INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Pumpkin carving can quickly become messy, and it's best to keep that mess off the floor or kitchen table. Lay down some newspaper or a brown sack from your grocery store on a flat surface. Lay out your tools, as well as a bowl for discarded pumpkin innards. Doing this protects the floor or table surface and makes for an easy clean-up when done. Once you're finished carving, you can bundle up the newspapers and throw the whole mess away. You can recycle the newspapers. For effective pumpkin carving, use a serrated bread knife, a jab saw (used to cut drywall), or a purpose-made serrated knife taken from a pumpkin-carving set. If you do not have a serrated knife, or if you prefer to use a straight-edged blade, opt for a paring knife or a fillet knife.

SUMMARY: Set up a spacious work area. Select a sharp knife.


INPUT ARTICLE: Article: This is probably the easiest way to cook grasshoppers. Here's what you have to do to cook them:  Freeze your cleaned grasshoppers for an hour or two. Spread them out on a paper towel on a cookie sheet. Preheat your oven to 200°F (93°C) and cook the grasshoppers for 1-2 hours until they're nice and dry and crunchy. Try to crush them in with a spoon a bit to test their level of crunchiness. It's up to you -- just make sure they don't get burned in the process. If you like, you can cover them in just a bit of olive oil and season them with salt and pepper to taste. For this simple dish, here's all you have to do:  Melt 1/4 cup of butter in a frying pan. Reduce the heat to medium low. Sauté 6 cloves of garlic for 4-5 minutes, until golden brown. Add 1 cup cleaned grasshoppers to the pan. Sauté for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. This is a tasty and decadent dish that makes the perfect snack or side dish. Here's how you make it:  Sift 3/4 cups of flour, 1 tsp. of baking powder, and 1 tsp. of salt together in a bowl. Add 3/4 cups of milk and beat the mixture until it's smooth. Slightly beat one egg and add it to the mixture. Take 1 cup of grasshoppers and dip each of them in the egg batter. Make sure that the wings, legs (and the heads, if you like) have been removed. Fry oil in a frying pan. Deep fry the grasshoppers in the pan until they're crunchy and golden brown. Add salt and serve them. This is a creative dish that is not only delicious but has a beautiful presentation. Here's what you've got to do to make it:  Make the marinade. To do this, mix together all of the ingredients except for the grasshoppers, the bell pepper, and the onion. Do this in a non-reactive baking dish. Marinate the grasshoppers. Submerge them in the marinade and let them sit there for at least an hour. For best results, you can marinate them overnight. Remove the grasshoppers from the marinade and pat them dry. Make the skewers by placing the grasshoppers, bell pepper, and onion on them in an alternating pattern. Brush your grill lightly with olive oil. Cook each skewer 2–3 inches (5.1–7.6 cm) above the fire. Turn them every 2-3 minutes and continue to baste them in olive oil if needed. Cook for about 8-9 minutes, until crunchy and ready to eat. This is another easy and delicious dish. Just take of the wings and legs, clean the grasshoppers, and get ready to sautee them. Here's what you do:  Marinate the grasshopper in a mixture of lemon and lime juice for at least an hour. Sauté the garlic, serrano chile, and diced onion in a pan filled with oil over medium heat. Remove the garlic, onion, and chile, and sauté the grasshoppers in the remaining juice for around 8-9 minutes, or until they are crunchy and brown. Serve. Squeeze some lemon or lime juice over the grasshoppers and enjoy them on their own or in tortillas or tacos.

SUMMARY: Make dry roasted grasshoppers. Make garlic butter fried grasshoppers. Make grasshopper fritters. Make grasshopper skewers. Make sautéed grasshoppers.


INPUT ARTICLE: Article: The pumpkins should be uniformly bright orange in color (unless you're growing a white or mottled variety). The vines will begin to shrivel and dry out. Most importantly, the pumpkins' skin will be tough. If you can indent it easily with a fingernail, the pumpkins need more time on the vine. Leave several inches of stem at the top of each pumpkin, since this keeps them from rotting too quickly. Don't pick up the pumpkins by their stems, since if the stems break their bases will rot. As soon as you cut them, they're ready to be removed from the pumpkin patch and used in whatever way you like. Rinse them off (you might need to scrub the dirt off the bottom) and either  cut them to make pie or  carve them into jack-o'-lanterns. If you store pumpkins in a cool, dry place they'll keep throughout the winter months.

SUMMARY:
Look for signs the pumpkin is ready for harvest. Use shears to cut the stems. Rinse, use and store the pumpkins.