南瓜 (nán guā): pumpkin

Autumn has arrived. Grandma planted several pumpkins in the yard; the largest one weighs ten kilograms, and she plans to use it to make pumpkin pancakes.

Mom cut the pumpkin into small pieces and steamed them, then mashed them into puree, added glutinous rice flour to knead into dough, and prepared to make pumpkin tangyuan.

On Halloween, the children hollowed out a pumpkin, carved eyes and a mouth into it, made it into a jack-o'-lantern, and placed it at the door to welcome neighbors coming for candy.

This dish requires half a pumpkin. First peel and deseed it, cut it into chunks, then stew it with pork ribs; the soup made this way is both fragrant and sweet.

The farmers piled the harvested pumpkins in the warehouse, preparing to feed them to the pigs in winter, because pumpkins are nutritious and pigs grow quickly when they eat them.