Fall is in the air and can you believe Halloween is already next week?! As we continue to enjoy the best of fall activities– hayrides, haunted houses, seasonal drinks– we can’t forget an October must… pumpkin carving!
An annual tradition amongst our family revolved around pumpkin carving. However, it was not your typical pumpkin carving. Our family always had a unique way of carving pumpkins. We wouldn’t carve pictures into the pumpkin or make it a Jack O’Lantern, we had a different way of doing it which involved goodies from all around the store!
Every year, there was one day in October that my grandpa would anxiously await for us to get home from school. He would take us to Caputo’s and let us pick a pumpkin. There were so many to choose from and Nonno Angelo would help us pick the perfect one, then load it into the cart. After we picked out our pumpkins, we would go around and find different foods and props for our pumpkins to make faces! We would get things like chestnuts or olives for the eyes, a gourd or a pepper for the nose, smaller pumpkins or corn husks for the ears, hay for the hair, and no pumpkin was complete without a carrot as a pipe! We could come up with any crazy idea and Nonno Angelo would do it for us.
When we got home from picking up our pumpkins and all the fixings, my parents and Nonna Romana were waiting for us with the kitchen ready! The first thing we would do is cut open the top and clean the insides of the pumpkins. We would separate all the seeds and give them to Nonna Romana so that she could roast the pumpkin seeds. We would let them soak in some water so that all the pulp would come off. Then Nonna would salt them, put some olive oil, and put them in the oven! While she was doing this, we would direct the carving! The adults would cut the holes and we would put the food where we wanted. After that, we would draw or paint all the finishing touches on our pumpkins!
We have a fun Halloween tradition, what are yours? Stop by Angelo Caputo’s Fresh Markets, pick out your perfect pumpkin and start your creation!
From Our Family To Yours
