Autumn's Bounty Aflame

While we are up to our ears in a sea of the yellows, oranges, reds and greens of the season, it's fun to post some ideas that aren't about cooking. We are in the thick of squash season and they are so beautiful we can't help but pile them up on the counter top, bringing in a tsunami of color to the otherwise bland kitchen.

This got us thinking about other possibilities for decorating with this "end of season bounty". Happily many of these colorful squash and pumpkins are so hard shelled they have a long shell life when unrefrigerated. Additionally there are many that have no real purpose beyond decoration.




The first idea we had was to use them as candleholders. Smaller delicata or acorn squash can hold either a single short taper or a tea candle. Make sure the squash sits securely level and then using an apple corer, remove a small plug of the squash where a candle can fit snugly. Use a biscuit cutter if trying to carve out space for a tea candle. Consider laying a crookneck or large butternut squash on it's side and create a "natural" candelabra with 3 or 5 tapers grouped over the gourd.




Another idea we had was to slice open a small sweet dumpling or acorn squash, add some water and make small posey arrangements of fall dahlias. Carefully hollow out the squash and fill halfway with water. Arrange the flowers in a tight grouping and the squash tops look great leaning against the arrangement. Group several of them together, using a mix of varieties, as a centerpiece.

And then finally we are thinking that the very small mini pumpkins and squash could look great atop a napkin on a charger at a more formal autumn dinner. It would be easy to attach a place card or even a menu card if you wanted. There's only a few months to take advantage of these gorgous squash and gourds, so have fun.