Enjoy the pumpkin, but stay away from putting leaves in plastic bags

Enjoy the pumpkin, but stay away from putting leaves in plastic bags
                        
The first snow of the season serves as a reminder winter is on the way. While some see snow as one of the season’s horrors, I can live with it. You cannot enjoy a crackling fire, hot cocoa or those cute socks with anti-slip stuff on the bottom when it is sunny and 85 degrees. My seasonal horrors come in the form of pumpkins in trash cans and leaves in plastic bags. Even if you do not have a compost pile, you can bury an old pumpkin under a bush so that it can benefit the soil with the addition of zinc, phosphorus and iron. If it is still firm, it is probably still edible. Pumpkin spice, that awful stuff that is in everything this time of year, is not real pumpkin, seriously. It is a combination of artificial flavors created by a marketing genius, then added to food, beverages and candles to provoke nostalgia. If you put real pumpkin in coffee it would look and taste like sludge. The big orange, sometimes white, sometimes gray and sometimes red, thing that was your fall display is very edible. The humble pumpkin is highly nutritious. Incredibly rich in vital antioxidants and vitamins, the pumpkin is low in calories when it is not in pie. It contains vitamin A and flavonoid polyphenolic antioxidants such as lutein, xanthin, and carotenes in abundance. Just saying these words makes you healthier. The edible part of pumpkin is the fleshy insides and the seeds, of course. The seeds require separation from the stringy, slimy stuff but it is well worth the effort. The fleshy stuff is even easier to prepare for recipes. To get started, cut off the stem of your pumpkin and set it aside to be buried or composted. Cut your pumpkin down the middle, scoop out the seeds and guts and set them aside for later. Place your pumpkin cut-side down in a baking dish with a cup of water, and bake at 325 degrees for about 90 minutes or until the flesh is tender. Once your pumpkin softens up, just scoop out the flesh and puree it in a food processor. That is it. It will keep in the freezer for months and can be added to bread, pasta, soup, stew, sauce and pie. About the leaves in plastic bags. While it is impressive you raked them, stuffed them and put them on the curb for pick up, the plastic will prevent the leaves from decomposing for a very long time. I get it, people hate leaves because they want perfectly manicured lawns even if it means poisoning their kids and pets. Cities that vacuum up giant piles of leaves on the curb are awesome. People still get to experience the fall rite of passage of raking the leaves, jumping in the leaves and that is a good thing. If you live somewhere where no one will come and magically suck up your leaves, you can bag them in these cool paper bags called leaf bags. They are tall, stand up pretty well unless the wind is super strong and they decompose, just as Nature intended the leaves to in order to make a full, natural cycle.


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