11.06.2011

Autumnal Reverie Part I: Pumpkins!!!

Dear Reader(s?),

My favorite time of the year is almost over. Actually, I think it's now officially winter... friends up north and in Utah have already had snow (Note: This makes me a little jealous. Just a little.). Whatever. I refuse to accept that Fall is leaving me as fast as it arrived. I will relish every last golden leaf that clings desperately to the tree outside of our window.

Why do I love Autumn so much, you ask? I'll pretend that you asked, because I think I'm the only one reading this. I'll indulge myself. I love this season for about a million floaty red, green, orange, and yellow reasons; I love the contrast of leaves on dark, wet asphalt, and their sparks of color against a bright blue or deliciously grey sky. I love the magical feeling of walking with my dogs through a swirl of leaves carried on a crisp breeze. I love wearing boots, gloves, and jaunty scarves.

I love this season because I get nostalgic. Pilot husband and I started dating at this time of year. 10 years ago. In high school...weird, I know. We were married this time of year. School also starts in the Fall. The air is breathable again. I don't sweat when I get out of the shower. Using my oven isn't unbearable. (In my best Martha voice: These are all "good things.")

And then there is the food. Comfort food is back. Pumpkins, apples, stews, roasts, and breads of all varieties abound. This post will focus on the first of these delightful things: the amazing pumpkin. See? I promised that I would create a more focused post.

 Each year, E and I have a pumpkin date. We head to a local farm, buy gigantic pumpkins and assorted goodies, and have a movie marathon while carving said pumpkins. Honestly, it's my favorite date of the year. This year, we went to Kinsey Family Farm in Gainesville, GA. It was great! The fine folks at the farm gave me some advice for cooking with fresh pumpkin and even gave me their own pie recipe.

There were so many to choose from!



The farm was beautiful. They have a pumpkin patch, full nursery, adorable farm animals waiting to have their ears scratched, and rows upon rows of Christmas trees. Our visit made for a lovely afternoon retreat from the city.



They even had pumpkin varieties that I've never seen before. The creamy colored ones in the back are a new breed; there were only 400 of them in the country this year and Kinsey Farm had about 40 of them! It made for a fun jack-o-lantern. See?



 So on to the food part of this post. This is a Jarrahdale pumpkin:
Don't be put off by the green exterior. It's perfectly orange and tasty inside.
Scoop out the innards, poke holes in the flesh, and microwave in a shallow pan of water until soft. 
Allow flesh to cool and puree. This is my modified version of the Kinsey recipe: Preheat oven to 425°F. Mix 3c pureed pumpkin with one 14oz can sweetened condensed milk, 2 eggs, and cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, clove, and salt (to taste). Pour into two prepared pie crusts and bake for 15 minutes before reducing heat to 350° F. Continue to bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a knife inserted comes out clean and your pie looks something like this:
I changed the original recipe slightly by adding the ground allspice and cloves. Oh, and I added a modest splash of vanilla extract. I told you that I was bad about measuring things. In any case, the base recipe that the lovely people at Kinsey Family Farm was a big success! It definitely has the hungry husband stamp of approval.

Oh, and just because I couldn't resist... here are a few puppy pictures to give you a daily dose of cute. Again, you're welcome.

 


Atti models the latest in froggy- doggy gear. Don't let the innocent eyes fool you. It's a ploy to get pumpkin. 





 
  Loki was all tuckered out from carving pumpkins. Go ahead, it's ok. All together now: Awwwww.

1 comment:

  1. Oh my goodness- your puppies are adorable. I'm so happy you found my blog (and your desire to start blogging again youself :) I love your writing style. And I too have the same affinity for fall. P.S. Mad props for making a pie from an actual pumpkin! I've only ever used the canned puree. You go girl!

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