Having recently returned from New England, where Halloween is not considered a date in the calendar but a month-long season necessitating copious decorating the likes of which rivals Christmas in Blackpool, I thought a ‘festive’ post celebrating the king of squashes was in order. Did you know that a pumpkin is a fruit, not a vegetable? No, me neither. But I have a better appreciation having experienced its liberal use in every dish eaten over the last fortnight – only a small exaggeration, I assure you, as we enjoyed pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins… pumpkin pancakes… pumpkin soup…

Here are some of my snaps from the States. Happy trick-or-treating!

[Photo of pumpkin scarecrow courtesy of Robert Wood (aka my dad]