@flapiz
Pumpkin Carving Cats
Hello read cashers! It's 31st of October and you know what that means, it's Happy Halloween! My boyfriend and I wanted to carve pumpkins for Halloween but we didn't have enough time to do so in the weekend. So I will be writing about my past pumpkin carving experiences, as I am unfortunately working on this glorious day as well, so I really can't carve this year.
Pumpkin carving is not common in the Philippines so I've only ever carved pumpkins when I immigrated here in the UK. Why you may ask? Well first, because we don't really have pumpkins in the Philippines, we have squash. Second, it seems wasteful to carve them instead of eating them. And thirdly, Halloween is not as big of a deal there as here in the West. We do have All Saints and All Souls Day to honour our deceased relatives back home. We visit the cemetery and bring food and meat up with other relatives during the 1st and 2nd of November.
Anyhow since I have been in the UK for over 3 years, I have assimilated some of their culture and that includes celebrating Halloween. So for the past 2 years I have carved pumpkins every Halloween and it has always been cats since I love and adore these feline friends. I always get my inspiration from google and happy to say it has always turned out well despite my lack of expertise and experience.
The first time I did it was with my ex housemate, Jennifer. We actually just shared one pumpkin which was given to us by our British colleague. So what you must do first, is cut the top portion of the pumpkin so you can scoop out the seeds and make it hollow. Second, you can draw an outline of the design you want using a pen or a marker. Third, carve according to your outline which for me is the trickiest bit as my knife skills are almost none existent. Lastly, put a lighted candle inside the pumpkin and put back its lid. Turn off the lights for a more dramatic effect.
The second time I did pumpkin carving was when I was in Guernsey. I did it with my friends, Marsh and Joy. It was special to me as the pumpkins we used were freshly picked from my allotment. It's my own grown pumpkin. It is again another kitty pumpkin which I made with Joy. While Marsh decided to do a Tim Burton inspired one.
Pumpkin carving is a fun activity which enriches ones creativity and knife skills. Definitely worth trying! Part of me think it is a bit wasteful food wise but hey it's a once a year thing. I hope you enjoyed this article. Happy Halloween!
18 comments
I need to go sharpen my knive carving skills. Not like I've had any use for it but it would be fun to carve a pumpkin one day. We don't celebrate Halloween were
Pumpkin art exhibit? I'm sure you'd do great Sylv!
Wow nice creative, I guess am gonna try it
Looking forward to seeing your work 🧡
As a lover of cat this is just too cute instead of creepyyyy.
Ahahaha I am glad you find it cute and I am goad to meet a fellow cat lover 🐈
Hello Flo. That cat looks so good. It was carved out so perfectly.
Hello Doc I am glad you liked it. Have you been well?
Wala ngang pumpkin dito sis at kailan kaya ako makakita ng pumpkin in real. Ang saya niyo lang tingnan sa photos sis. 🥰
Pwede kaya sa ripe na squash? Hahaha.
Cutting pumpkins is a lot of fun. We haven't done that in a few years. We use to keep the seeds and dry them. Not too bad tasting either imo.
Hmmm now you gave me an idea. How long do you dry them for?
Rinse with water place on paper towel with a paper towel over until they are dried. Usually a full day. That's what we did but you can place in sun or in a dehydrator on low temp for a few hours to speed up process. We roasted them sometimes after they were dried. Take dried pumpkin seeds, toss with oil and/or salt and roast in a preheated oven at 250ºF for 10 to 15 minutes.
This I sincerely learned from you today. Now contemplating if I should do some pumpkin carving this weekend despite it being too late so I can eat the seeds 😂
I would look for them in the market. Buy them and try them first. I wish I had something for you with the rest of the guts but I don't. I buy pumpkin in the can 🤣
Maybe just buy the pumpkin seeds in a pack and skip the carving this year 😂
Yes that's a good idea no reason to carve up just for the seeds. There good but no need to waste a pumpkin if your not using it for another purpose.
But definitely keeping this life hack for next year :)