In this post, we’ll explore seasonal eating in November and enjoy pumpkin spice and everything nice about this late-fall season. Get my stuffed pumpkin recipe for a vegetable main course that is sure to satisfy and our pumpkin recipe round-up sure to meet your need for pumpkin spice everything!
November Seasonal Eating | Pumpkin Spice
Winter squashes are the centerpiece of November seasonal eating, none more so than the beloved pumpkin. Read on to get your November Seasonal Eating Food List with lots of links to recipes and storage tips. Then, we’ll take a deep dive into the pumpkin, learning garden tips, food preservation techniques, and a few recipes from friends.
We’ll be using my handcrafted Pumpkin Spice Blend to flavor stuffed pumpkin. The recipes for the Pumpkin Spice Blend is in the Seasonal Living Resource Library!
Do you have the essential items for the seasonal kitchen?
The November Seasonal Eating Food List
The November seasonal eating food list includes oh so much more than turkey and cranberry! There’s lots of local goodness to be found in your kitchen garden and at the lingering local farm markets.
Here’s a list of my recommended foods for your November meals.
Seasonal Fruits for November
Seasonal eating in November is a good time to explore foods that are seasonal but not necessarily local. While I prioritize foods within my local foodshed, I also enjoy the blessings of living in the 21st century, including enjoying flavors of cranberries and pomegranates that are grown sustainably thousands of miles from where I live. I’m not a fan or advocate of eating out of season local foods, like strawberries in November. I am, however, all about enjoying the rich flavors of a month like November that include figs and dates from far away lands.
Here’s my recommended list of November seasonal fruits:
- Apples
- Pears
- Cranberries
- Figs
- Pomegranates
- Mandarins
A lovely November salad with spinach and pomegranate.
Seasonal Vegetables in November
It is quite possible for most agricultural regions in the United States to offer many, if not all, of these vegetables locally. The 4-season kitchen gardener can harvest many of these vegetables from her cold frames and hoop houses. Fall gardening is my favorite gardening!
- Arugula
- Beets
- Brussels Sprouts
- Broccoli
- Cabbage
- Carrots
- Cauliflower
- Celery & Celeriac
- Kale
- Leeks
- Lettuce
- Mushrooms
- Parsnips
- Sweet Peppers
- Sweet Potatoes
- Swiss Chard
- Winter Squashes
The recipe is in the Seasonal Living Resource Library. Click to join!
Long-term Storage of November Seasonal Foods
Whether you are a gardener or a farmers market shopper, November is the time to stock up on many of these winter staples. You’ll have plenty of fresh, local and seasonal ingredients for tasty meals in the months ahead. With a bit of planning and effort, you can extend the November seasonal eating list well into January.
Storing Root Vegetables
Carrots, onions, potatoes, beets, and sweet potatoes can be stored 3-4 months in most basements. Do not wash the vegetables and be sure to remove top greens before storing. Leave freshly harvested vegetables on a tabletop, out of direct sunlight for at least a week to harden off. Then, place them in a mesh bag, I use recycled citrus bags, to store 3-5 pounds of the root vegetables in useable portions. Tie off the top and either hang from the ceiling or place on a shelf where you know rodents will not be a problem.
Mold and critters are the 2 biggest threats to stored vegetables. So, check for both on a weekly basis and remedy the situation by composting rotting foods or reconfiguring storage space once those mice are managed.
The National Center for Food Preservation has a free guide that I highly recommend if you want to learn more about long-term storage of November seasonal foods. Click here to download the guide.
Onions and Garlic from my kitchen garden, ready for long-term storage.
Storing Winter Squash
Winter squash is very easy to store. If you are a gardener harvesting winter squash, you will first need to harden them off by leaving pumpkins and other winter squashes on a tabletop, out of direct sunlight for about 2 weeks. This allows their skins to harden and makes them more stable in storage. Then, move the squashes to a well-ventilated storage space, out of direct sunlight. The squashes will last 2-3 months. The Storing Vegetables at Home guide goes into more detail. Be sure to bookmark it as a trusted resource.
An Instagram Pic of our pumpkins hardening off. LOL!
You may also like my Quick Guide to 6 Food Preservation Techniques. Click here to get a copy!
Now for the Pumpkin and the Spice!
November seasonal eating, whether its daily meal planning or devising a Thanksgiving menu, should include plenty of pumpkins and pumpkin spice flavoring!
All About Pumpkin
Pumpkins are a member of the cucurbit plant family. Also known as the gourd family, it includes melons, pumpkins, squashes, and cucumbers.
Garden Tips
I direct seed my pumpkins when any chance of frost is gone for the spring and the soil temperature is around 65 degrees. When the seedlings break ground, I place a layer of newspaper around them to suppress weeds until the large vines and leaves of the plants can cover the garden bed themselves. I do not find that pumpkins are particularly needy, space is my biggest concern when selecting my pumpkin patch for the year.
Garden Pests
In my region, there is a garden pest known as the squash bug. It is pure evil and can quickly wipe out all of your squashes, melon and eventually cucumbers if it goes unchecked. There are two practices for prevention that I recommend from (bad) experience. The first is to be sure to remove any wood and debris piles from the garden as a part of your fall garden tasks. This is where the squash bug hybernates for the winter. Second, look for their small orange eggs on the back sides of the leaves and remove them ASAP. Once the eggs are allowed to hatch, you will never get on top of them in your garden. Learn more at this link.
Pumpkin Nutrition
Pumpkin is a nutritional powerhouse, offering substantial doses of many essential vitamins and minerals. Here’s an overview:
- Omega 3 fatty-acid 4.9mg
- Omega 6 fatty-acid 4.9 mg
- Vitamin A 245% daily recommended allowance
- Vitamin C: 19% daily recommended allowance
- Vitamin E 10% daily recommended allowance
- Riboflavin 11% daily recommended allowance
- Potassium 16% daily recommended allowance
- Copper 11% daily recommended allowance
This information comes from the nutritional data page of self.com. You can read the full nutritional profile of pumpkin here.
November Seasonal Eating: Stuffed Pumpkin with Pumpkin Spice Blend
I love the flavor of pumpkin and use it in soups, roasted as a side vegetable, and of course in pies. This recipe gives the pumpkin a front row seat at the table, perfect for your November seasonal eating. And, it uses pumpkin spice blend as the primary flavoring, how perfect! the full recipe is at the bottom of the post. Scroll down to see it now or read on for a nice walk-through of the process.
Make the stuffing
While I used chicken stock in the recipe and grated parmesan cheese over the top, you can easily make this recipe vegan by removing both.
Begin preparing the meal by making your rice. I used organic brown rice and cooked it in half water and half chicken stock. It’s my own stock made from one of our recently harvested chickens. I love the rich flavoring it gives meals that feature a vegetable.
While the rice is cooking, cut your pumpkin in half and clean out the seeds and the fibers from the center. Set the seeds aside for roasting. Compost the fibers. Turn of your rice and let it cool. Pull together your remaining ingredients, chopping and preparing each in turn.
By now your rice is cooled, so begin warming your spice blend in olive oil. Add two tablespoons of olive oil to your skillet and warm to medium heat. Sprinkle in two tablespoons of the pumpkin spice blend (recipe in the Resource Library) and cook for 1-2 minutes.
Smells. So. Good!
Now, add your onions and garlic to the spiced olive oil. When they have softened and become translucent, add in the mushrooms. While they cook, quickly warm your walnuts in a small skillet and then add them to the vegetables. Let cook for 2-3 minutes more and then add the remaining ingredients. Cook for 5 minutes allowing any excess moisture to evaporate. Turn off the flame and add the rice. Mix and let rest.
Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Stuff your pumpkin halves and cook
Coat your pumpkin halves with olive oil on the inside and place them on a baking sheet with a rim. Fill the cavity of the pumpkin halves with the vegetable mixture. Press down firmly. Place the baking sheet in the oven and cook for 40 minutes. Pull them from the oven and sprinkle 1 teaspoon of maple syrup over each half. Then, sprinkle the tops with parmesan cheese to your liking. Cook for 5 more minutes and remove from the oven. Let rest 15 minutes and serve.
The stuffed pumpkin with pumpkin spice blend flavoring can be served with yogurt, hot sauce, or warm pureed tomatoes. It also tastes just fine as is. I just had it for dinner last night, and now I’ m hungry for it again!
November Seasonal Eating
A Pumpkin Recipe Round-Up
Blogging can be a fairly solitary enterprise and I am fortunate to be a part of a couple of blogging communities. One is called the Elite Blog Academy and it is very supportive. I asked my fellow food bloggers for their best pumpkin recipes and this is the list generated. I can’t wait to try them all!
Enjoy!
Pumpkin Butter Squares from my best blogging buddy, Tiffany from Lake Life State of Mind.
Pumpkin Breakfast Cookies from A Simplified Life
From this Table has Pumpkin Oat Squares with Cranberry and Chocolate
Fun In Key West teaches how to make the Best Libby’s Pumpkin Pie
Tikkido with a Pumpkin Pie Buttercream Icing Recipe
Pumpkin Blondies with Pumpkin Frosting from Life Is A Party
How to Make Pumpkin Bread – Young and Merri
Intentionally Healthy Living with Gluten Free Pumpkin Oat Pancakes
Caramel Pumpkin Spice Bread Pudding in the Pressure Cooker from Margin Making Mom
Pumpkin Spice Latte Ice Cream by Dishes and Dust Bunnies
Curry Pumpkin Soup from Just Dabbling Along
Stuffed Pumpkin with Pumpkin Spice Flavoring Recipe
- 1 small sugar pumpkin (1-1½ pounds)
- 1 cup cooked rice
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 pound baby bella mushrooms
- ½ cup walnuts
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup leafy greens chopped (spinach, chard, etc.)
- 3 tablespoons pumpkin spice blend (recipe in the resource library!)
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup (optional)
- ¼ grated parmesan (optional)
- Begin preparing the meal by making your rice. I used organic brown rice and cooked it in half water and half chicken stock. It's my own stock made from one of our recently harvested chickens. I love the rich flavoring it gives meals that feature a vegetable.
- While the rice is cooking, cut your pumpkin in half and clean out the seeds and the fibers from the center. Set the seeds aside for roasting. Compost the fibers. Turn of your rice and let it cool. Pull together your remaining ingredients, chopping and preparing each in turn.
- By now your rice is cooled, so begin warming your spice blend in olive oil. Add two tablespoons of olive oil to your skillet and warm to medium heat. Sprinkle in two tablespoons of the pumpkin spice blend (recipe in the Resource Library) and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Smells. So. Good!
- Now, add your onions and garlic to the spiced olive oil. When they have softened and become translucent, add in the mushrooms. While they cook, quickly warm your walnuts in a small skillet and then add them to the vegetables. Let cook for 2-3 minutes more and then add the remaining ingredients. Cook for 5 minutes allowing any excess moisture to evaporate. Turn off the flame and add the rice. Mix and let rest.
- Heat oven to 400 degrees.
- Coat your pumpkin halves with olive oil on the inside and place them on a baking sheet with a rim. Fill the cavity of the pumpkin halves with the vegetable mixture. Press down firmly. Place the baking sheet in the oven and cook for 40 minutes. Pull them from the oven and sprinkle 1 teaspoon of maple syrup over each half. Then, sprinkle the tops with parmesan cheese to your liking. Cook for 5 more minutes and remove from the oven. Let rest 15 minutes and serve.
THE SEASONAL LIVING RESOURCE LIBRARY
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Tiffany
September 20, 2018 at 1:06 pmMy husband would absolutely love this stuffed pumpkin recipe! He’s a mushroom-addict and will devour anything you put in front of him as long as it has mushrooms in it. I feel it’s only fair that I recreate this meal for him since he has to deal with me on a daily basis (hahahhahahha!). Thanks for the recipe as I’m sure it will really win me some BIG brownie points with the hubby!
Love your best blogging buddy <3
x74mo
September 20, 2018 at 3:44 pmTake pics and tag me on Instagram @stonyridgefarm
K
September 29, 2018 at 1:52 pmThanks for sharing all these delicious pumpkin recipes! I always get excited for fall and warm, cozy meals.
x74mo
September 30, 2018 at 9:24 amMe too! I have to admit, it is my favorite time of year for food, weather, length of days…the whole package. It’s just perfect.