The Original Jack-o´-Lantern

Does this jack-o´-lantern look small to you? That's because it is the original.

The tradition of carving lanterns from vegetables originated in Ireland and Britain using mainly large turnips (referred to sometimes as rutabaga). 

And yes, carving rutabaga has traditionally been used in the old world at Halloween; it is immigrants to North America that started using the pumpkin given its availability and size.

Learning all of this and finding this scary looking turnip growing arms in my cellar convinced somerville kitchen to feature a turnip craved original jack-o´-lantern this Halloween.

And the production begun.

The intention was to make it scary, capitalizing on the shape and texture of the vegetable.

But it only looked like a sad Martian lost on Earth.

An opening for the mouth turned it into a happy face, much more appropriate for somerville kitchen.

So kids young and old, this is what to expect from somerville kitchen's wacky jardin theme this Halloween. But be warned, it may not all be happy and fun, some scary vegetables are in the works too. See you soon.