Australia Series #10
When is a pumpkin, not a pumpkin?
When you’re in Australia. I would call this squash, but it’s a Kent pumpkin.
That’s right. Australians call this delicious fruit pumpkin. But it doesn’t matter what you call it, even wombats love it.
My first contact with pumpkin happened in Melbourne. Carol and I took a walking tour of the Fitzroy Gardens. It got hot, and I got hungry. Fortunately, the gardens had a fabulous little restaurant looking out onto the gardens.
Their special that day must have been Pumpkin Soup. That sounded good on a hot day – I was still in North America mode – winter. And the “air con” was on in the restaurant.
Oh sure, you see iced coffee there in the background. That’s another post for another Friday. I think I forgot and took a bite first before I took a picture. Good thing Carol reminded me to take a picture at all. It was so good, I almost gobbled it down first. And it wasn’t turkey soup. 🙂
The next day we went with Leanne Cole and her friend Suzanne to Healesville Sanctuary. I’ll be writing several posts about that trip! Again, I looked forward to eating lunch after watching the wombats eat pumpkin and corn. Two of my favorite proteins. 🙂
That was a joke. I was just checking to see if anyone is reading this. 🙂
So there we were at Healesville Sanctuary. I guess I thought I was hungrier than I was. I ordered a croissant ham and cheese sandwich and a salad. When the salad came it was huge. It did not look that huge here, but everyone else finished at least 15 minutes before I did. I couldn’t leave a single bite. It had pumpkin and cheese hiding under all that green stuff, and the salad dressing tasted sweet and tangy, almost orange.
I may have gone a day or so without pumpkin, but I was more than ready for it after eating meat pie at Sovereign Hill. Carol and I went with our Ballarat, Vic hosts, Glen’s sister Mandy and her family, to Turret Restaurant on Sturt Street, the widest Main Street in the Southern Hemisphere.
I had pumpkin pizza. Everyone’s meal was so delicious no one took me up on my pretentious offer to try my pizza. Yum!
See how thin that crust was? It did not detract from the sumptuous sizzling pumpkin and the broiled cheese.
If you enjoyed this, please send it to someone you love. Or tweet it. (A little birdie told me to say that.) If you hated it, don’t buy pumpkins in Australia.
Related Australian Posts
- For more delicious Friday treats try Yvette’s Friday Food Challenge. Yum!
- #8 How to Eat Meat Pies at Sovereign Hill in Ballarat
- #5 How Do You Justify Pavlova for Breakfast?
- #6 Jimmy Crow – More Than a Law
#7 How to Enjoy Hiking in the Bunya Mountains - #8 How to Eat Meat Pies at Old Sovereign Hill in Ballarat
- #9 Tombstone
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Marsha Ingrao - Always Write 
15 responses to “How to Fall in Love with Australia One Pumpkin at a Time”
Never seen a wombat… how cute!
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They are cute. They look a little nearsighted, don’t they. They make nearsighted look cute. 🙂 I think we like the same kinds of food, and I’m a life-time nearsighteder. So, Wombie and I have a lot in common. 🙂 Have a great week Kev.
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well I just saw “pumpkin maple syrup” for sale at the store – and passed it by….
but glad you ate every bit = and the soup – mmmmm I like it hot or cold – or air con –
oh and I call that a squash as well…
thanks for sharing – this was a fun post
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Thanks. You are making the rounds. Thank you so much for all the time. It’s fun to write when you know people are reading. 😀😀😀😍😍😍
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😊💛
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You must be quite pumpkinned out, Marsha. That salad does look really delicious and so healthy too. I think I need a couple of wombats in my backyard. Do you think they get on well with iguanas?
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I think they would like each other very well. I don’t think I can ever get pumpkined out anymore than I can be chocolated out! Leanne Cole bought me a stuffed wombat and four other sweetie pies. Wombie is proving to be a favorite in the teddy bear community second to Eckie the echidna. You will meet them in the future. 🙂
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I have always loved all things pumpkin – even the American versions – but, for some reason, I never think about eating pumpkin unless it is fall. I’m now adding it to my grocery list.
It will be winter weather here for at least 2 more months, and pumpkin soup would be a perfect warm-me-up. Pumpkin rice and pumpkin ravioli would be pretty good too, come to think of it – or pumpkin muffins … pumpkin pancakes … pumpkin pie … all adapted GF, of course. THANKS!
Beautiful pictures too, Marsha. I had to stop and forage around in my practically bare pantry to come up with sweet pea/mushroom soup, I got so hungry! (btw, the muskrat reminded me of my puppy TinkerToy).
NOW, about that protein . . .
xx,
mgh
(Madelyn Griffith-Haynie – ADDandSoMuchMORE dot com)
ADD Coach Training Field founder; ADD Coaching co-founder
“It takes a village to educate a world!”
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Cute! Enjoy your pumpkins. Don’t forget to send me an invitation, but be careful. I went all the way to Australia from CA to see Carol. And she traveled all the way to HI to vacation with me! 🙂
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Your travel budget would break my bank! Fortunately for me, virtual travel is practically free.
xx,
mgh
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True dat! It wasn’t too bad, though because I stayed with her a large part of the time and split expenses when we traveled. Nonetheless, I’m staying home much of this year! 🙂
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Time and money – they’ve never seemed to be available at the same time in MY live!
xx,
mgh
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That is so true. Some people I talk to set that as their priority, and that’s my friend Carol. That is why she works. The are frugal with things at home because they want to travel. Makes sense! 🙂
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Yep – priorities. I have always lived extremely close to the bone because I chose to help a great many people who couldn’t afford to pay for my services. (I don’t seem to have a Corporate Capitalist bone in my body!)
xx,
mgh
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Yes, that is the problem being self-employed in a service industry. My friend who is an attorney is the same way. Billable hours! hahaha! 🙂
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