It looks like the summer is over

[ChrisGreaves]

It looks like the summer is over

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Halloween is gone, too, and I am Thankful, because two of my neighbours, knowing my love of composting, asked if I would like their porch pumpkins.

I said "Yes Please!", and wheeled home eight (two by four) pumpkins in my wheel barrow.

The skins ended up in my compost bin (44-gallon drum), but the flesh was diced and boiled and preserved in twenty jars.

The seeds? Spread out on supermarket flyers on the floor of the shed. After two more days of frost I shall rub the shreds of strings away and then consider buying myself a little toaster oven so that I can go back to roasting seeds for an "organic" coffee.

In the meantime: Does anyone know of an easy way to peel pumpkins other than hours spent with a sharp knife, and being distracted by hours of news podcasts in foreign languages?

Thanks
Chris

[HansV]

Do you have a microwave oven? If so:

Poke the squash or pumpkin all over with the tines of a fork. Place it in a microwave-safe dish, and microwave on high for 3 minutes. Use a paring knife or Y-shaped peeler to remove the skin. It will practically fall off in large strips.

[BobArch2]

The seeds? Spread out on supermarket flyers on the floor of the shed. After two more days of frost I shall rub the shreds of strings away and then consider buying myself a little toaster oven so that I can go back to roasting seeds for an "organic" coffee.

You just saved yourself 13 Euros and hours of grief dealing with credit card transactions!

[ChrisGreaves]

You just saved yourself 13 Euros and hours of grief dealing with credit card transactions!

Cheers
Chris

[ChrisGreaves]

Poke the squash or pumpkin all over with the tines of a fork. Place it in a microwave-safe dish, and microwave on high for 3 minutes. Use a paring knife or Y-shaped peeler to remove the skin. It will practically fall off in large strips.

Thanks Hans. It'd be tough to poke a hole in that advice!
For the first time in my life, even before the depth of winter is upon us, I can't wait for next summer to be over ... (hops excitedly from one foot to another)
Cheers
Chris