Description
As a Halloween tradition, it can be fun to learn how to carve a pumpkin the best way possible and make your own jack-o’-lantern.
Ingredients
- pumpkin
- carving tools: knives, small saws and awls
- felt tip marker
- tea light candles (regular or battery-operated)
Instructions
- Place your pumpkin on a solid surface you can wash (or spread newspaper to catch any drips).
- Draw the proposed cut on the skin with a felt tip marker. I recommend drawing the opening on the bottom of the pumpkin.
- Make a straight-sided opening into the center of the bottom of the pumpkin.
- Scoop out the stringy pulp and seeds with your hands or a long-handled spoon, placing the seeds in one bowl (for roasting later) and the pulp in another one for the chickens or the compost pile.
- Draw your design. Simple shapes such as triangles may be easier to work with if you are new to carving a pumpkin.
- Cut out your design.
- Once you have finished carving, spray or wipe the inside of the cavity, and all the cut surfaces, with an essential-oil-based cleaning spray. Or soak the finished pumpkin overnight in a tub of borax water.
- Now it’s time to illuminate your jack-o’-lantern. Tea light candles are a good size and easy to keep upright.
Notes
If your local squirrels decide you’ve put out a tasty snack for their benefit, sprinkle all the cut surfaces with cayenne pepper powder, or wipe with a paste of cayenne powder, a little water and a drop or two of liquid soap.
