We all love a Halloween pumpkin lantern, but the mounds of pumpkins displayed outside large food shops for decorative purposes has been making me cringe lately.

Pumpkins are one of the most flavour-some and nutritious vegetables you can find. The yellow flesh is full of lovely anti-oxidants and beta-carotene. Plus you can get really creative with a pumpkin in the kitchen – for example – cumin roasted pumpkin, Pumpkin soup, pumpkin curry, pumpkin chutney, pumpkin scones, pumpkin pie, pumpkin cheesecake – the list goes on.

I’m loving local Oxford events that are making the most out of the discarded pumpkin flesh. Here’s a few you should check out!

Drop in to Potions and Pumpkins and taste our scarily delicious pumpkin soup by the fire and make some Halloween potions. £4 suggested donation per child, accompanying adult(s) free. No need to book.

Date/Time: Sunday, November 1 2015. 10:00 – 14:00
Location – The Earth Trust, Earth Trust Centre, Little Wittenham, OX14 4QZ

Or do as the lovely Hannah from Good Food Oxford suggests and ‘Squash food waste with the official Pumpkin Festival recipe book! Check it out for scrummy recipes to help you cook up that carved pumpkin flesh – everything from chutney to brownies’. The 2015 Oxford Pumpkin Festival runs from 24th October to 6th November. Here’s what’s on offer…..

Saturday 31^st October

• Pumpkin Carving at Sandford Market
  Times: 9am – 12pm
  Venue: Sandford Village Hall
  Cost: FREE
  Registration: Just turn up!
  Sandford are hosting a special pumpkintastic version of their Saturday market, with fun Halloween activities alongside the usual selection of scrumptious local produce and goodies from the cafe.

• Food Surplus Cafe – Halloween Special
  Times: 12pm – 3pm
  Venue: East Oxford Community Centre
  Cost: Pay as you feel
  Registration: Just turn up or get in touch to volunteer.
  The third in a series of super successful Oxford Food Surplus Cafe pop up events, serving scrummy meals made by volunteers from food which would otherwise have been thrown away!The Oxford Food Surplus Café aims to help redress the imbalance in our food system by reclaiming surplus food and transforming it into delicious healthy meals accessible to all. Using the pay as you feel system, customers are able to contribute either what they can afford or what they think the food, space and idea is worth. They want to create an inclusive space to encourage community engagement and reconnect people with the food they eat.

• Sunday 1st November

  • OxGrow Pumpkin Day
    Times: 12am to 5pm
    Venue: OxGrow Community Garden
    Cost: FREE
    Registration: Just turn up!
    Feeling hollow and empty post Halloween? Bring your empty pumpkins down to Ox Grow and get your inner lantern shining again! We’ll be turning old pumpkins into bird feeders, cooking up a feast, playing games and gardening galore.