A post from last year. But since it’s Halloween and I’ve seen plenty of pumpkins around – here are some top tips on what you can do with your pumpkin after tonight…
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I’ve got to admit that I don’t enjoy Halloween. I find it all so over the top and wasteful. But since so many pumpkins are going to find themselves in the landfill this weekend, I thought I’d share with you some of my favourite finds to help you dispose of your pumpkin.
Foodie Ideas
Scroll down to the bottom for my Pumpkin and Chilli Soup
First up, Jamie Oliver’s recipe for roasted pumpkin seeds.
Turn your pumpkin seeds into protein-rich salt via The Guardian
Maple Cardamom Pumpkin Seed Butter via TasteMade.
This chicken, lentil & pumpkin curry.
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Wildlife
Did you know squirrels really love pumpkin?
I didn’t either. But they do. So instead of dumping your carcass in the bin, put them at the bottom of your garden or take to the park and leave them out for the local wildlife.
Squirrels, foxes, birds and badgers all love pumpkins.
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Your Garden
I saw this tip in the i paper. You can use your pumpkin carcass as a plant pot. Once it starts to rot within a few weeks you can then plant directly into the ground!
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My Pumpkin and Chilli Soup
I love pumpkin soup. Actually, I love roasted pumpkin full stop. This soup is super easy, it’s healthy and it’s perfect for this time of year.
Ingredients
* 2 tbsp olive oil
* 2 onions, peeled and sliced
* 1 pumpkin, peeled, deseeded and cut into small wedges
* 3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
* 1 tbsp mild chilli powder (feel free to add more if you like a kick)
* 1.25 litres vegetable stock (I use the Swiss bouillon stock as it has loads of flavour)
* 1 tbsp sugar
* 1 tbsp dried milk (optional, but this gives it a really creamy taste)
Method
Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat and cook the onions until soft.
Next, add the pumpkin and garlic and cover for approx 10 minutes.
Add half the stock and sugar and cook for approx 35 minutes.
Check the pumpkin is soft and add the remaining stock, bringing to a simmer.
Remove from the heat and mix in the dried milk. Use a hand blender to blend until smooth.
And serve with warm crusty bread.
Plenty of ideas to make use of your pumpkins post Halloween, so there’s no excuse for them to just end up in the bin. And if you don’t have time to do any of the above, make sure that you throw them either on the compost heap or in your food waste bin.
fab ideas to reduce waste. I’ve got big into composting lately (its cool, honestly) lol. So have used ours in that 🙂
Great ideas! If we had a grassy area and actually got a pumpkin this year my husband would be obsessed with using it for gardening. Will be leaving future ones for wildlife though.
Great ideas, we put our pumpkins outside for the squirrels when we were finished with them after halloween x
These are some brilliant ideas for all those leftover pumpkins! I love a good pumpkin soup, delicious.
Ooo sunch fab ideas. Love the sound of your Pumpkin and Chilli Soup – a nice bowl of warmth now the cold snap has arrived xx
Some fab ideas. I love the idea of popping them out for wildlife tho. We have a few even one not cut which I will make soup from the opened ones we will pop outside
I love making pumpkin soup with the leftover pumpkins at this time of year x
There is an awful lot of pumpkin waste at Hallowe’en. We’ve put own old carved ones down at the bottom of the garden, for either things to eat or for them to simply rot away. I found that most of the pumpkins we bought for carving weren’t looking too nice for eating. But I’m always tempted to buy the healthier looking ones for all the delicious pumpkin recipes that I see.
I am not a fan of pumpkins so leave mine to the squirrels – they go nuts for them