What to do with pumpkins after Halloween

Pumpkins are fun to carve, but did you know they are also good to eat? Pumpkins were a mainstay in the diet of the colonists. They were prepared in a number of ways: boiled and mashed with butter; baked on the hearth; made into soup, pudding or pie; pickled; or cut into rings and dried. They even used pumpkins in making bread, and sometimes the pumpkin shell was used as a container. Apparently, in Plymouth colony they ate pumpkins so much they sang a song about it: We have pumpkin at morning And pumpkin at noon If it was not for pumpkin We would be undoon.

You may not want to eat pumpkins morning, noon, and night, but here are two recipes to try. Roasted Pumpkin Seeds (''From Seed to Jack-O-Lantern,'' by Hannah Lyons Johnson.)

Wash seeds under cold water and blot them dry between paper towels. Spread the seeds on a cookie sheet so they are in a single layer and not touching each other. Sprinkle the seeds with salt and put them in a preheated 350 degrees F. oven. Roast the seeds for 30 minutes to 1 hour and check them often. They are done when dry and light brown. Baked Pumpkin 1 pumpkin

Wash the pumpkin and cut it into halves. Remove the seeds and the soft pulp that clings to them. Place the halves in a greased pan, skin side up. Bake at 300 degrees F. until the pulp is tender. A medium-size pumpkin will take about an hour; a large one may take longer. You can serve it as the colonists did, with a teaspoonful of maple syrup, honey, molasses, or a little cream. Makes 4 servings. (From ''The Colonial Cookbook,'' by Lucille Recht Penner.)