Jack O Lantern You Are Such a Funny Sight

"Jack o' lantern. Jack o' lantern. You are such a funny sight as you sit there in the window looking out at the night. You were once a yellow pumpkin growing on a sturdy vine. You are now my jack o' lantern. Let your candlelight shine."

As the catchy children's song suggests, jack o' lanterns have become an important part of Halloween tradition. In fact, many adults still hold memories of carving pumpkins years ago in their own youth. One can remember the extensive search for the perfect pumpkin, intricately designing its frightening or silly face and then diving elbow-deep into the pumpkin "guts." But even though millions of pumpkins are transformed into jack o' lanterns each Halloween, few people actually know how this ritual began.

The tradition of the jack o' lantern stems from Irish folklore. There are several variations to the legend but all tell a similar story. This is the version that I like best:

In Ireland, there was a cruel drunk named Stingy Jack. One night, the devil came to claim Jack's soul. But when the devil found him in the local pub, Jack begged the devil for one more drink. After he finished his last drink, Stingy Jack realized that he had no money and decided to make a deal with the devil. Stingy Jack promised the devil his soul if the devil would turn himself into a six pence to pay for Jack's pub tab. The devil agreed but after the transformation, Jack tightly gripped the coin in his hand over a cross-shaped scar on his palm. The devil was held captive inside the coin under the power of the religious symbol. Now the devil was at Jack's mercy to be released. So Stingy Jack offered the devil a deal: he would let the devil free if he would promise to never claim Jack's soul. The devil agreed.

Later that year, Stingy Jack died on All Hallows Eve. When his spirit arrived at the pearly gates of heaven, he was turned away because he was too mean and cruel and when his spirit approached hell's gates, the devil kept his promise and wouldn't let Stingy Jack enter. "Where am I to go?" Jack asked the devil. "Back to where you came from," the devil replied. So Stingy Jack's spirit was left to wander the earth with no resting place.

Yet as Jack turned to begin his trip back to earth, he realized that the path was dark. So to light his course, the devil gave Stingy Jack a coal from the fires of hell. Jack placed the coal inside a turnip, which he had stolen and slipped in his pocket earlier that day, and used the lighted, carved vegetable as a lantern to light the way of his eternal wandering.

Therefore, in remembrance of this story, the Irish carved out turnips, potatoes and beets every All Hallows Eve to create lanterns like Stingy Jack's, and these vegetable lanterns were used to ward off the evil spirits that were believed to walk the Earth on this night.

Today, we still practice this ritual with our annual Halloween pumpkin carving but contrary to our tradition, pumpkins were never used in the initial practice of this Irish ritual. Instead, Irishmen used the more plentiful produce of their land like potatoes and turnips. Pumpkins weren't used for this tradition until Irish immigrants brought the legend to American.

Thanks to the jack o' lantern, pumpkins have become a well-recognized symbol of Halloween and the orange gourd has also developed into a staple of fall décor and diet. When carving, pumpkins provide endless artistic possibilities, and the autumn vegetable also proves to be equally versatile in the kitchen. This fall crop is as enjoyable to eat as it is to decorate. Below I have listed several of my favorite pumpkin recipes for you to try. With these recipes, you may discover the pumpkin's value aside from the jack o' lantern folklore and begin your own pumpkin ritual, a delicious tradition that can begin in your very own kitchen.

Pumpkin Chocolate Brownies

2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

½ cup Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin

1 large egg

2 large egg whites

2 Tbs vegetable oil

1 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking cocoa

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate mini morsels

Preheat oven to 350º F. Coat 9 in. square baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Combine sugar, pumpkin, egg, egg whites and oil in large mixer bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until blended. Add flour, baking powder, cocoa, cinnamon, allspice, salt and nutmeg. Beat on low speed until batter is smooth. Stir in morsels. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Bake for 15 to 20 min or until wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack. Cut into 2 in squares.

Pumpkin Roll

¼ cup powdered sugar

¾ cups all purpose flour

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ground cloves

¼ tsp salt

3 large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup Libby's 100 % Pure Pumpkin

1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

6 Tbs butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla extract

powdered sugar (optional)

For Cake:

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Grease 15x10 in. jelly-roll pan; line with wax paper. Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle a thin, cotton kitchen towel with powdered sugar. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in small bowl. Beat eggs and sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle with nuts. Bake for 13-15 min or until top of cake springs back when touched. Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack.

For Filling:

Beat cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll cake; remove towel. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Re-roll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

Creamy Pumpkin Soup

¼ cup butter

1 small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

2 tsp brown sugar, packed

1 can (14 ½ oz) chicken broth

½ cup water

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1 can (15 oz) Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin

1 can (12 fl oz) evaporated milk

1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and sugar; cook for 1 to 2 min or until soft. Add broth, water, salt and pepper; bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low; cook, stirring occasionally for 15 min. Stir in pumpkin, evaporated milk and cinnamon. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 min. Remove from heat. Transfer mixture to food processor or blender; process until smooth. Return to saucepan. Serve warm.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

1 ½ raw whole pumpkin seeds

2 tsp butter, melted

1 pinch salt

Preheat oven to 300ºF. Toss seeds in a bowl with the melted butter and salt. Spread the seeds in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for about 45 min or until golden brown; stir occasionally.

Iced Pumpkin Cookies

4 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp allspice

2 cups vegetable shortening

2 cups granulated sugar

1 can (15 oz) Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin

2 large eggs

4 tsp vanilla extract, divided

2 cups raisins

1 cup nuts, chopped

Frosting:

2/3 cup butter, softened

3 tsp rum extract

4 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup evaporated milk

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and allspice in medium bowl. Beat shortening and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl for 30 seconds. Add pumpkin, eggs, and 2 tsp vanilla extract; beat until blended. Gradually add flour mixture into pumpkin mixture at low speed until combined. Stir in raisins and nuts. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 12 to 15 min or until edges are golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 min; remove to wire rack to cool completely. Spread each cookie with frosting.

For frosting:

Beat butter, rum extract and remaining vanilla extract in medium mixer bowl until creamy. Gradually beat in powdered sugar and evaporated milk until smooth (frosting will be thin).

Photos and recipes courtesy of verybestbaking.com

larimoretoppland.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.tuscaloosanews.com/story/news/2005/10/28/pumpkin-pleasures/27648999007/

Share this post