Put ramekins on a baking sheet. Bake for 25-35 minutes, until puffed and golden. Remove from oven, and let stand for 5 minutes. With a flexible spatula, remove strata to
Visit a Patch Third Day Market’s Pumpkin Patch — Jefferson Twenty years ago, Third Day Market was a roadside stand selling flowers in the spring and pumpkins in the fall.
Visit a Patch Third Day Market’s Pumpkin Patch — Jefferson Twenty years ago, Third Day Market was a roadside stand selling flowers in the spring and pumpkins in the fall.
Twenty years ago, Third Day Market was a roadside stand selling flowers in the spring and pumpkins in the fall. Now, you can get lost in a hay maze, explore an expansive nursery, and choose from heaps of colorful pumpkins and other gourds.
At Mike’s Farm, you can catch a hayride to the pumpkin patch, sip North Carolina-made wine while listening to live music on Friday and Saturday evenings, enjoy food truck faire, meet local vendors, and more.
Briley’s Farm Market has been growing and selling fresh produce for more than 45 years. The market has duck races, slides, play areas, farm animals, and pumpkins of all sizes and colors.
See the floating jack-o’-lanterns up close. photograph by Charles Harris
Carve a Seaworthy Jack-O’-Lantern
Pumpkin Flotilla — Cary, October 29
Clean out a soccer ball-size pumpkin at home, and carve a silly face, a ghost, a cat, or another image of your choosing into its side. Then, drop off your decorated gourd near the Bond Park Boathouse — lights and flotation devices will be provided. At dusk, grab a snack at the concession stand and watch your jack-o’-lantern float across Bond Lake.
Lisa Oakley and other artists create glass pumpkins to sell solo or stacked at Cedar Creek Gallery in Creedmoor. The colorful stacks can reach 18 inches tall. photograph by Eric Waters
Collect Glass Gourds
Lisa Oakley photograph by Eric Waters
Lisa Oakley is in the hot seat. She’s facing a 2,000-degree furnace — a temperature equivalent to molten lava — but she isn’t fazed. Using a four-and-a-half-foot metal rod, she gathers liquid glass out of the furnace, carefully adds colored glass to the searing, red-hot ball, and places it into a form, where she turns, blows, and shapes it into a pumpkin. When she’s finished, another gourd will join Cedar Creek Gallery’s pumpkin patch — a community staple in Creedmoor. So each October, when the breeze turns cold, Oakley rolls up her sleeves and takes her place in the hot seat. — Anna Mudd
Pumpkin pancakes make a delicious treat for breakfast. photograph by Matt Hulsman
Make Pumpkin Pie Pancakes
Nothing warms up a cool October morning quite like a plate of pancakes flavored with cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and pumpkin. Top your stack with a dollop of whipped cream, toasted walnuts, and maple syrup. Our twist on a beloved breakfast classic is bound to put you in the fall spirit.
Celebrate fall by carving a grinning jack-o’-lantern, but don’t throw away the goop right away. Wayne County Extension Agent Jessica Strickland offers a few tips for saving pumpkin seeds so you can grow your own gourds or start your own patch.
1. Shop catalogs.
Do some research before saving your seeds. If you want to grow massive, award-winning pumpkins, look for varieties with a good track record.
2. Contain the mess.
When it’s time to carve, place a colander in the sink and carefully scoop the pumpkin “guts” into it. Pulling apart the pulp with your fingers loosens the strands, and running water helps separate the seeds.
3. Weed out the bad seeds.
Good seeds are orange-tinted and free of blemishes. If you find shriveled or wrinkled seeds with dark, moldy spots, discard them. Also, toss seeds that look significantly smaller — large seeds have a better chance of germinating.
4. Saving could be your saving grace.
Saving more seeds than you think you need could help if your future stock refuses to grow. It’s safe to store extra seeds for a few years, but “every year you store them, the chances of germination reduce,” Strickland says.
5. Dry ’em out.
“Avoid humidity at all costs,” Strickland says. Seeds stored in a moist environment are less likely to germinate and more likely to mold. Dry your seeds out by spreading them in a thin layer on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper or paper towels.
6. Keep storage simple.
After one to two weeks of drying, your seeds will be ready for long-term storage in a cool and dry place. Strickland recommends storing seeds in an envelope or a paper or Ziploc bag. Seeds can also be kept in the fridge or freezer.
7. Treat yourself.
If there are seeds leftover after your storage preparations, reward your hard work with a tasty treat. Spread the pumpkin seeds in a thin layer on a baking sheet, season them with your favorite spices, and roast them in the oven. — Meagan Pusser
Get our most popular weekly newsletter: This is NC
Flaky buttermilk drop biscuits, creamy potato and sausage casserole, and soul-warming chicken and cabbage soup were among your favorite recipes in January. Find out what else made the list.
When demand for tobacco and cotton diminished, this one-square-mile Halifax County town followed suit. Now, one couple is revitalizing Littleton into a lively location once more.
Each year, Our State celebrates the very best in North Carolina craftsmanship with the Made in NC Awards. Meet the talented artisans who won top honors in 2022 — and watch them at work.