October is the reign of the pumpkin. Around this time, Starbucks rolls out the traditional pumpkin spice latte, a drink that has the entire world fangirling at its feet.

A pumpkin isn’t just for making into lattes, however. There are so many things that can come from it!

Remember that huge pumpkin we got from Petaluma Pumpkin Patch?

Here’s what we did with it.

Cut around the stem of the pumpkin. We got a pumpkin with a gnarly stem, so we had to be careful not to prick ourselves … or I guess Matty had to be careful not to prick himself …

After he cut out the top of it … came the messy part … when we got down and dirty …. with the pumpkin! 🙂 But in all seriousness, the gooey, sticky insides are so much fun to play with!

And then, of course, we made a Jack-O-Lantern! The shape of it is called “Till Death Do Us Part” which is pretty accurate. ;]

What did we
do with the outsides after we scooped it up? Matty is actually a master with squash and pumpkin seeds, so he took charge of them. After you scoop the insides out, you have to separate the seeds from the mush. Wash the seeds and lay them out to dry. He finds that wax paper is the best, as the
seeds don’t stick to it as it dries. After the seeds have dried, place them on a baking sheet (after you have sprayed it with a non-stick spray), and season it. This time, we seasoned it with lemon pepper, salt, and cayenne pepper. Cook in the oven at 300 degrees for 40 minutes. They actually taste like popcorn, but it is WAYYYY healthier for you!

Did I mention how magical and useful a pumpkin is? It has so much better uses than in a pumpkin spice latte! Tell me some of your stories! 🙂