Saturday, October 30, 2010

Pumpkin Moonshine

We adore Tasha Tudor's little book, Pumpkin Moonshine.

So, this year, we made our own pumpkin moonshine (jack o' lantern).

First, the plan.



Then cutting and scraping.





The final light up on the porch just could not be captured on film.  It was too dusky outside with the glowing orange pumpkin moonshine.  Plus, the delighted children and the smoky, chilly air.  All perfect together. 

Later, Ben tried to explain the project on the phone to Aunt Mel and she said to me in disbelief, "you're making MOONSHINE?!"  Regional idioms are fun to play with!



We saved the seeds, and Genevieve patiently picked them out of the membranes. I followed the directions in More with Less to end up with a crunchy roasted snack. A few days later, a farmer at market told me she just roasts the seeds without boiling them first. Ah. An even simpler method. Good.

8 comments:

Christian - Modobject@Home said...

Sigh... how I love anything Tasha Tudor! Our moonshine is just now finished and I'm boiling the seeds as I type this. Fun memories to make with the children!

Deanna Beth said...

Ha. I was planning this exact same post. :) Except I have no idea what the moonshine part is about.

Tracy said...

I love the photos. Your husband looks just a bit apathetic in the first one, but THEN, out come the power tools. Cute!

Margo said...

Tracy, his look is deceptive: he's patiently settling in for a design collaborative with revisions and feedback (he's an architect). I would never sketch a plan for something like this, but he must have plans!

Margo said...

DB, apparently, where Tasha Tudor is from or else just generally in New England, they call jack o'lanterns "pumpkin moonshines." But, my sis thought we were brewing illegal whiskey when Ben tried to tell her about it in his 2 year old limited language.

Jennifer Jo said...

I, too, loved the photo of the apathetic husband. He looks just like my husband looks at moments like that.

And then the power tools and all is well....

BrotherDearest said...

mmmm, punkin' seeds... I would do some pretty regrettable things at the moment, to get my hands on some of them...

kim said...

Love the childrens jack'o'lantern, I;m afraid halloween or "a;; hallows eve" is not such a big deal over here, those pumpkin seeds look delicious,
florrie x