Aquidneck Islanders know how to have a good time in October, celebrating autumn and Halloween. The Norman Bird Sanctuary hosts their Harvest Fair, Escobar’s Farm corn maze opens for the season, and Quonset View Farm pivots from their PYO summertime strawberries to PYO jack-o’-lanterns in their extensive pumpkin patch. These fall festivities are iconic for the island community, and truly define “October on Aquidneck Island.”
Autumn tourism is classically marked by pumpkin patches, corn mazes, and leaf-peeping, the latter of which the more rural parts of the state are arguably better suited. The greater number, and generally larger, protected park and wildlife spaces make the northern part of Rhode Island especially colorful with fall foliage; leaf-peepers can find hiking hidden gems and lesser-known trails by following the RI Walks Challenge to discover forested paths that glow this time of year with the warm hues of autumn.
Following leaf-peeping adventures might just lead into discovering other opportunities off-island to partake in classic fall fun. Cucumber Hill Farm in Foster has fully embraced autumn seasonal activities, and offers a PYO pumpkin patch and a corn maze in addition to their farm stand.
The farm went through a series of transformations to get where it is today. “The property is from the 1700s,” Chris, one of the owners of the family-run farm, says. “It used to be a dairy farm,” she explains, “but it hadn’t been in use since the 70’s. My husband brought it all back.” Mark, Chris’s husband, was the farm visionary. The idea of farming had intrigued him since childhood, where he lived in Connecticut next to a farm, but he had not really known anything about farming as a livelihood. As an adult, Mark worked in the automotive industry until he spotted a neglected for sale sign at the front of the Cucumber Hill Farm property. He proposed the idea of planting a few seeds and growing a few pumpkins to Chris – a complete career change. Taking a leap of faith, Mark cleared the fields, sowed the seeds, and got the extensive acreage into agricultural working order.
Today, the farm is flourishing. “This is our fifteenth year,” Chris says proudly. What started off as a barely conceivable childhood dream has launched fantastic success. The farm started off with three cows, and now has a herd of fifty head, and their “fall agri-tourism” is a community hit. Large jack-o’-lanterns grow in the pumpkin patch and can be viewed from the hay rides; their home-grown squash and gourds are mounded by the barn for sale; they sell hay for horses and bring in other local makers to their farm stand to bolster their selection of autumn goods – like handmade knits, local maple syrup, goat cheese products, and autumnal bouquets; and they run a corn maze on the property, which, post-season, is transformed into feed for their cows. Cucumber Hill Farm operates their fall agri-tourism season from mid-September to the last weekend of October.
Pumpkin is the (unofficial) name of the season, with Halloween around the corner, and it seems especially prudent to pick a pumpkin at a farm that had its roots in the very idea of a pumpkin patch. Chris’s favorite way to eat pumpkin is to make pumpkin soufflé – inside the pumpkin. She recommends using a miniature pumpkin, like the sugar pumpkin variety, for this dish, and for the especially daring, a shot of brandy baked into the soufflé can elevate the dessert. Baking the soufflé inside the pumpkin gives the dessert layers. Eat it with a long spoon to scoop past the light custard filling and get a layer of perfectly roasted pumpkin meat. This will make each spoonful a symphony of texture and flavor.
This pumpkin soufflé is an after-diner showstopper. In the hot oven, the custard will rise out of the cut pumpkins, making them look like they are wearing delightful little top hats. It’s best to serve the soufflé quick when its ready, because it will deflate and collapse once it is out of the heat of the oven.
Additional recipe inspiration came from A Veggie Venture and Souffle Bombay. For diner ideas, before the soufflé dessert, I recommend a simple fried gnocchi with brown butter and sage. Brown the butter, then fry the gnocchi and fresh sage leaves in the sauce, and serve. The flavors of the gnocchi will pair nicely with the spices in the pumpkin soufflé.
In-a-Pumpkin Soufflé Recipe
Ingredients:
4 mini pumpkins (sugar pumpkins or of other small non-jack-o-lantern variety)
5 eggs
2 c. heavy whipping cream
1 c. white sugar
¼ c. brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
¾ tsp. nutmeg
½ tsp. ginger
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1 ½ Tbsp. whiskey
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup. Cut the tops off the pumpkins, about one fourth of the way down so there will be a wide opening to pour the soufflé filling and for an easier time cutting open the hard pumpkin shell. Scoop out the pumpkin seeds and guts, and discard.*
- In a large bowl, whisk together the rest of the ingredients until smooth. Then, pour the filling into the pumpkin bowls, leaving about a half inch of space from the top of the pumpkin bowl for the soufflé to rise.
- Bake the pumpkins between 60 and 90 minutes (75 minutes on the dot worked for me). The soufflé is fully baked when a knife can pass through it much wetness or filling sticking to it – just like checking the doneness of any other baked good. Present to the table immediately to wow your diners before the soufflé drops, and serve while hot.
*Note: Feel free to separate the seeds from the stringy pumpkin guts and make pumpkin seed snacks. Salt, cinnamon sugar, curry, or other seasonings works splendidly for bake-at-home pumpkin seeds.
