Lakota

Kabocha

Thai Small Pumpkin

La Primera

Part of a harvest one fall

In the northern hemisphere, autumn is the time to harvest for storage the various "winter squash" so called because of their ability to to be stored for many months indoors without refrigeration. The idea is to wait until the vines begin to age and decline to insure that the fruits are of maximum nutrition and maturity. In colder climates, waiting until the first LIGHT frost can insure the squashes store a good long time. Cut them from the vines, leaving a good length of stem attached, and let those sweet storehouses of carbs and vitamins and beta-carotenes sit in the sun a couple of days to further harden the rinds. Store them in your coolest, driest room....don't let them touch as each contains a latent electrical charge. A bacterial spot can develop where two squashes/pumpkins touch.

There is nothing like a big steaming pot of freshly made Jamaican or Thai pumpkin soup on a cold winter day! I make mine very spicy and like that they both rely on health giving coconut milk as a key ingredient.

John