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Pumpkins aren't just for carving, decorating your front step or for pie - you can add pumpkin to cranberry muffins and even fill ravioli with pumpkin.

"Pumpkin can be diced into chunks, steamed as vegetables, spiced with nutmeg to enhance the flavor and served as a side vegetable to any dish," said Katie Wilhelmi, a dietitian at Avera Marshall Regional Medical Center and Marshall Hy-Vee.

"Pumpkin can also be substituted in recipes that call for winter squash or sweet potatoes, as well as in a variety of dishes such as soups, muffins and breads - or mashed like potatoes. In fact, pumpkins in muffins and breads provide not only wonderful flavor, but can allow you to reduce some of the fat in the recipe."

Wilhelmi says pumpkins are full of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals.

"Phytochemicals are antioxidants found in plants that help protect us from diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and much more," she said. "A few examples of phytochemicals would be beta carotene or lycopene."

One-half cup of pumpkin puree, canned or fresh, provides vitamins A and C and minerals calcium, iron and folate, she said.

Wilhelmi doesn't recommend people using the pulp from jack-o-lanterns.

"Field pumpkins, the type sold for carving and decorating, tend to be too stringy and bland," she said. "Instead, choose sugar pumpkins. Sugar pumpkins are more petite and have a dark orange flesh."

The Southwest Minnesota State University culinology club is using pumpkin in its dinner theater menu for the SMSU production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" by William Shakespeare.

"Since the "Midsummer's Night Dream" play is set to take place in the woods, our club thought that a woodsy, home-cooked meal would be appropriate for the theme of the play," said Sharaya Hagen, the SMSU Student Hospitality Organization president. "We tried to come up with a menu that has a fall theme and foods that people are somewhat familiar with, while also adding a twist to some of the items we will be serving.

"For example, our entree is pork tenderloin with a red-wine sauce, rice pilaf, and snap peas. Most people are familiar with and have had pork tenderloin, rice pilaf, and snap peas before, but pairing the pork tenderloin with the red wine sauce adds an extra flavor that some people may not have tried before."

Along with pork tenderloin, the menu includes pumpkin ravioli.

"The pumpkin ravioli was chosen based on this tactic as well - most people have had ravioli before, but pumpkin ravioli is different," said Hagen.

"Since showing of the plays will take place shortly before Thanksgiving this year, we wanted to have part of our menu tie into Thanksgiving, without having the entree consist of turkey. Every dinner theater that the SHO club provides dinner for, we try to make our menu vegetarian-friendly as well. The pumpkin ravioli is available for all people, vegetarian or not, and we have a vegetarian entree of tomato polenta cakes and snap peas."

"A Midsummer Night's Dream" will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 13 and 14. A matinee will be a 2 p.m. Nov. 15. All performances will be in the Fine Arts Theatre on campus. Dinner theater is available Nov. 14.

Ticket prices are $12 for adults, and $10 for students and seniors. To buy tickets, visit www.SMSUTickets.com or call the SMSU Information Desk at 507-537-6480.