Image by Benjamin Balazs from Pixabay
New Word #122
pumpkin and ghost: Google says Irish people use vegetables to scare the spirits away. And when they came to America, they chose pumpkin for this task. I don’t know if this is true, but it sounds like an interesting story. Growing up, I would never have thought of connecting pumpkin with ghosts, but now after living in New Jersey for many years, I start to think pumpkin is naturally related with ghostly activities.
pepo fruit: typical fruit of the gourd family like watermelon, cucumber, squash, cantaloupe and pumpkin. I’ve never seen this phrase “pepo fruit” being used.
gourd vs. squash: Pumpkin is a kind of squash. The word gourd is typically used to refer to the decorative varieties of squash that we don’t eat.
Spaghetti Squash: When it is fully cooked, spaghetti squash can be flaked with a fork into spaghetti like strings. Since it is low in calories, it has become very popular now, but still I feel that its texture is quite stringy and not really like spaghetti when you chew on it. I don’t really like it, but I know a lot of people do.
pumpkin pie vs. sweet potato pie: Most people in the Asian community don’t bake pies. And this is why I feel a little mystified when people talk about the difference between pumpkin pies vs. sweet potato pies. I guess some people prefer one while some prefer the other. I think they are quite similar, but what do I know?
pumpkin carving and Jack-o’-lantern: Pumpkin is mainly used for carving and for making Jack-o’-lantern, which is a hollowed out pumpkin with a candle burning inside.
pumpkin spice: It is said this is a 500 million business, which is a mixture of a mixture of spices including cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. It can go well with coffee, pie, cakes etc.
pumpkin product: My favorite store Trader Joe’s has 47 different pumpkin products for 2022. For example, pumpkin cookie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin yogurt, pumpkin candy etc.
bumpkin: an unsophisticated or socially awkward person from the countryside.
Cucurbitophobia: unreasonable fear of pumpkin.
pumpkin dumpling: We used to make make pumpkin dumpling–not exactly pumpkin, but a kind of gourd that’s popular in Mongolia, Korea, and northern China. However you have add a lot of oil and spices to it to make it flavorful.
pumpkin seed: Very good snacks.
squash competition: Squash is a racquet sport played by two (singles) or four players (doubles) in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball.
pumpkin smashing: It is said smashing pumpkins is a Halloween tradition.
pumpkin phrases in the news
- pumpkin patch: A garden where pumpkins are planted
- pumpkin fest: a type of annual festival celebrating the autumn harvest of pumpkins
- pumpkin drop: Don’t know what this means. Is it a game, a festival, a landfill?
- pumpkin palooza: Palooza means an extravagant event.
- pumpkin weigh-off: This is a competition to see who has the biggest pumpkin. It is said this year, a man in Minnesota brought a pumpkin of 2560 pounds.
Haoyan Do 
Great post. The pumpkin is just a squash but it’s so versitle 🤣😎🙃
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I felt that probably you are doing a pun or something, but I totally missed it.
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Nope I was speaking the truth for once 🤣😎🙃
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Great pumpkin post … I like pumpkin soup and the Austrian speciality pumpkin seed oil (dark green colour and wonderful in combination with balsamic vinegar as a dressing for lettuce or bean salads or tomato salads) best. Halloween was non-existent in my Austrian youth but it has become quite popular here as well. I admit to having bought a little skeleton I have named Jack, who is leaning against one of my plants in my living room and a ceramic pumpkin candle light. Apart from that … I enjoy nachos with a dip as a special treat on Halloween, watching a movie or something. Wishing you all a happy Halloween in a few days!
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Hmm, I can taste your salad with pumpkin seeds oil. Almost. LOL. And Jack is a great name for a skeleton. And watch a horror movie. And I can imagine you reading a horror detective story that’s scarily entertaining.
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I’ve never baked pies either and I very rarely eat them. I have never had either pumpkin or sweet potato pie but I know a lot of people in N.America love them.
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Me too. I don’t have a sweet tooth, although I remember I fought for half a piece of chocolate as a child. LOL. People here are very much into dessert, especially apple, pumpkin, sweet potato pie.
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True, I don’t like sweet foods too much but my Canadian friends always love getting something sweet lol.,
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Me neither. I don’t eat sweet things very much, except probably drinking juice.
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Yeah I rarely feel like I want to eat dessert after a meal. My sister is the opposite though, she loves sweet foods.
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Me neither, although sometimes after a healthy meal, I do feel a little bit not completely satisfied and still want something more. After eating more vegan food, my craving have reduced, which is good.
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Oh that’s good. I still have that craving but I silence it on most days with fruits even though I hate most fruits lol.
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Yes, the craving is something we have to deal with. I have been thinking of making soy yogurt for a while, but too lazy to experiment. LOL. We have have to have different ways to quench our cravings.
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I made some coconut yogurt at home and it was delicious. I would really recommend that instead of soy because it has a better flavour. Soy is a bit bland.
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So true. Soy just doesn’t give a good flavor by itself. Also when it is combined with others, its flavor changes and sometimes it can be strange.
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Yeah I don’t like soy yogurt very much to be honest but I love the coconut one.
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I love the way you explored all things concerning the pumpkin.
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Haha, thank you. I tried and pumpkin is something quite interesting.
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As a child growing up in the UK I don’t think I ever saw a pumpkin. They were only in fairytales – like Cinderella. Now they are everywhere in the UK since we started to import the US Halloween traditions. I’m not sure why we did that. Maybe our “Bonfire Night” on 5th Nov was thought to be too dangerous – with its fireworks etc. Halloween is more family friendly and makes more money for retailers?
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Thank you for sharing. It is true that pumpkin is becoming ever more popular right now. We only occasionally eat pumpkin soup when I was young although roasted pumpkin seeds were quite popular. I guess the Halloween tradition is spreading…
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Loving these seasonally appropriate vibes and perspectives on pumpkins! ❤
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Thank you. I tried. I feel that every store is stoked up with something related with pumpkins.
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This Orange Ghost looks happy.
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Haha, very happy indeed. Such a big grin.
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