Pumpkin Caution

Today, I watched the grandchild, a teen, of a farmer manhandling his pumpkins. She grabbed them by the stem, sort of wrenched them sideways and plopped them back down. She was looking for attention and certainly got my attention.

Several children in a family elsewhere were grabbing pumpkins by the stem in an effort to find perfect pumpkins. When a stem came off, they just threw it down and grabbed another.

STEMS ARE NOT HANDLES!

When the stem is broken off the pumpkin, the pumpkin rots faster. So, the obvious is--don't buy a pumpkin without a stem in hopes it will last very long.

Rant over!

Your turn
Do you handle pumpkins by the stem before you purchase it? Allow your children to do so? Did you know that a pumpkin rots faster once the stem is removed?

Food Bank Fresh Vegetable Bounty

13 pumpkins

Other people gave me their pumpkins, and Charlie carried them all for me. Some of the pumpkins are huge. If he did not go to help me put all my food in the car, I could not manage.

two bananas, two broccoli heads, six navel oranges

bunny wanted to look and sample

two bags of salad greens with Romaine and a pre-made salad

Salads had two days left until use-by date. Pre-made salad was in a Ziploc bag, so I don't know if it

was made on site or if a larger one was divided.   Either I or the girls will eat these.  

beautiful, white head of cauliflower,
better than I often see in stores

4 cans of corn, 2 bottles of squirt jelly

The jelly is pretty icky, but over some chocolate ice cream, topped with sliced bananas, with a bit of jelly on top, it's okay. I would not eat it often. Besides, I have plans for the strawberry jelly on or in pastries--pretty for Christmas. Exbf will love the jelly. I had already opened and eaten one can of the corn. The hens helped me eat it...lol.

4 pounds Pinto Beans

The rest of what I got that is not pictured

*one box of Kellogg's Cornflakes, the real deal. Not so sure what I will do with those.

*two huge bags of pretzels. Exbf will eat those since I never eat pretzels.

*1 pkg cinnamon and raisins Nooks and Crannies

*two loaves of whole wheat bread

*a minuscule slice of peach pie, served in bowl with spoon for immediate consumption

*head of iceberg lettuce, left in car so that it's now a chicken treat

* two 1-lb packages of leanest ground beef I have ever seen. Two lbs of lean ground meat will last me about ten days or more.

*two bologna sandwiches

What I left behind:

*So many bakery donuts and bakery pastries that I just don't need. 

*bagels and more nooks and crannies (got an abundance last week and froze it)

*Rye bread, sour dough bread, hamburger and hot dog buns, focaccia bread, white bread

*Lots of carbs and sugar

*some vegetables that were really near death and had been picked over before I got there.  

Some of the 50 lbs of bananas from week before last are still here to deal with. So, ugh, I have too much to do. The squirrels better not get the pumpkins. I have sprinkled them with red pepper to dissuade the critters of the night and the rats with pretty tales.

I am really excited about the glut of pumpkins. The dehydrator will be running day and night.  And, here I was planning on getting ones from the street, discarded ones. Okay, I may still do that...lol.

Your turn

How about this food bank's offerings? Is that a lot of dehydrating? Whew! Aren't they pretty? Most of the vegetables are sooo fresh. Yes, they are from a supermarket and maybe not organic. Some food banks just give out outdated food in cans and boxes, mostly cookies and sugared cereal, plus horribly dented food that looks dangerous. Have you ever dehydrated pumpkin? I have a great video that I will follow.  I have dried pumpkin seeds in the oven, but as long as the dehydrator is running and has room, I will use it. Or, should I bake them?