even safe to eat at all. I'm sure there are exceptions, tho.

[Seshat]

Does anyone know, are those huge pumpkins edible, or are they intended for decoration only?

In Australia, we eat pumpkin as a normal everyday vegetable. (Savoury, not sweet.)

We cut up the larger ones (like the ones we call 'Jap' and 'Qld Blue') and use them over several meals - or for large families!

Cover the cut side with cling wrap and it stays good for a day or so. Or cut the whole pumpkin into serving-size pieces, and freezer the pieces you don't want to use today.

[Lady_Pigeon]

Really now?

*snip* "crayons are for little kids" (to quote a teenager last year).

Shh, don't tell that to the rest of us ASM's at work, we take our 15-minute break to color pictures. And decorate our living "cage."

This year it was my turn to hand out the candy. I even had the "pleasure" of holding on to the leash of our black cat Deuteronomy (aka Negrito, aka Mike Tyson Kitty, aka Basement Cat). He shredded my shoulder before he settled down, he confused people ("Oh, look at the dog! Wait, that's a CAT???" ) and tried to commit suicide by harness by jumping off the hubby's pickup while I held on to the leash. All in all, it was a fun night.

[wolfie]

The really huge, "county fair award winner" mutant pumpkins that are too big for one person to lift? I'd stay away. Oversized fruits and veggies -- from what I've heard -- often do not taste anything like what one would expect, if they're even safe to eat at all. I'm sure there are exceptions, tho.

Can't find the reference, but (at least) one heirloom variety of apple is known for making "one apple pies" (i.e. it's normal for the fruit to be big enough that you only need one per pie, and it tastes good enough to be worth making pies out of).

[AlmightyALT]

I think I know of another reason why there are fewer kids Trick or Treating nowadays. At least in my community. Lots of churches put on "Trunk or Treat" events in their parking lots as safe alternatives to traditional Trick or Treating.

Also, with the internet, I'm sure people know where the 'good' Trick or Treating neighborhoods are.

[Pagan]

Um. I'm pretty sure most pumpkins can be used for pie fillings, shakes, and the seeds for roasting. And you could likely can the excess filling material. I'm no expert, tho.

^-.-^

I can't stand pumpkin (or any kind of squash, really), but I love pepitas.

That's usually what we did when we gutted a pumpkin, take those out, dry and roast them.

[XCashier]

The first Halloween where we had our big, friendly, orange cat "Orange Bastard", he actually started crying because all these people were coming to our door but none of them were coming in to pet him.

Awww! Ginger tabbies are so darned friendly! We used to have one named Red, and I remember one Halloween when several toddlers (not old enough to know better) would see the fluffy red tabby standing nearby and would come in to pet him! He loved it, but the mamas were embarrassed about their kids!

[BeenThereDoneThat]

The seeds of the larger pumpkins are definitely delicious dried, roasted and seasoned. I've never tried to make a pumpkin pie completely from scratch, I'd heard that you had to use the smaller ones though, for the best taste. They would probably be marked as such at the store.

[PepperElf]

I just don't get some people. I'd like to know just what it was she was expecting from you? Kids didn't seem to have any problem finding the candy.



I just saw a poll like that yesterday. To move it to the last Saturday of October. And they don't get why you can't move Halloween. It wasn't just arbitrarily put on the 31st, it's that date for a reason!

Indeed. BTW, Happy new years!

[morgana]

I think I know of another reason why there are fewer kids Trick or Treating nowadays. At least in my community. Lots of churches put on "Trunk or Treat" events in their parking lots as safe alternatives to traditional Trick or Treating.

A lot of cities now also put on an event called Boo at the Zoo, where groups set up stations around the city zoo and give out treats. I know our local SCA group gave out almost 9,000 pieces of candy over two Saturdays.

At home, the roomie and I had a grand total of nine, including three of her grandkids.

[Pagan]

Indeed. BTW, Happy new years!

Bliadhna mhath ur to you, too!

Would you believe I actually had post-holiday let-down this year after Samhain?!