Along comes autumn and I am always amazed at the flavors of this season's foods. Take the dark orange vegetable family, for instance. These foods - sweet potatoes, pumpkin, carrots, and butternut squash - outdo all others in vitamin A content. They are also packed with antioxidants, vitamin C, calcium, and potassium. It seems no matter how they're prepared, they taste amazing, and when you factor in the all the nutrients, well, these are truly SUPERfoods! And one member of the dark orange veggie family does even more than contribute to a tasty meal.

I'm talking pumpkin. It has so many uses - eating, decorating, body care, fulfilling a fairy godmother's quirky sense of curfew, you name it. It's one of the most popular crops in the United States and there are at least eleven ways to put these beauties to work. (I found this information on one of my favorite sites, Care2.com.) Take a look:

1. If you have a little leftover pumpkin in the can (or baked from a fresh pumpkin) try a honey pumpkin exfoliating mask (from the National Honey Board).

Honey Pumpkin Exfoliating Mask

Whether leftover canned, or fresh baked pumpkin is used, the antioxidants and vitamins will give your skin just the boost it needs. This makes approximately 1/2 cup of pumpkin mask.

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon green tea brewed and divided
2 teaspoons fresh pineapple chunks OR paypaya or figs, diced
4 tablespoons pureed pumpkins
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons aloe vera gel
1/2 teaspoon jojoba oil
4 teaspoons yellow cornmeal


Directions:

Steep green tea in boiling water. Set aside to cool. In blender or food processor, puree pineapple, pumpkin, honey, aloe, jojoba oil, and brewed green tea. Mix well. Remove contents to a medium mixing bowl and stir in cornmeal. Reserve remaining green tea for another use. Apply small amount of pumpkin mask to cheeks, forehead, chin and neck. Massage in circular motions gently buffing skin. Repeat. Apply more product as needed. Leave a thin layer of pumpkin mask on face and neck for 15-20 minutes. Rinse with tepid or cool water and pat dry with soft towel. Follow with appropriate moisturizer. Store remaining mask covered in refrigerator for up to two weeks.

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2. Use it as a serving dish. Cut the top off and clean it out well, then stuff it with your favorite casserole recipe. Rice and hamburger recipes work really well. Pumpkin has a bland flavor and blends superbly with other flavors, so it makes the perfect casserole "dish."

3. Slathering yourself in a luscious DIY pumpkin body butter made of pumpkin puree, coconut milk and cinnamon is as good for your skin as it is for your senses.

All you need is pumpkin puree (about 1/2 cup), solids from a can of coconut milk (about 1/2 cup), and a bit of cinnamon (maybe 1/2 teaspoon). Mix the ingredients in a bowl then apply generously to clean skin as you stand or sit on a towel, massaging gently to work well into the skin. Leave this on for at least 10 minutes, then step into the shower and rinse. You'll feel yummy!

4. Make floating pumpkin candles. Food markets that carry local harvest produce often offer miniature pumpkins. They are 3?-4? across. Buy six to eight of these pumpkins, and the same number of votive candles (pure beeswax votives, if you can find them). Hold a votive candle over the top of the pumpkin and trace a circle around it. Using a knife, carefully cut out the circle so that a votive candle will fit into the hole snugly. Repeat with all the candles. Fill pretty bowls with water, light the candles and float the pumpkins in the water.

5. Pie, pie, pie.

6. Cakes and cookies.

7. Soup, soup, soup.

8. Bread, sure. But what about BISCUITS?

Pumpkin Biscuits

Ingredients:
2 cups unbleached, all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder (aluminum free is recommended)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
3/4 cup pureed pumpkin
1/2 cup milk
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup (Grade B is recommended)


Directions:

Preheat oven to 450F. Lightly oil a baking sheet and set it aside. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and allspice in a large bowl, then set aside. Combine pumpkin, milk, butter, and maple syrup in a medium bowl and stir until smooth. Combine the flour mixture with the pumpkin mixture. Stir just until the mixture holds together; avoid over mixing, or biscuits will be tough. Roll dough out on a lightly-floured work surface and roll out to 1/2-inch thickness. Using a 2-inch biscuit cutter or a drinking glass, cut out dough into rounds and place on prepared baking sheet. Reroll dough scraps and continue to cut out until all dough has been used. Bake in the center of the preheated oven for 12 to 14 minutes, until tops are golden brown. Serve hot.

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9. Make an air freshener. It's a pretty simple project - if you've carved a pumpkin before, you have all the expertise you need:

1. Cut off the top of a medium pumpkin, clean the interior and top.
2. Cut holes (or design of your choice) in the sides to vent. Use an apple corer. You can place the holes randomly for a mod look, or symmetrically for a more classic design.
3. Rub LOTS of your favorite seasonal spices on the inside of the pumpkin top. Try cinnamon, nutmeg or allspice. A good thing is to press LOTS of cloves or star anise in the top as well, or rub on some fresh vanilla bean. (Don't use vanilla extract - the candle flame may ignite the alcohol.)
4. Place a beeswax tea light candle in the bottom of the pumpkin. Light and let burn. (And of course, never leave a burning candle unattended!)

10. Make a very healthy snack - toasted pumpkin seeds! When slow-roasted with a little salt and butter, pumpkin seeds make delicious snacks rich in nutritious minerals such as zinc. All you need is pumpkin seeds from 1 or more pumpkins, 1 tablespoon butter, and salt to taste (I prefer Himalayan or Celtic).

Wash the pumpkin seeds to remove all the pulp, and place in a bowl. Melt the butter in a pan and then pour, bit by bit, into the nuts, tossing while you go. They key is not to use too much butter, but just enough to lightly coat the seeds. Smaller pumpkins may require less than 1 tablespoon of butter, larger ones more. Add salt. Preheat the oven to 250F; spread the seeds out over a baking pan and bake, turning occasionally, until crisp and lightly golden browned. Watch them closely; overcooking causes the nuts to toughen and lose flavor.

Sources:
https://www.care2.com/greenliving/honey-pumpkin-exfoliating-mask-for-gorgeous-skin.html
https://www.care2.com/greenliving/11-ways-to-use-a-pumpkin-photos.html?page=3 (all other photos)
www.kidscooking.about.com