Pumpkin – Cucurbita pepo

Pumpkins

Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater
Had a wife and couldn’t keep her.
He put her in a pumpkin shell
And there he kept her very well

 

This squash is a member of the cucumber family and is native to the western hemisphere. It was commonly used by Native Americans for many diverse things. In companion gardening it grows well with corn, beans, buckwheat, catnip, tansy, and radishes. The Cherokee (among others) used a companion type of gardening known as the ‘Three Sisters.’ Pumpkin, beans, and corn are the three planted together. These three made up the bulk of the plants grown by the Cherokee, and were their main food crops. The corn uses lots of nitrogen and the bean fixes nitrogen into the soil. The beans used the corn stalks to then grow up, much like a trellis. The pumpkin provides shade for the base of the other two plants with its large leaves which allows the soil to hold more moisture during dry times.

 

Pumpkins have uses as medicine and food, it also has other uses. Strips of pumpkin were dried and woven into mats. The pulp, the seeds, and the oil are used in cosmetics.

            Pulp: used as a moisturizer for dry and sensitive skin, to treat acne, reduce pore size

            Juice: Used as a skin tonic

            Seeds: With seed skins removed, powdered used as a pack on the face for refreshing the

            skin, to remove freckles

 

As medicine the seeds are the main part used. The oil obtained from the seed is used to treat prostate problems, kidney issues, help maintain healthy blood vessels, nerves, and tissues. The seeds were also used as a vermifuge, the US Pharmacopeia listed them from 1863 – 1936 as an official medicine.

As food the best known use today is the Thanksgiving pie, but it can be used making breads & muffins, butters, custard, cookies, and even soup. In Italy it is used to stuff ravioli! In the old days the pumpkin would be sliced into strips or rings and dried for winter use. Often the flesh was roasted with the skin on, and then enjoyed with the meal. In China the leaves are used as a vegetable or added to soups. The seeds are used as snack foods!

Watermelon – Cirtullis lanatus

Watermelons

…Watermelons are juicy, sweet and pink
Spit your seeds into the sink…

by Tammy White

 

This member of the Cucurbitaceae family has been around for so long the origins are unclear, but it is thought to have come from southern Africa. Some evidence is found among the hieroglyphics on Egyptian tomb walls, where the cultivation was documented. Seeds were found in Tutankhamun, the boy Pharaoh’s tomb.

 

By the 10^th century AD they were cultivated in Chine, and by the 13^th century the Moors had brought them to Europe. The first appearance of the term “watermelon” appears to have been in a 1615 dictionary.

 

Watermelons are considered both fruit and vegetable. In China it is stir-fried, stewed or pickled. The juice can be made into wine. In fact if someone was believed to be demon possessed in ancient Egypt a blend of watermelon juice and wine was administered to relieve the symptoms!

Here in the US the sweet, watery flesh is eaten most frequently, although in the South Watermelon rind pickles are popular. In some parts of the world the seeds are also consumed.

 

Although it is obviously diuretic (don’t eat it just before bed or you will be up all night long), it is also Cardiac, Demulcent, Enuresis, Febrifuge, Pectoral, Purgative, Tonic, and a Vermifuge. Due to citrulline found in the rind, it may also function much like Viagra, and may increase sexual desire.

 

As of 2007, Oklahoma passed a bill declaring the watermelon the state fruit!

Cantaloupe – Cucumis melo

Cantaloupe still on the vine

One cantaloupe is ripe and lush,
Another’s green, another’s mush.
I’d buy a lot more cantaloupe
If I possessed a fluoroscope.

By Ogden Nash

 

The cantaloupe has been in cultivation for such an extensive time that no one now knows where it originated. It is believed to be a native of the Asian area, yet others speculate India or possibly Africa. The plant is no longer found in the wild at all! Some of the earliest societies cultivating it  though, were the Egyptians, followed by the Greeks and Romans.

 

The cantaloupe fruit itself is used in the first aid treatment used for sunburns and scrapes. The flowers, roots, and seeds can also be used folk medicine. Each part having different uses:

            Flowers – expectorant, emetic

            Fruit – stomachic

            Seed – antitussive, digestive, febrifuge, and vermifuge

            Root – diuretic and emetic

 

When you pick up a whole ‘loupe and hold the end where the small round circle appears under your nose, you should be able to smell the sweet, classic scent of the cantaloupe without even cutting into it, if the fruit is ripe and ready to eat! When you do cut it open, you will find the center cavity filled with fibers and seeds. Just scoop these out, and get a spoon…you are in store for a treat!

 

The flesh of the fruit has also been used crushed, then applied as a cooling cleanser for the skin.

Zucchini – Cucubita pepo

Zucchini

It was an itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny
silver striped green zucchini.
While we slumbered, what went wrong?
Overnight it’s two feet long!

By ‘Wren’

This cucurbit originated in Latin America. Remains of zucchini’s ancestor squash have been found in Mexico from 7000 years ago. Christopher Columbus was the explorer who brought the first seeds to the Mediterranean region. When it arrived there it was taken to Italy, once there it mutated into what we now known as the common zucchini.

The fruit has been used for food for centuries, and multitudes of ways have been found to use it! Zucchini are usually served cooked and can be prepared using different cooking techniques such as steaming, boiling, baking, barbecued, fried, or integrated in other recipes. It can be preserved through freezing and pickling. One suggestion for preserving and use is to grate the excess squash that these plants produce, and then freeze in small zip lock bags. When needed, the baggie of zucchini can be added to almost anything! Include the grated zucchini in meatloaf, cake mixes, soups, and stews, almost anything you can image!

Zucchini can really surprise you with the number of fruit it sets and produces; often inundating you with large quantities. Fortunately if you consume zucchini on a regular basis it assists the body with protection against colon cancer. Another wonderful benefit is its use in helping to preventing heart disease and deterrence of some of its symptoms, such as elevated cholesterol levels.

Pumpkin – Cucurbita pepo

White ‘Ghost’ Pumpkins

This gourd like squash fruit is the epitome of fall fun. It has been carved into jack-0-lanterns since about 1837, but did not become associated with Halloween until 1866. They were always intended to drive away evil. Before then they were often carved from turnips, rutabagas, gourds, potatoes and beets!

The United States Pharmacopoeia listed pumpkin seeds as an official medicine for parasite elimination from 1863 to 1936 due to the historical use by Native Americans. Both Native healers and the Eclectic Doctors of the late 19^th century used the seeds for treatment of kidney and urinary problems.

Everyone knows of the pumpkin as food, but did you know that it is useful cosmetically? Check out the recipes below….

Tonic for all Skin Types: Soak a thin layer of cotton in pumpkin juice; place this on the face for 15 – 20 minutes. Remove cloth, and wash face using cool water. Pat dry.

Face Pack for Dry Skin: Whip 2 tablespoons of boiled pumpkin carefully and mix with a tablespoon of olive oil. Apply face pack for 20 minutes, and then rinse with cool water. Pat dry