ASHLAND — Sue Kelley had an array of pumpkin treats on hand — pumpkin spice creamer, good in both coffee and tea, pumpkin cream cheese dip, pumpkin hummus, pumpkin bread and pumpkin overnight oats made with almond milk.
Put it together and it geared members toward a productive Art of Gardening meeting Nov. 5 at Peace Lutheran Church in Ashland.
Members who enjoyed Kelley’s pumpkin fare included Kathy Bargar, Skip Cather, Rosemary Caster, Claudia Dunn, Ruth Ann Linder, Faith McKinley, Cathy Siwek, Peggy Stover, Kathy Varner and Cherie Britton who provided a pumpkin tip – drain canned pumpkin on paper towels to absorb excess moisture. Pies and cookies turn out better.
When is pumpkin spice season? According to Kelley, it begins Aug. 1.
Pumpkin both a food and medicine was also used at the first Thanksgiving likely roasted or stewed or made into a simple custard not as a pie.
The club will be decorating the dining area at the Freer Field House Nov. 15 and 16. Stover and Siwek, president, toured the former Children’s Home for ideas. The theme will focus on the 1950s and ’60s with a red, white and green color scheme.
Siwek announced some of the 2026 programs. January will start with Companion Plants. Other programs include Pruning, Plant Sale Prep May 6 prior to a May 9 plant sale and Native Plants.
Field trips are on tap to Alta Florist & Greenhouse in Mansfield, Will O’dell Nursery, Ashland and Tin Can Chandelier in Ashland.
Beyond more pumpkin sweet treats (pie, muffins and bread), other culinary pumpkin things are soups, pasta and main dishes.
Kelley continued her pumpkin program following the business meeting with cooking demonstrations of soup, mac and cheese and quesadillas.
She emphasized making sure to have things heated through before adding cream to the soup so it does not curd.
“I like to cook things that have ‘wow’ at the end!” she added.
A Christmas Brunch is the highlight of the Dec. 3 meeting. The brunch will begin at 11 a.m. at the Historical Society in Ashland.