pumpkins and halloween!

i love everything about halloween.

this includes the pumpkins, both the seeds and the shell, which then becomes a jack-o-lantern. and by the way, did you know that the use of a pumpkin as a jack-o-lantern is a north american thing, and that they have been elsewhere used with turnips? the internet is a fascinating tool.

here was my pumpkins this year. she was a big'un:

and cavernous!

and, to my delight, filled with seeds.

mmm. messy.

this is my booty, drained and cleaned:

i always eat them the same way - patted dry and tossed with this:

put it in a 300 degree oven for around half an hour and stir frequently. is it the healthiest topping? not really, but i don't care. i love it. i eat them until my tongue is dry and my jaw is sore, and i am happy.

now, on to the jack-o-lantern...

i should probably point out that i have zero skill at carving pumpkins. in fact, i have negative skill, if this is possible. but this does not deter me. after all, one does not improve without practice. what i wanted was a battlestar galactica centaurian jack-o-lantern, which you can get to by clicking here (scroll down to the second pic, there's no way i could hope to do the higher skill level one). after an hour, i had this bowl of leftovers...

and i had this...

i named her 5.5 - as in 'not a 6' (if you watch BSG, you'll get it. and yes, i realize centaurian's are a different kind of cylon, but my carving skills are so bad, its a JOKE!) i love 5.5. here is what she looks like in the dark:

if you squint your eyes, you can almost see the red glint in her eye. happy frakkin' halloween!