Making Your Home Feel and Smell Like Fall

Despite the weather still hovering around the 90s, the end of September marks the start of the fall season.

Although we are not ready to pull out our parkas (actually, is there a time to do that in Central and Southern Arizona?) and turn off the air conditioning, there are ways to capture the fall vibe at home.

Let’s talk about the obvious … pumpkin!

Pumpkin’s Popularity

Pumpkin is everywhere! From your favorite coffee shop to candles to baked goods, pumpkin spice seems to be the official mascot of fall.

We can thank Starbucks for the Pumpkin Spice Latte craze (or “PSL” for those in the know). They introduced this seasonal favorite in 2003. Since then, it has become a phenomenon. According to Forbes, in 2019, the company estimated more than 424 million Pumpkin Spice Lattes had been served in the U.S. since its launch. That’s a lot of latte!

Let them eat … pumpkin pie!

If Marie Antoinette were at an American all-you-can-eat buffet, maybe pumpkin pie would have been the call instead of cake.

Pumpkin pie originated in North America and is traditionally eaten during harvest season and holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The earliest pumpkin pie made in America was quite different than what we enjoy today. Pilgrims and early settlers made pumpkin pie by hollowing out a pumpkin, filling the shell with milk, honey, and spices, and baking it.

Besides pie and PSL, many treats can be made with pumpkin including this Pumpkin Cake Cookie recipe by Doris French, Maricopa Cattlewoman, and member of Arizona State Cowbelles. Her recipe originally appeared in the Cooking Memories Cookbook and is featured on our website.

Ingredients

15 ounces of canned pumpkin
1 egg
1 box yellow cake mix
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 tsp dried orange peel
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup dried cranberries (optional)
Vanilla icing (optional)

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Drop tablespoon-size scoops onto a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. Ice with vanilla icing if desired. (Oh, we desire!)

Arizona Farm Bureau’s Fill Your Plate has an assortment of recipes, pumpkin, and non-pumpkin, to get you in the mood for fall and the holidays.

Fall Home Décor

It’s not all about the food in the fall. Okay, who are we kidding? It is. But if you want to go all out, decorate your home.

Pinterest is full of ideas from lavish to simple to decorate your home for the season. Some simple ideas include displaying potpourri, popcorn kernels, pine cones, and faux berries in glass jars, vases, and baskets. Gather sticks and twigs and incorporate them with table runners, flowers, candlesticks, and candleholders. The hobby and dollar stores have tons of faux pumpkins and other items you can paint and decorate. This is a fun activity for kids to get in the fall mood!

Décor is not all about the visual. Make your home smell like fall with DIY home fragrances.

Try the Pioneer Woman’s easy recipe for orange, cranberry, and clove stove-top potpourri. Just combine cranberries, sliced oranges, and several cloves. Add water and heat.

Her apple cider potpourri will have you craving mulled cider!

Heat sliced apples with cinnamon sticks, ground or whole cardamom, star anise, and vanilla with a bottle of apple cider.

Area Pumpkin Patches & Corn Mazes

It doesn’t seem like fall without a trip to the pumpkin patch or corn maze. In Southern Arizona, there are two big ones to choose from.

Buckelew Farm Pumpkin Festival & Corn Maze in Marana.
Apple Annie’s Orchard in Willcox.

While you are there, pick other seasonal produce and start baking for the holidays!

Pumpkin Fun Facts

Want to know more about pumpkins? Check out these fun facts.

The name pumpkin comes from the Greek word pepon, meaning “large melon.” The pumpkin is not a melon. It is a card-carrying member of the Curcubita family, which includes squash and cucumbers, and is native to Central America and Mexico.
In 1584, after French explorer Jacques Cartier explored the St. Lawrence region of North America, he reported finding “gros melons.” The name was translated into English as “pompions,” which has since evolved into the modern “pumpkin.”
Pumpkins have been grown in North America for five thousand years. They are indigenous to the Western Hemisphere.
Pumpkins are grown on every continent except Antarctica.
With colors of orange, red, yellow, and green and a variety of names like Baby Bear, Spooktacular, Ghost Rider, Tricky Jack, Sweetie Pie, Hooligan, Cotton Candy, and Orange Smoothie, there are more than 45 different types of pumpkins.
The Connecticut Field variety is the traditional American pumpkin.
Pumpkins take between 90 to 120 days to grow.
The largest pumpkin ever grown weighed in at 2,517.5 pounds by Karl Haist of Clarence Center, New York, as of 2019.
On average, each pumpkin contains approximately 500 seeds.
Pumpkins are rich in iron and contain potassium and Vitamins A and B. They are also low in calories, fat, and sodium and high in fiber.
They are a good source of protein — 100 grams of pumpkin produces around 26 calories of energy.
The flowers that grow on the pumpkin vines are also edible.
Morton, Illinois is the self-proclaimed pumpkin capital and home of the Libby Corporation.
The Halloween carved pumpkin illuminated by candles, known as a ‘”jack-o-lantern,” is a tradition believed to have come from Ireland, where faces were carved into turnips, beets, and other root vegetables as part of the Gaelic festival of Samhain.
Native Americans grew and ate pumpkins and the seeds long before the Pilgrims reached this continent. Pilgrims learned how to grow and prepare pumpkins from the Native Americans.
Pumpkin may have been served at the first Thanksgiving feast celebrated by the Pilgrims and the Native Americans in 1621.