Pumpkin 🎃 People Return to NH

Nashua, NH, had its 4th annual downtown scarecrow competition, but Jackson, NH has been hosting its Pumpkin People event for over three decades.

This October was the 34th year, this town of less than 900 residents has hosted one of New Hampshire's most popular fall events — the Return of the Pumpkin People.

This popular fall celebration features area businesses and residents thinking outside-the-box and instead of a simple jack-o-lantern theme, the focus is to create pumpkin characters based on popular culture, literature, or seasonal themes. 

It's more or less a free-form competition without formal guidelines. Participating business or residential properties can design a pumpkin-themed display in any fashion.

On a recent weekend visit, we took the town's self-guided tour. We didn't see all of the different locations hosting Pumpkin People displays.

However, those we did see were quite creative. The town provides a map with an icon and fun logo. Visitors can complete the ballot and cast votes for their favorite display.

The event features real pumpkins in various displays. During the first 14 days, the displays include real pumpkins. Towards the end of the month-long event, some non-real pumpkin substitutions can be made as the originals can start to deteriorate.

When we visited, the pumpkin people had been on display for nearly 3 weeks, yet most were original pumpkins. There were so many great entries. Of course, we had a favorite.

These pumpkin penguins (pumpguins) got our vote!

👻 Happy Halloween ☠️

Pumpkin - Not Just for Pie

YES, it’s that time of year again, cooler fall weather and vibrant colors (soon here, we hope). And, it’s also soup time we well. I found this recipe in a Sunday newspaper after we made an emergency Dairy Queen stop on our way home Sunday afternoon. We needed a “treat”. That’s what Grenville told me. Yes, I believed him as chocolate was involved.

This pumpkin soup was on the F&P dinner menu last night with a wonderful chef salad made by Chef Grenville, of course.

All the soup ingredients were in our pantry (maybe in yours too). This recipe uses many of my favorite spices — which are ones starting with “C.”

Spiced Pumpkin Soup

• 1 TBSP canola oil
• 1 small onion, chopped fine
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• ¼ tsp cardamom
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 2 C reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin
• 1 (12 oz.) can evaporated fat-free milk
• 6 TBSP plain fat-free Greek yogurt
• Parsley leaves for garnish

1. In a large pot, heat oil over low for 30 seconds.
2. Add onion and cook 3 minutes or until soft; add garlic and cook 1 minute.
3. Stir in spices, salt and pepper and cook 1 minute, stirring.
4. Whisk in broth and pumpkin. Bring just to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add milk and simmer for 2 minutes.
5. Using an immersion blender, puree soup until smooth. Add a little more broth for a thinner soup.

Ladle into bowls, garnish with yogurt (if desired) and parsley. Add pepper to taste.

Great Pumpkin Patch Pie

Grenville planted pumpkins at the Frog & PenguINN farm last season. The great pumpkin patch produced beautiful orange orbs and we anxiously anticipated the prospect of freshly baked pies and other treats, except for one minor glitch - the pumpkins were ready for harvest in late summer and not in mid-autumn. Since using an oven in late summer is not a good idea (trust me on this) that meant that the aroma of freshly baked pie would have to wait. So, Grenville canned the fresh pumpkin and today, I baked our first pumpkin pie from last season's F&P harvest. Figuring out the conversion of using fresh vs. canned pumpkin wasn't too hard thanks to The All New Joy of Cooking which was the only one of our assorted cookbooks that recognized people may want to use fresh vs. canned pumpkin.

Homemade Pumpkin Pie

Position rack in center of over and preheat to 375°F . Building up a high fluted rim, prepare a 9-inch pie pan, preferably glass (and if you don't want to make your own pie crust, here's a F&P, shortcut - buy Pillsbury® frozen pie crusts (2 per package) just don't forget to take it out of the freezer at least a day before it's needed).

Whisk 2 large eggs in a bowl and then whisk in thoroughly:

2 C freshly cooked pumpkin or canned pumpkin puree
1 ½ C evaporated milk or ¾ C milk and ¾ heavy cream)
½ C sugar
1/3 C firmly packed light or brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp freshly grated or ground nutmeg
¼ tsp ground cloves or allspice
½ tsp salt

F&P Note: This recipe and others suggest you warm the pie crust in the oven until it is hot to the touch. I skipped this step - and the pie was fine!

Pour the pumpkin mixture into the crust and bake 40-45 minutes until the center of the filling is set, but quivers, like a bowl full of jelly (whoops that's another story) when the pan is nudged. Cool completely on a rack then refrigerate. Serve cold at room temperature or slightly warmed. Optional: top with whipped cream, but let us know when you will coming to visit, so we can bake another pie cause this one was delicious after dinner tonight!
No, we didn't eat the WHOLE pie tonight, but brought it to a neighbor's as the dessert du jour. Thankfully, there are leftovers for tommorrow night!