Cozy Soups and Tantalizing Smells

It’s time to kick off the fall season by cooking cozy meals that simmer on stovetops and fill the house with warm, tantalizing smells. I’m talking about soups, stews and casseroles filled with root veggies, squash, legumes, and meat.
 
To help get you started, I’ve got three comforting fall recipes for you this month. There is a red lentil soup with squash, celery, carrots and spiced with cumin and cilantro. Next up is a shepherd’s pie with squash. And to finish off,  a ginger, squash coconut muffin topped with pumpkin seeds.

 
While making the squash coconut muffins, I became curious about pumpkin seeds. Specifically, I wondered why the pumpkins seeds we buy in the store are called pepitas and why they are green. I’ve carved many a Halloween pumpkin, and I know the seeds are white.
 
So, I did a little research and learned that the pumpkins we carve have seeds with hulls, and the green pumpkins seeds we purchase in stores do not have hulls. These hulless seeds come from a pumpkin called the Styrian pumpkin. I also learned the reason they are called pepitas is because it’s Spanish for “little seeds of squash.”
 
Who knew?
 
In a stroke of serendipity, I then saw a Styrian pumpkin sitting on a table at a farmers’ market that next weekend. The farmer confirmed that they were the hulless green pumpkin seeds, and that many people didn’t know about them. Unfortunately, I couldn’t buy it because I was walking and already had an armful of food to carry on my 10-block walk home.

 
Hopefully these fun facts will inspire you to cook the yummy squash coconut muffins, topped with sprinkled pepitas below. Enjoy!