Pumpkins and squash are so connected to the very end of October and November activities that they should be named the produce of these two months.
What would fall be without pumpkins for Halloween and winter squash for Thanksgiving? It would be two sad sad celebrations without their crowning jack-o’-lantern and Calabaza Mexicana pies. All of the fun would be lost for the first celebration and the meal would be incomplete without these produce. Lastly, winter squash requires a fall preparation technique required for successful cultivation the following year.
Youth revel in the carving and lighting of jack-o’-lanterns as a sign of the arrival of Halloween and its associated costume dress-up and trick-or-treating. Many adult gardeners also enjoy harvesting their pumpkins and carving them to welcome children. Sometimes it seems the adults are having more fun than the youth! It is a fun activity to enjoy the night with children and grandchildren.
Custard pumpkin pie is traditional dessert fare for Thanksgiving dinner.
In New Mexico, many households prefer a fresh Calabaza Mexicana pie for dessert that is just as tasty as custard pie but with more texture and richer flavor. What a treat! Locals in the know shun any early custard pie indulgence in preparation for that first slice of Calabaza Mexicana pie. What in the world would we do if we had not any?
Everyone knows that feeling of having had too much good Thanksgiving food. Lethargic slightly stuffed feelings that encourage us to sit and watch blow-out football games. Blah! El Vecino recommends inviting the dinner guests outside into the garden plot where several shovels await.
Explain to them that a short duration family activity of turning over the top 5-6 inches of soil will expose that destructive vine borers’ cocoons to winter cold and foraging birds and help protect next year’s crop of valuable Calabaza Mexicana. This activity will take ten to twenty five minutes but is a fun time to visit with one another, breath in clear, clean oxygen that clears the mind, and enjoy the wonderful sunny afternoon. Thank your guests and return indoors to enjoy the rest of the evening feeling refreshed, energized, and maybe ready for a second slice of pie.