I've been thinking about why I love fall, and I realized that all my reasons for adoring this beautiful season center around a large, round (or oval) orange and green plant- the pumpkin. I LOVE pumpkins, and here's why:
I love carving pumpkins. I don't even mind the cleaning out part and scooping out all the slimy seeds and goo. I love when I have an excuse to get dirty like that because it makes me feel like a kid again. But I definitely love the carving part best. I like doing fun faces, but I also like doing other fun designs. My creations aren't as fancy as some. I marvel at what some people can do with a pumpkin and a knife. More than then scooping and the carving, I love the family togetherness of carving time. What a fun tradition, and that's what I fully intend it to be in our family- a time to be together, eat yummy fallish foods and carve pumpkins. I hope my kids will love it as much as I do.
I love bakin
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup orange juice
2 eggs
1 2/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon each of ground cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine first five ingredients. Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to pumpkin mixture. Pour into floured and greased 9 in. x 5 in. x 3 in. loaf pan. Bake for 70-80 minutes (my oven gets really hot, so I only baked mine for 55-60 min.) or until toothpick comes clean. Cool for 10 minutes and remove from pan (mine kept sticking I think because my pans are cheap, so the second time I made it I just left it in the pan and poured my glaze on the bread while it was still in the pan).
Glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
the zest from one orange
warm water
Combine ingredients. Add a little water at a time until glaze reaches desired consistency. Pour on bread while the bread is still warm.
If any of you have a favorite fall treat involving pumpkins, please share!
I love crafts, so how can I possibly turn down a craft involving pumpkins? I saw this idea in a magazine, and I loved it because it was cute, cheap and easy. I thought they turned out really fun. All it is, is ribbon and hot glue. Easy peasy. 
I think the reason I love pumpkins is because they are the Christmas Tree of Autumn. The best way I can describe my adoration of pumpkins is the feeling you get when you put up the Christmas Tree, decorate it and light it for the first time. Warm fuzzies cover you like a warm blanket and you can't help but smile, and you can't help feeling that way every time you see a lighted tree. Well, that's how I am with pumpkins. They just make me happy.
Last but not least, pumpkins to me are a symbol of all that I love. They symbolize autumn, my favorite season, and they usher in the beginning of the holiday season: Halloween, Thanksgiving, and, of course, Christmas.
Just writing this has given me warm fuzzies, and I hope all of you have a great holiday season. Enjoy your pumpkins!
8 comments:
I love the pumpkins with the ribbon, you are so creative! Thanks for the laugh with Noah's little story, that was too funny! Happy Fall!
Hey Marianne, I love fall too! I especially love making pumpkin cookies and bread. We moved to The Ranches, just before Eagle Mountain. It is so quiet and beautiful out here and we love it. Your little Noah makes me laugh, aren't kids the cutest!
I have been dying to bake something pumpkin but keep forgetting to pick up some canned pumpkin at the store. No bake pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin trifle, pumpkin muffins, or pumpkin bread are a few recipes that have crossed my mind. I love pumpkins too. Your craft idea is SO cute! Do you decorate your whole house for fall--I noticed the fall colored flowers. What else do you do? Thanks for the ideas!
Fall is so fun :) And I didn't know that you were in St. George the same weekend I was! I didn't go for a marathon - I traveled with my sister to see the NKOTB concert in Vegas. I stayed in ST. George with my husband's family while she partied it up in Vegas :)Too bad I didnt know - I would have loved to see you !!!
I made some pumpkin cookies last week that were TO. DIE. FOR. I'm thinking of making them again today, but first I have to make dinner. The cookies will be my motivation.
I have to agree one hundred percent. I love autumn. I love the smell, taste, and sight of it. Reading what you wrote really put it into words for me. Thank you. I will have to try the recipe. It sounds good.
I love baking with pumpkin too! I always go to Maceys the day after Halloween because they give the remaining pumpkins away for free. Then I make real fresh pumpkin pie.
I was hoping you had posted again, but I guess not. I wanted to tell you I saw your pumpkin/ribbon idea on another blog (who took the picture off another blog - the original magazine's blog I think) and felt famous that I had witnessed it HERE first. That didn't make any sense, did it? Anyway, I just think it is a cute idea, and way modern and stylish, which is so hard to find in Halloween decor. If I wasn't so lazy I would totally go buy a dozen or more little pumkins, put ribbons around them, and pile them in a basket. As it is though, I'm cheap and don't have anywhere to put them. I have GOT to get on the decorating ball soon. My house is really starting to depress me with its sparse emptiness. Ty says it's just because we're minimalists, which we aspire to be, but COME ON! A little minimalism goes a LONG way.
Post a Comment