Pumkins...

What a lovely day and lovely weather we have been having lately.  It is quite brisk in the morning and warms up nicely through the day.  It is funny what turning on the heat does.   The other morning one of the kids commented "It smells like Christmas."  I think they were referring to the smell of the furnace and I know what they mean.  I get the same fluttery feeling when I awake to that smell.  Actually, the other morning when I woke I got all excited for Thanksgiving and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  It is a very silly tradition I have had since childhood and have passed on to the kids.  Thanksgiving morning always finds us around the tv multitasking the days activities but watching bits and pieces of the parade.  Yes, that is a bit away still, but smells have a way of bringing out different memories.  The kids think it would be so wonderful to go and see it in person.  I wonder.  It looks awfully cold and crowded but I'm sure it is a fun experience to be there in person.

Yesterday I got to have a wonderful day blessed with some of my favorite people.  It seems like we just haven't been getting together with other people much lately.  But yesterday I was able to have a fun lunch with my dear friend Amy for her birthday.  Then in the evening our family got to go to one of the sweetest families, Chad and Jessica's, and spend time with them.  They just finished building a beautiful home on a lovely piece of property for their family of 8.  Their 6 kids are 8 and under and so sweet.   I was even blessed to hold their new baby and he is such a sweetie.  We are looking forward to our own new little one and the kids are counting the days down to the ultrasound (3 more weeks exactly).  

Some of our fun has been cooking with pumpkins.  I harvested the pumpkins and have been having a good time baking and filling our home with wonderful scents.  We have had pumpkin cookies, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin seeds, and pumpkin trifle.  All have turned out so yummy.  I am looking forward to trying a recipe for pumpkin soup tonight although no one else is quite as enthused as I am.  Better have something fun to go with it.  Unfortunately I haven't been good at taking pictures but here are a couple and some ideas for cooking up the pumpkin.  Have a blessed day.

Alicia

pumpkin cookies

 Pumpkin cookies
3/4 c butter
2 eggs
1 1/2 c cooked pumpkin
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
mix well  add...
2 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ginger
/2 tsp nutmeg
stir in 1 cup chocolate chips
bake 15 min at 375 degrees

pumpkin seed almost gone but quite yummy.  Toss clean seeds with melted butter, garlic salt and dash of paprika.  Bake for an hour stirring every 15 min at 220degrees

Pancakes are also fun just add pumpkin to the mix, a little cinnamon, pumpkin spice and chocolate chips and yum.

P.S.  I would like to add that it has been my experience when working with home grown pumpkins, that the puree is runnier than store bought.  So to compensate I add more flour to the mixture to reach the consistency I want.