Cheesy Little Pumpkins make most of minis

What do you do with little pumpkins?

Every October, these baseball-size orange orbs pop up at farmstands and in markets. They’re attractive, piled in a basket or arranged in a harvest display. But how do you eat them?

Treat mini pumpkins like what they are: Winter squash. Just about any recipe for acorn squash, for example, can be adapted to a mini pumpkin, too.

Like any vegetable, some varieties are tastier than others. (Flat, hard minis border on “decorative use” only.) For cooking, choose mini pumpkins with smooth skin and round shape; they have better texture and more flesh.

This summer, I grew a late harvest of Wee-B-Little pumpkins, grown from seed (available from JohnnySeeds.com). The 1999 All-America Seed Selection winner, this compact semi-bush dwarf pumpkin thrives in a relatively small space; the whole plant covers less than 3 feet square.

Planted in early July, Wee-B-Little has been prolific with several 3- to 4-inch round pumpkins, weighing just under 1 pound each. They’re adorable.

My original intention was to carve a bunch of mini jack-o-lanterns, but the seed cavity inside each Wee-B-Little was too small and the walls too thick.

Two mini pumpkins, about 12 ounces each

Salt to taste

¼ to ½ cup Monterey Jack or Havarti cheese

¼ cup heavy cream

Freshly grated nutmeg