Detailed instructions on how to plant, cultivate, harvest, and propagate a variety of pumpkin, squash, and ornamental gourd varieties are accompanied by more than 150 glorious color photographs, horticultural tips, and delicious recipes.

Perfect for the changing seasons, this wacky twist on The Ugly Duckling is a great read for Halloween and Thanksgiving. The Ugly Pumpkin has waited all through October for someone to take him home, but no one wants him. He doesn't look like other pumpkins. So the lonely Ugly Pumpkin leaves the patch in search of a place where he'll fit in. By the time Thanksgiving arrives, he discovers the truth about who he is--but it's not what he expected!

“A volume that demystifies these vegetables and presents a hundred or so recipes that are simple and, for the most part, economic to prepare.” —Mostly Food & Travel Journal Everyone knows and loves the traditional pumpkin—plump and golden carved into a Halloween lantern—and perhaps you’ve prepared a pumpkin pie or a thick pumpkin soup. But in the last few years other more interesting and varied varieties such as patty pans, kabocha, butternut, acorn, and spaghetti squashes have become available from farmer’s markets and allotment gardeners. For all those cooks who have wondered what to do with these glorious new vegetables, or those who simply want some inspirational ideas for the good old pumpkin or what to do with that glut of zucchini—here are the recipes. From Pumpkin and White Bean Soup to Minted Zucchini Soup; from Squash Couscous to Zucchini Bread; from Spicy Pumpkin, Rum, and Raisin Ice Cream to Pumpkin Wine, there are over one hundred easy-to-prepare dishes such as stews, pasta sauces, pickles, relishes, cakes, breads, quiches, biscuits, and jams, to take you through the entire year. For those enthusiasts who like to grow their own produce there are cultivation instructions and seed sources as well as advice on picking, storing, and a guide to varieties. “This book offers countless recipes for all varieties of squash. There are sweet and savoury recipes alike, including a few surprises.” —Mutherfudger

When his beloved jack-o'-lantern starts to decompose, Tim puts it outside and watches it transform from pumpkin—to seed—to pumpkin again. The first pumpkin Tim ever carved was fierce and funny, and he named it Jack. When Halloween was over and the pumpkin was beginning to rot, Tim set it out in the garden and throughout the weeks he watched it change. By spring, a plant began to grow! Will Hubbell's gentle story and beautifully detailed illustrations give an intimate look at the cycle of life.

Why do so many Americans drive for miles each autumn to buy a vegetable that they are unlikely to eat? While most people around the world eat pumpkin throughout the year, North Americans reserve it for holiday pies and other desserts that celebrate the harvest season and the rural past. They decorate their houses with pumpkins every autumn and welcome Halloween trick-or-treaters with elaborately carved jack-o'-lanterns. Towns hold annual pumpkin festivals featuring giant pumpkins and carving contests, even though few have any historic ties to the crop. In this fascinating cultural and natural history, Cindy Ott tells the story of the pumpkin. Beginning with the myth of the first Thanksgiving, she shows how Americans have used the pumpkin to fulfull their desire to maintain connections to nature and to the family farm of lore, and, ironically, how small farms and rural communities have been revitalized in the process. And while the pumpkin has inspired American myths and traditions, the pumpkin itself has changed because of the ways people have perceived, valued, and used it. Pumpkin is a smart and lively study of the deep meanings hidden in common things and their power to make profound changes in the world around us.

As Brian Glover explains in this beautiful book, there are myriad varieties of squash, ranging from tiny zucchini to huge pumpkins. Some squash have beautiful orange and red skins, others come in bizarre shapes and with knobby skins. What they all have in common is that they are an amazingly versatile ingredient, as demonstrated in this exciting collection of recipes. There are chapters of Light Bites, Soups and Salads, Rice, Pasta, and Grains, Entrees, and Sweet Things and Preserves. For a light meal or snack, try Zucchini and Ricotta Fritters, a winter warming Pumpkin and Coconut Soup, or deliciously quick Roasted Squash with Leek and Barley Pilaf. For an entree, cook up a hearty Beef Stew with Squash Moroccan-style Chicken and Butternut Squash Tagine or a Pork and Zucchini Meatballs with Honeyed Eggplant. For those with a sweet tooth there's Sweet Squash, Pecan, and Maple syrup Tart and Spiced Pumpkin and Apple Pie. These are just a few of the 50 recipes to get you started. *More than 50 delicious recipes for pumpkins and squash--features ideas for both savory and sweet dishes, perfect for everyday eating. *Beautiful commissioned photography by Pete Cassidy, one of Europe's most talented food photographers.