Pumped About Pumpkin

Reader-Submitted Recipe

Fried Pumpkin Blossoms

Early in the morning
while the dew was still hanging heavy on,
my mother went to the pumpkin patch,
and deftly she did strip all those vines
of their elegant plumage,
placing each blossom in a brown paper sack
that crinkled when she rolled down the top
and carried them back
to the kitchen with its orange speckled linoleum
and its red gingham curtains.
That evening she peppered each white blossom
with even whiter flour,
and drizzled them in hot oil
on the white gas stove.
She served them up on her good white china,
and I, looking morosely at my brother,
dared not to laugh,
our eyes meeting across the table,
wanting nothing to do
with the anemic ghosts
of unborn jack-o’-lanterns.

Preparing Fried Pumpkin Blossoms

Pick as many as you want. Shake gently to dislodge any visitors. Rinsing in cool water in the kitchen sink is a must. You prepare them much in the same way as you would morels or squash.

In one bowl, place flour or panko crumbs—Hi Ho crackers, saltines, or cornflakes crunched finely work just as well. In a second bowl, break two fresh eggs. Add a tiny bit of milk. Season to taste and stir well. Dip the blossoms into the wet mixture first, then the crumb mixture. After your oil is hot, fry for three or four minutes and serve while hot.

Written and submitted by reader Patricia Syner of Edmond, West Virginia.