Tag Archives: what to do with giant pumpkins

4th ANNUAL GIANT PUMPKIN BASH!!

Wanted to invite you to my 4th Annual Pumpkin Bash where people take axes or mawls and try to split my biggest pumpkin in half (this year 385 lbs). Come take a whack! Then we cut it up and give it away to anyone who might want a piece of fresh organic pumpkin. The rest we haul away to Food Depot/Kitchen Angels. It’s quite the happening.  Hope you can make it!

4th ANNUAL PUMPKIN BASH!!
THIS SATURDAY, NOV 10 AT 9 AM SHARP
LIQUID LIGHT GLASS
926 BACA STREET #3
SANTA FE, NM
(Bring an ax or mawl if you’d like!)

MAX TO GET AXED/4th Annual Pumpkin Bash on Friday Nov 4

MAX GETS AXED at 10 am this Friday, Nov 4th at our studio at the 4th Annual Pumpkin Bash. Afterwards at 11 am, we will give all of Max away to anybody that wants a piece to cook and the leftovers will go to Kitchen Angels and the Food Depot.  It will be especially fun as this year we will also crack open the giant greenie squash as well. That’s 788 lbs of pumpkin squashes to give away! I let my friends and the guys who lugged the squashes around take a whack at Max to see who can split it open. Anyone who wants to take part as Mad Max gets axed come on by and please take some nice organic fresh pumpkin home as well!

3rd Annual Pumpkin Bash and pumpkin giveaway this Friday-Nov.5th

Hear Ye! Hear Ye! The 3RD ANNUAL PUMPKIN BASH will be held this Friday, Nov 5th at 9am in the parking lot of Liquid Light Glass located at 926 Baca Street here in Santa Fe, NM, where ‘Kong’, the NEW New Mexico State Record Pumpkin has been on display all month.

I’ve invited friends and the Kong boys (the guys who schleped it around for me) to come and try to split Kong in two. We draw straws to see who gets the first whack and wield axes or mauls to (gulp) split Kong. Then we cut it up and give the wonderful pieces to my cook friends who I will contact ahead of time. (Cooks can pick it up after 10am-friday). You can come and watch or participate and please take a piece away! After all we have 421 lbs to give away! Last year it only took an hour for it to disappear. It will make wonderful pies, soup, bread, etc. and can be cooked and frozen for later use as well. So come and enjoy the event!

What do I do with giant pumpkins?!

So what will I do with the giant pumpkins I grew this year? ‘Well for starters, ‘Kong’ is on display at Liquid Light Glass studio until the first Friday of November Nov. 5th) when we will have the 3rd Annual Pumpkin Bash where all those helpers (who graciously offered me their time and muscle) and friends can have a whack to see who can split the pumpkin. Then we cut up the pieces and I will have called previously many of my cook friends and they will come get their piece of pumpkin for pumpkin soup, muffins or pies, etc. My giant pumpkins are grown organically and taste great. I also may be taking it to the Farmers Market for the Farmers Market Institute’s annual fundraiser next weekend as well. I’m waiting to hear from them the logistics of moving around a 421 lb pumpkin. This is not something you can just whip around!

Also I took my last giant pumpkin, ‘Little More’ whom I named after the grower, Pete Mohr (from whom I got the seed) to Tune Up Cafe for a Charity Fundraiser that I do with them every year to raise money for the Youth Shelter here in Santa Fe. Anyone who wants, can guess the weight of the pumpkin for a dollar and if they guess it correctly, will get a free entree from Tune Up Cafe. We usually raise between $200-$400 for them. Then the last week of October, I will take ‘Little More’ to Erika Wanenmacher, an artist at Baca Street Studios who will carve it for our Halloween Party we have at the studio complex on Oct 30 this year. Erika carved one of my pumpkins last year and did a great job. Can’t wait to see what she will do this year.

Last year's (09) pumpkin carved by Erika Wanenmacher

And lastly, I took the one I had in the State Fair, ‘Harpie’ which won a first place, to Kitchen Angels here in Santa Fe to help feed homebound individuals living with challenging conditions.

I try to grow these giants and it makes it all seem worthwhile to do something positive with them at the end of the season. At first it bothered me to cut them up but we wouldn’t want them rotting in the patch would we? That seems like such a waste and I do not like to waste..