Nothing screams autumn like massive piles of ornate, multicolored vegetables scattered on every open surface of your house. It's freakin' decorative gourd season.

Maybe it's just me, but once that crisp October air hits, I'm at the farmer's market trying to get my hands on some funky looking squash. I'm not talking about any basic pumpkin looking ish.

Give me those outlandish mutant gourds that look like a pilgrim just plucked them out of some sort of colonial field.

pasture, vegetable
Naib Mian

At this point, I've started to run out of room in my apartment for anymore gourds, but honestly, I cannot help satisfying my seasonal addiction every time I see one of those bizarre fruits for sale. Can you blame me, though? It's freaking fall and I'm wearing a flannel and drinking spiked cider, so I'm about to get creative with my decorative gourds.

pasture, vegetable, pumpkin, squash, gourd
Irina Chalaguina

The term decorative is so restricting. Don't get me wrong, I love myself a good striped, shellacked squash, but who decided that they could limit gourds to just one seasonal function?

If you're like me, and you've reached a point where you're considering hanging gourds from your ceiling, hit the kitchen and whip up a squash-based culinary masterpiece. The first step is selecting your gourd...

1. Acorn

acorn squash, squash, vegetable, pumpkin, sweet, rice
Kendra Valkema

This little guy deserves more attention. So cute and so delectable, the acorn squash can transition from vamping up your decor game to bringing up your dinner game in the matter of seconds. One of my personal favorite recipes is this maple glazed stuffed squash. Why? Cause it's freakin' festive.

2. Butternut Squash

Katie Elliott

It's not spring, summer, or winter. It's fall and that means it's socially acceptable to eat soup for every meal. Butternut squash makes a dank soup, so throw it in a blender and purée your way to paradise.

3. Carnival

vegetable, meat, potato, sweet
Stephanie Marchuk

Honestly, I didn't even know this squash was edible. Nevertheless, the internet taught me that with a little maple-balsamic glaze, my favorite striped gourd would become my favorite fall food.

4. Pumpkin

Julia Wilson

The most basic of the basic. I know that you know that jack o' lanterns can easily be turned into PSLs, but this recipe is too good to pass up. To shake up the pumpkin craze a bit, I highly recommend testing out these 11-layer pumpkin and peanut butter s'mores bars.

5. Spaghetti Squash

vegetable, cheese, pasta, sauce
Kristine Mahan

This gourd is a bit of a dud in the decor department, but once you slice it open, things start to get weird. Its stringy insides are reminiscent of pasta, hence the name (duh), so you basically just treat it like any other noodle. Peep this pesto bake, which will add some pizzaz to this otherwise boring squash.

Okay, so I know there's quite a few types of gourds that I didn't include here, but that doesn't mean that they're not relevant. Use these recipes as jumping off points for your kitchen creativity. Head over to that cornucopia I know you've got on your dining room table, pull out the most peculiar decorative gourd, and sizzle your way to a scrumptious squash creation.