This is why you always choose pumpkins!

Keep The Music Pumping

KeepItPumpkin is eager to announce it's support of the Education Through Music charity. Like us, they believe every child deserves a well-rounded education that includes music. Please take the time to click the link on the right side of the blog and really see what they're all about.

Keep It Green?

Looking to add a little green to your orange? Check out this organic pumpkin mix. Only 120 calories per serving and proven organic by the USDA. Keep it green. KeepItPumpkin.

The Smashing Pumpkins: 1979

    Classic Smashing Pumpkins song. This Chicago based band has formed a small cult following over the years. 1979, written in 1996, was their second single of their third album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.  The music video actually won an MTV music award for best alternative video. Enjoy!


Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_%28song%29

Oh The Choices!

           
   Did you know there are many varieties of pumpkins? Check out these varieties and what they are used for.

The Standard Orange Variety:
Grows between 2 to 5 pounds
Baby Bear (small, flattened shape; fine stem)
Baby Pam; Oz (hybrid, very smooth skin, immature yellow color)
Small Sugar or New England Pie (the standard pie type)
Spooktacular (hybrid; bright orange; ribbed)
Sugar Treat (hybrid; bright color)
Winter Luxury (old variety, good for cooking; unique netted skin)

Standard Orange:
Grows between 8 to 15 pounds
Autumn Gold (hybrid, yellow when immature)
Bushkin (hybrid)
Frosty (hybrid; smooth-textured skin)
Funny Face (hybrid)
Harvest Moon (hybrid)
Jack-o-Lantern
Spirit (hybrid, semi-bush)
Young's Beauty


Standard Orange:
Grows between 15 to 25 pounds
Aspen (hybrid, deep orange, uniformly large)
Big Autumn (hybrid, yellow when mature)
Big Tom
Connecticut Field (the old standard)
Ghost Rider (dark orange; very dark green stem)
Happy Jack (uniform, dark orange)
Howden Field (the industry standard for the last 20 years)
Jackpot (hybrid; round)
Jumpin' Jack (large, dark orange, heavy, tall)
Pankow's Field (large, variable pumpkins with exceptionally large, long stems).

Rouge Vif d'Estampes (deep red-orange, flattened, heavily sutured. It was the prototype for Cinderella's carriage pumpkin and is sometimes sold as "Cinderella" pumpkin.)

Types for canning and cooking:
Buckskin (hybrid)
Chelsey (hybrid)
Dickinson Field
Kentucky Field

Jumbo Pumpkins:
Grows between 50, 100 pounds to much larger:
Atlantic Giant (most true giants come from this variety)
Big Max
Big Moon
Mammoth Gold
Prizewinner

White Painting
Casper
Lumina
Snowball
Little Boo

Cushaw Group
Green-Striped Cushaw
Sweet Potato
Tennessee
White Cushaw
Golden Cushaw

Naked-Seeded:
Trick or Treat (hybrid, 10 to 12 pounds, good for carving)
Tricky Jack (hybrid; small)
Triple Treat (thick flesh; 6 to 8 pounds; cooks, carves well)


Miniature Pumpkin:
Baby Boo (white)
Jack-Be-Little (standard orange miniature)
Jack-Be-Quick (taller, darker orange)
Munchkin (uniform, attractive orange)
Sweetie Pie (small, scalloped, medium orange)





Source: http://www.pumpkin-patch.com/varieties.html

Pumpkin Dance Part II

The pumpkin dancer strikes again! This time with a new song and a change of scenery...Christmas theme? Check out this video!

Predator Pumpkin

Amazing pumpkin artist! From the famous movie Alien vs. Predator, this pumpkin is truly unique. Send us pictures of your pumpkin carvings and other pumpkin carvings you've seen!

Pumpkin Dance

       I give this man ample amounts of credit. He knows how to move! Not to mention that spandex. This video shows our love for pumpkins. We cold just dance about it! All day long! As seen on Tosh.0, this video received almost 900,000 views! Feel free to send us your own pumpkin dancing videos.

Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte

Check this out! Easy to make pumpkin spice latte!

New Kelloggs Pumpkin Pie Pop-Tarts

http://www.poptarts.com/PumpkinPie.aspx#/41

Check out these new awesome Pop-Tarts!
Source: http://urbanext.illinois.edu/pumpkins/facts.cfm

Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cakes

Ingredients

Cake:
1 (18 1/4-ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 egg
8 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan.

3.To make the filling: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter, and beat together.

4. Next, add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mix well. Spread pumpkin mixture over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes.
*Make sure not to overbake as the center should be a little gooey.

Serve with fresh whipped cream.

For a Peanut Butter Gooey Cake: Use a chocolate cake mix. Add 1 cup creamy peanut butter to the cream cheese filling instead of the pumpkin. Proceed as directed above.




Source: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/pumpkin-gooey-butter-cakes-recipe/index.html
Source: http://urbanext.illinois.edu/pumpkins/facts.cfm

Pumpkin Wisdom

I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion.
-Henry David Thoreau

Pumpkin Chuckin

Check this out! Pumpkin chuckin!! Did you know that the longest pumpkin chuck is 4,483.51 feet?! That's over 3/4 of a mile!








Source: http://pumpkinnook.com/giants/record.htm

Its The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown!!!!

   No one does it better than Lionel! Enjoy this piece of classic Americana celebrating the pumpkin. If only we all had Lionel's bravery. Every year we hope that the pumpkins come out bigger, brighter, and healthier. This clip illustrates the importance of pumpkins and how they have affected people over the years. Pumpkins have been important for many generations. Always remember the Great Pumpkin. Always.

10 Things You Never Knew About The Pumpkin

1. Illinois is the United States largest producer of pumpkins with over 495 million pounds of pumpkins produced in 2008

2. Pumpkins were once recommended for removing freckles and curing snake bites

3. The largest pumpkin ever grown weighed 1,140 pounds

4. Pumpkins contain potassium and Vitamin A

5. Pumpkin seeds are delicious and very high in protein


6. Pumpkins are 90 percent water

7. Pumpkins originated in Central America

8. Colonists sliced off pumpkin tops; removed seeds and filled the insides with milk, spices and honey. This was baked in hot ashes and is the origin of pumpkin pie

9. The largest pumpkin pie ever made was over five feet in diameter and weighed over 350 pounds. It used 80 pounds of cooked pumpkin, 36 pounds of sugar, 12 dozen eggs and took six hours to bake

10. Total U.S. pumpkin production in 2008 in major pumpkin producing states was valued at $141 million




Source: http://urbanext.illinois.edu/pumpkins/facts.cfm

Picking Your Pumpkin

Hey There! Here are some important tips for selecting the perfect pumpkin:

Color- Make sure your pumpkin is a desirable shade of orange for pumpkins may not ripen after picked
Size- Make sure you can actually lift your pumpkin! Be sure not to grab it by the stem because it can and will break and ruin some of your pumpkins character.
Texture- The perfect pumpkin will not have any soft spots. Keep an eye out for any rotting, surface damage, or mold when selecting. Holes in the pumpkin may indicate insect infestation.                           

*If you are cutting your pumpkin from the vine be sure to bring a knife and to cut the vine on either side of the stem







Source: http://pumpkinnook.com/howto/pumpkinpickingtips.htm