My dad always had a huge garden in our backyard. It took up most of our entire back yard and my grandmother’s back yard as well, for she lived next door to us. I spent many hot afternoons pulling weeds, or picking green beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, and corn. I remember well the sounds of my dad out in the garden with that huge monster of a rotor tiller that billowed smoke and roared like some terrifying giant in early spring. We always had fresh vegetables on our table during late spring and all summer long. My mom would pickle cucumbers, and can tomatoes, so we could continue to enjoy them in the cold winter months. Our garden held many wonderful memories for me. I used to play in the dirt piles, digging holes for my brothers and me to play in with our toy tractors. I enjoyed many, many happy summer days out there in our maze of row after row of corn. My brothers and sisters used to run thru the corn chasing each other. I learned quite a lot about growing plants from my dad. I appreciated having fresh vegetables on my plate and how much hard work went into putting them there. Perhaps that is why I love autumn so much. Harvest time has always to me been the time to celebrate good food, and good times with family. I have always enjoyed learning about vegetables and thought I would share some interesting facts with you.
Pumpkins are actually a squash fruit. The state of New Hampshire has the pumpkin, as it’s state fruit. Pumpkins grow on a vine and are orange in color with green stem and indentations like lines from top to bottom all around the pumpkin. Pumpkins are used to make jack-o-lanterns for Halloween when they are cut out to make scary or funny faces on them. Although the pumpkin is a fruit because it starts from a flower, which is both male and female, it is thought of by most culinary circles to be a vegetable. Pumpkins are a tasty food. Pumpkin Pie is a popular desert at Thanksgiving time. You can also find that pumpkin can make a delicious cheesecake, cookie, soup, or even chili. I found some fantastic sounding pumpkin recipes at the Pumpkin Nook http://www.pumpkinnook.com/ you can bake, boil or roast the ripe pumpkin. Pumpkin seeds can be roasted and eaten as a snack. In the United States we tend to grow pumpkins more for decoration than for food, but I say, there is nothing quite like pumpkin pie.
Corn, is also known as Maize, and although most of us think of corn as being a vegetable, it is also considered to be a cereal grain. The corn stalk typically grows to be 9 ft. tall. The color of corn is usually yellow or white yellow depending on the variety, there is also Indian corn, which can be many different colors and is used for decoration. There is field corn that grows wild in the fields, and sweet corn harvested by farmers. Corn is used in many food dishes such as corn relish, corn salad, and corn pudding. You can find some good corn recipes at http://www.basic-recipes.com/veget/cn/ Corn is also used to feed livestock, as an ingredient in bourbon whiskey. Corn is a staple food in many countries. Corn is used in industry to make plastics and fabrics. Ethanol derived from corn is used in small quantities (10%) as an additive in gasoline (gasohol) which is used to increase the octane rating. Corn is separated from the husk it grows in, by husking or tearing the leaves off. Then you have to pull off all the fine yellow hairs, which believe me, is a difficult task to do. My favorite is the sweet white corn. There are many varieties of corn. Corn is also used for decorating during the fall holidays.
The apple is an amazing fruit which grows on trees. The United States is the third largest producer according to Wikipedia, with 60% being grown in Washington State. Apples are an important food staple and can be eaten raw, boiled, stewed, baked, dried, or mashed. There are numberous apples dishes including cakes, pudding, crisps, applebutter, apple cidar, and so much more. Apples are a good source of vitamin C and fiber, so they are very healthy for you. You can find many tasty recipes in the following catagories: bars & snacks, breakfast breads, cookies, desserts, entrees, low fat, salads & soups, side dishes, and spreads and sauces at http://www.bestapples.com/Recipes/ Two states claim the apple blossom as their state flower, Arkansas and Michigan. As a young girl I often heard stories of Johnny Appleseed, who became a legend when he travelled all over Ohio, Indiana and Illinois planting apple trees for the pioneers so they could have fruit to eat on their travels. Apples are also used in decoration because of their beautiful variety of colors of red, yellow, and green.
I hope you have enjoyed learning about pumpkins, corn and apples as much as I’ve enjoyed sharing what I know and love about them. Enjoy the recipe links and have fun this autumn with the fruit and vegetables in your hometown, store or garden. Remember they make wonderful fall decorations also.
Reference:
- Book: How to Grow More Vegetables and Fruits by John Jeavons
