[Photo: rasiel via flickr]

Just in time for Halloween comes our tribute to everyone's favorite gourd-like squash, the pumpkin. Originating from the Greek word pepon meaning "large melon," the pumpkin is neither a melon nor Greek in origin. In fact, the earliest evidence of pumpkin-related seeds were uncovered in Mexico, though the exact location of its beginnings, so to speak, are unknown.

You can do practically anything you want to a pumpkin, from boiling to baking, steaming or roasting it. It's also traditionally eaten mashed or pureed and used as a filling for pumpkin pie. And who can forget the seeds, which are a great roasted snack any time of the year. The pumpkin has also been recommended as a dietary supplement for cats and dogs, though whether it's a good idea to feed it to your four-legged friends is debatable. Let's just leave the pumpkin eating to us humans... at least for the time being.

Pumpkin Recipes

• Baked Sugar Pumpkin With Brown Sugar Egg Custard
• Pumpkin Pancetta Soup
• Spiced Pumpkin Muffins With Pepitas
• Paula Deen's Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cakes
• Cook's Illustrated's Pumpkin Pie
• Pumpkin Muffins With Pecan Streusel Topping
• Pumpkin-Spice Marshmallows
• Dark Chocolate, Mint, And Pumpkin Gelato Patch
• Spiced Pumpkin Bisque With Pumpernickel Soldiers
• Pumpkin-Pie Pancakes

How do you eat your pumpkin?