I think I froze my pumpkins off today

It was 60 degrees outside when we left the house. It was 49 when we got there. I was really wishing I was back in the toasty warm car. Merrilee's first words once she got out of the car were "I'm really glad you brought us, Mom, but I'm ready to leave." This from a girl who had waited three days to find out what the surprise was.

This was our second annual autumn trip to Forrest Hall Farm, and last year we had gorgeous weather. I kind of thought today would be the same, since it started out sunny and headed into the 60s. But it started to get breezy before we left the house, and I felt like making a treat of hot chocolate to take in a thermos just for fun. As it turned out, it was a much-needed thawing agent when we were done with the hay ride and corn maze.

I detest corn mazes. I don't know what it is about them. I have never seen any of those scary movies involving corn fields that consume people. But for some reason the thought of wandering aimlessly through a field of corn with the prospect of getting oneself lost is completely abhorrent to me. Maybe my parents can shed some light on this aversion of mine (Mom? Dad? Is there something you need to tell me?). I never knew I found corn fields repulsive until I had children who wanted to run through tall dry stalks of rotting corn. Anyway, I did it, but only for the sake of the children. I didn't feel quite so helpless and honestly, I believed Jacob could find our way out if we really did get lost. I never would have done it on my own.

The kids had the most fun running and jumping off the straw bales. Jacob also got to feed the goats. Merrilee had her hands too deep in her pockets to care about them much. Once we were done with the obligatory fun, we headed to the farm store where we grabbed a peck of apples, picked out our "complimentary pumpkin" that came with the paid fun, and headed back to the car for the hot chocolate. We were warming up just as the rain started, and boy was I glad we were on our way home. It was fun, but not as fun as just being home in our cozy warm house with a roof over our heads. Hurray for autumn and pumpkin farms, but thanks be to God for my warm home!

Blessings,

Petrie

The Grand Championship, or "We Have a Winner!"

Today was the Tae Kwon Do Grand Championship Tournament at the Black Belt Academy, and Mr. Jacob participated in threee events: forms, board breaking, and sparring. It was a learning experience for all of us. We had to arrive before 9 am and the competition didn't start until after 9:30am. The participants were divided into age and belt groups, so Jacob competed against four- and five-year old white stripes. The rules for the little kids were a bit different, and each kid went home with some prize or other. The children had to do some events alone, such as forms and board breaking, but the sparring involved them being paired up. I was surprised at the, ahem, shall we say "zeal" of some of them. There were two girls in particular, about nine years old, who seemed to excel in knocking the wind out of each other. I wondered if their mothers were a bit concerned.

Jacob got second place in his forms. Not bad at all. It was a pretty long routine for a kid who can't remember what he's supposed to do with his dirty socks once he gets to top of the staircase with them. The judges gave him a 7.5, 7.5, and 7. The other two kids he competed against got 6,6.5,7; and 7, 7.5,8.

His board breaking was a bit disappointing. He does really well in practice, but for some reason he didn't break the board with the palm strike on the first try. Younger kids (4 &5s) were judged as first place if they broke the boards on the first try. It took him three tries to break it with his palm. His knee strike was excellent, but he got third place because of the palm strike. Ms. Bonnie is the woman guiding him in this video. She is such a patient, kind instructor, and we think the world of her.

Sparring was interesting. There were four children, three boys and one girl, in Jacob's bracket. The first two boys sparred, and then Jacob was paired with the girl. They both went at it with their feet, but were pretty stingy with the punches. Sparring lasted exactly one minute, and were scored on the number of punches and kicks that made contact with the body. They didn't have playoffs between winners with the lower age groups, so after each pair sparred, they were done. At any rate, all four kids were given first place. I'm not sure how that happened. If you listen closely during the video, you'll hear Merrilee sqeal with delight when she hears that Jacob got first place. She understands competition, and she knows very well that first place is definitely better than second or third.

Jacob felt that he did a great job, and he really did. He's kinda neat because he goes into everything he does with gusto and just doesn't get nervous. He takes it all in stride. He was sure he won the Grand Championship; after all, he got all three trophies...a first, second and third! How much better could a kid do? I think he would have been disappointed if he had gotten three first places. The third place trophie really was the prettiest with it's glowing red pillar.

He was even very good about paying attention while the other kids were competing and he could only sit and watch. Not easy to do when the entire competition lasted four hours, and he was competing for only about six minutes out of that whole time. In this photo he's looking at Master Shim, the owner of the Black Belt Academy, and a Tae Kwon Do Grand Master.

His biggest grin came after the competition when we got back in the car. Daddy called to see how it went, and when I handed Jacob the phone, his smile lit up his whole face! It was a long, but wonderful morning, and I'm glad Jacob had the opportunity to shine.

Blessings,

Petrie

Success!

Her first triumph in blowing up a balloon...

...albeit, a short-lived one.

More than just a pretty face

When we buy our pumpkins from the farm, I always make sure to grab a couple of cooking pumpkins. They have a higher sugar content than carving pumpkins, and their flavor is definitely less "woodsy". They almost taste like sweet potatoes when you cook them. This weekend I bought my usual Mammoth Gold pumpkin, which I immediately brought into the kitchen to butcher, cook, and eat. The new one I haven't tried before is a Cinderella pumpkin, aptly named because it has the more squat shape of the pumpkin turned into a coach by the dear Fairy Godmother. It's also a beautiful reddish orange color that is mesmerizing. Here is a photo of the Cinderella.

The Mammoth Gold pumpkin is a lovely smooth-skinned light pinkish-orange pumpkin with a rather pointed flower end. I've always used this kind for cooking, and my pies, soups, and whatever else I make turn out with a nice texture and delicious but mild pumpkin taste.

On Saturday I cut up my fresh gourd and put about three quarters of it in the oven to roast at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. I use a baking sheet with sides because pumpkins produce a lot of water. Did you know that once the pumpkin flower is fertilized, the fruit has as many cells as it will ever have? The cells just continue to absorb nutrients and water in their vacuoles as they grow and the pumpkin cells swell. (This is true of most fruits). Thus, there is a lot of water in a pumpkin. I had to use a turkey baster to suck out water from the pan as the pumpkin roasted. After about 30 minutes I flip the pieces over to let the underside face the heat for another 15 minutes. Once the flesh is easily pierced with a fork, I take the pumpkin out. After cooling, the flesh can easily be scraped from the skin with a spoon. I put it in a collander to drain for a couple hours, stirring occasionally. Once the flesh is well-drained I pack it into containers and freeze it.

With the remaining quarter of the pumpkin, I make pumpkin soup. The kids love it, and though Jay isn't thrilled with any kind of orange food, he eats it and acts like he likes it. I think it tastes delicious. I pare the skin off the raw pumpkin and cut it into 1.5-inch cubes. I put this in a steamer in the microwave for about 15 minutes. Once the bright orange flesh is very soft, I stir it up a bit to mash it and let it drain for a couple hours. You don't have to drain it so long, but if more water remains in the pumpkin you need less liquid in the soup recipe.

To make the soup, I saute some chopped onions in a soup pot, and then add salt, white pepper, and curry powder to taste. The somewhat mashed pumpkin is then added and stirred until the mixture is hot and soft. Using a hand-held blender, I puree the pumpkin until it is very smooth. Then I mix in half and half or whipping cream. The latter makes the soup a bit thicker. Seasonings can be adjusted to taste. For the kids' portion of soup, I put some steamed mashed pumkin in a separate pan without onions. I add cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves (optional...my kids don't like cloves too much) and a bit of salt. You can also add sugar to taste. Once the spices are mixed in, I puree the mixture, and then add half and half to make the appropriate soup consistency. The soup must not be heated to boiling once the milk is added.

The pumpkin I roasted is now in the freezer awaiting pumpkin pies. I'm going to commit the Cindrella pumpkin to the same fate soon, and she will also take a place beside the Mammoth in the freezer. I plan to make them both into separate pies and see which one I like best.

The final thing we did with the pumkin was to roast the seeds. My mom used to do this when we were kids, and I love them even more now that we get the much fatter seeds with the Mammoth Golds. Merrilee separated seeds from the pulp, and we rinsed them and laid them out in a single layer in a baking pan. I sprinkled Kosher coarse salt on the seeds and put them in a 250-degree oven for about 30 minutes, making sure I stirred and turned them every ten minutes or so. The dry roasted seeds must be kept in a sealed container to keep from getting soft from ambient humidity. They're not so good if they don't stay crisp.

Scrapbook Page of Pumpkins

I haven't had time to do a page since last winter. Here's one I put together yesterday. Kind of fun when you have a tradition and you can compare the photos year after year. Click on the photo to enlarge it and see her face better.

Annual Pumpkin Pilgrimage

We don't let an October go by without heading over to my friend Abby's farm to pick out our pumpkins. Of course, the pumpkins are just an excuse. We really go there to see the animals. Abby keeps goats, pigs, bunnies, chickens, cows (I love the calf the best), and the requisite barn cat. Merrilee could have spent the entire day feeding the goats...and they probably would have been more than happy to oblige! The kids enjoy running through the straw maze, but I noticed this year that the challenge is diminished. Merrilee is now tall enough to see over the top of the straw bales, and Jacob is catching up with her.
Daddy was home for a visit, so that made the trip to the farm even more exciting. He isn't much into livestock, but there is something about a sweet, charming outdoor cat that bewitches him.

Here's the baby cow. Such a dear. I cannot resist those beautiful eyes and soft ears. Have you ever petted or hugged a calf? It's one of those things you should do at least once in your lifetime. You wouldn't think an animal with hooves could be so gentle, soft and sweet. I think maybe we should go back again soon, before she grows up.
We bought four pumpkins, one of which has already been cooked. More on that later.

Blessings,

Petrie

Odds and Ends From This Past Week

Thursday we got to work and made the fleece blanket for Baby Sister. I've made one of these simple blankets for each of the kids, and they've always been a favorite for snuggling and watching TV. Hope this one gets just as much use as the Ladybug blanket and the Football blanket have.


Merrilee has finally mastered cartwheels. She's been working on some "pre-cartwheel" moves in gymnastics class, but I've never seen her actually do one in class. Yesterday I asked her if she could do it, and Voila! She did. I think she was just as surprised as me. Then I made her do half a dozen more for the camera.

This girl also has a mean football arm. I started teaching her to throw when she was two. She was a quick study and has made me proud! I love playing football with her.

We made sugar cookie pumpkins yesterday evening. Actually, I let the kids do all the work. I just journaled the event via camera. They had a blast and kept the mess much smaller than I expected. The cookies were all gone as of this afternoon. We'll have to make more before Daddy comes home.

Merrilee's Masterpieces.

Jacob's Works of Art.