It might be a little messy, and it might take a little time, but this is something fun to do with your roommates or anyone else who wants to get into the Halloween spirit with you. Carving pumpkins isn’t very complicated or financially damaging, so it’s a perfect activity to do over the weekend when you find yourself bored and looking for something fun and easy.
First things first, you need to get a pumpkin-preferably something small because the smaller the pumpkin, the smaller the mess. For the quick route you can go to the nearest Shop Rite, pick out a pumpkin and be on your way. Or, you could head over to Heritage Vineyards of Richwood, which is located at 480 Mullica Hill Rd, Mullica Hill, NJ 08062. This cute place is about five minutes away from campus and has a great farm market. You can even walk around the farm and pick out your own pumpkin from their pumpkin patch, and I only paid about two dollars for mine. Once your pumpkin is picked you can move on to the next step-carving your pumpkin.
Step 1: Cut around the stem of the pumpkin to create an opening to get to the insides of the pumpkin. Make sure the opening is big enough for your hands to fit in. Don’t get rid of the top, you’ll need that later to put back on the pumpkin once you’re finished.
Step 2: Scoop out all the pulp and seeds from inside the pumpkin-you can use either your hands or a large spoon to clean it out. (Note: Don’t throw away the pumpkin seeds just yet! I’m going to tell you how to cook the seeds to have as a snack for later).
Step 3: Using a pencil, draw the face you want to make. This is where you can stay traditional with the triangle eyes and goofy smiles or do something more creative. Here are three different ideas:
Step 4: Follow the pencil outline on your pumpkin and cut out the pieces. Push the pieces into the pumpkin and discard.
Tada! You have just made yourself a jack-o’-lantern; enjoy.
Now, I hope you still have those pumpkin seeds. Place the seeds into a large bowl and rinse them under cold water. Make sure to get off all the excess pulp and string. Once you’ve cleaned the seeds you can bake them however you please. Here are just a few recipes that I like to use, but there are tons of variations out there that are equally as delicious.
Recipe 1:
2 teaspoons of melted butter and a little bit of salt placed in a bowl.
1-½ cups of pumpkin seeds mixed into the butter and salt.
Place the mixed seeds onto a baking sheet, making sure none of the seeds overlap. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F and bake for 45 minutes. In 10-minute intervals move the seeds around on the pan to ensure even cooking.
Recipe 2:
2 teaspoons of hot sauce
1-½ cups of pumpkin seeds mixed into hot sauce.
Place the mixed seeds onto a baking sheet, again making sure none of the seeds overlap. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F and bake for 45 minutes. In 10-minute intervals move the seeds around on the pan to ensure even cooking.