You're not throwing out that pumpkin, are you?

This photo is just one of many I could have taken on any given block of any given street here in the Northeast.

If they weren't brutally cut up into strange or happy faces for Halloween, they have sat forlornly on porches everywhere eversince waiting for final disposal. Instead I want to remind readers that pumpkins are FOOD. They are highly nutritious and delicious when stewed, baked or turned into soup, pie or bread. Or they can be frozen, then prepared for consumption during the dismal days of winter. This blog will not necessarily include recipes as those are utiquitous in the blogosophere but I pass along this food for thought: paint the pumpkins if you must but bring them in after the holiday, and cook them as the food that they are. If they are forgotten, frozen, or start to rot, they can go into the compost joining in the ultimate circle of life. I simply ask: when else do we spend $5 or $10 or $20 on something that we can eat, then simply throw it away with no concerns for the expense or waste? If you're not going to eat it or compost it then spend your money on plastic pumpkins that you can reuse every year. Farmers will then be able to focus on growing the food we actually eat.