Chinoiserie Chic: Halloween Decorating & Cooking

Amanda Lindroth - House Beautiful

I'm excited to start planning some outdoor decorating for fall and Halloween. My inspiration is this wonderful space above by Amanda Lindroth - I love the orange and white cabana stripe awning.

And these wonderful blue pumpkins -

Blue pumpkins

Blue pumpkin

Fairly new to the market, these Australian Blue or Jarrahdale pumpkins are a cross between a Blue Hubbard squash and a Cinderella pumpkin. I found these last year for Halloween and loved them.

Jarrahdale pumpkins are an heirloom variety of pumpkin, named after a town in Western Australia. These pumpkins are popular in their native Australia, as well as in New Zealand because of their sweet mellow flavor, and their versatility as an ingredient. Their flavor as well as their stunning color has made them popular worldwide.

Jarrahdale pumpkins are a beautiful example of hybridization in gardening. The Jarrahdale is a combination of the Cinderella pumpkin and the Blue Hubbard squash. It has attributes of both, with the distinctive flattened shape of the Cinderella pumpkin, and the sweetness and color of the Blue Hubbard squash.

The orange flesh of the Jarrahdale is a stunning contrast to its bluish skin. The flesh is firm, and not stringy, which makes it great for use in a variety of recipes. While it is best used to enhance savory dishes, it also makes a delicious pie pumpkin.

They can be roasted, stewed, and made into delicious soups.

Here is a comment a follower left last year when I posted on finding these pumpkins locally.

"Not only do they look beautiful, if they are the same pumpkins that we have in Australia, then they are fabulous to eat too. After you have done using them for decoration, cut them into wedges or chunks and roast them and have them with your Thanksgiving turkey, or saute a leek in butter, grate a bit of fresh ginger into it, then fill the pot with peeled and chunked pumpkin, cover with a good chicken or vegetable stock and make a divine pumpkin soup. Blitz the whole lot and finish with some cream and a grate of fresh nutmeg. Unlike your orange skinned pumpkins, these are sweet, firm fleshed not floury or woody, but these ones also have a pretty tough skin. By the way, they can also be steamed, boiled, mashed and pureed and used in all of your pumpkin pie recipes. It is much nicer than the tinned pumpkin puree that you use. I have tried both and apart from the speed of a tin, I would always use fresh pumpkin."

Did you know that dogs love pumpkin and it is a healthy addition to their diet?

I love orange and blue together. With my white stucco home with its orange tile roof and all my blue and white Chinese porcelain at the front entrance, orange and blue will look wonderful. I will post again on my front entrance when I have found everything. I think the pumpkin patches open a bit later here because of the heat.

Orange and blue inspiration -