This time of year, we love pumpkins. Perhaps it’s because the pumpkin is the icon for autumn, or because it kind of kicks off the holiday season in America. We carve it up for Halloween, and come Thanksgiving, it’s still hanging around. By Christmastime, though, it’s gone.

But there’s no denying pumpkin’s utter versatility and autumn ubiquity. Here then, a bit of pumpkin zen. (With recipe links below.)

Sometimes the dish you create is shaped like a pumpkin.

Sometimes there’s pumpkin in the dish you create.

Sometimes the pumpkin IS the dish that the dish you created comes in.

Recipe Links

Top: Pumpkin Patch Cakes

Middle: Pumpkin Bread with Streusel Nut Topping

Bottom: Hearty Autumn Beef Stew