¿Qué Pasa, Calabaza?

I LOVE pumpkins and I am happy to report that after 4 years of trying we have finally managed to grow pumpkins in our garden. When you come to our house and see our pumpkins lining the walkway you may think “Oh, what nice festive decorations,” but I see pumpkin muffins, pumpkin black bean soup, pumpkin harvest bars and pumpkin pies for the making. And I LOVE this time of year because I get to pull out all of my favorite pumpkin recipes and bake the day away.

Here are two of my favorites:

Pumpkin Chip Cupcakes

Pumpkin Chip Cupcakes

1 cup all-purpose flour

¾ cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup canned pumpkin

½ cup canola oil

½ cup honey

1/3 cup water

1 cup chocolate chips

1. In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. Combine the eggs, pumpkin, oil, honey and water. Stir into dry ingredients just until combines; fold in chocolate chips.
2. Fill greased or foil-lined muffin cups there-fourth full. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes on rack before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
3. Eat and enjoy!

Pumpkin Black Bean Soup

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes

1 can (16 oz) pumpkin puree

½ cup red onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 tablespoon olive oil

4 cups vegetable broth

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon allspice

½ teaspoon ground pepper

Instructions

1. Place oil, red onions, garlic and seasonings into a large pot.
2. Cook on low-medium heat until red onions and garlic brown.
3. Puree the beans and tomatoes with half vegetable broth. Add puree ingredients, pumpkin and rest of broth to your pot.
4. Simmer uncovered until thick, about 40-45 minutes. Before serving garnish with sour cream and cilantro.
5. Eat and enjoy!

I share these two wonderful recipes in the hopes that you will share yours. I am searching for a good pumpkin curry recipe. Got one? Please share the goodness.

Cheap and Chic

Those who truly know me, know I am cheap. I love yard sales, red tags, clearance and my favorite four letter word is FREE. I have even had people call me a trash digger before. In that instance I was with my sister and while out on a walk we were rummaging through some old chairs someone had put out for spring clean-up. So, we were literally “trash diggers” and proud of it. I can honestly say I rarely buy anything unless I feel I am getting a deal.

One of my favorite stores is the D.I. That is the one place I feel comfortable paying full price. I always leave feeling like I just bought a treasure.

My last experience going there was no different. See, I love boots. I’m not obsessed with shoes like most women are. But it occurred to me that boots are my “shoes.” I love boots. I have a lot of pairs of boots. I think everyone looks better in boots. I wish I could wear boots all year round and not look like an idiot in the summer. I have been wanting to get a pair of low heel brown tall leather boots for about a year. Twice now I have found what I was looking for online, had them in my shopping cart ready to checkout and then in the checkout processes discovered they were no longer in stock. I figured it was a sign and the “shopping deal angels” we looking out for me and didn’t want me to spend that much for them anyways.

I realized a new pair of boots was a total want and not a need. Especially when money is tight while Stephen’s in school. So, I wished really hard that I would find a pair of boots at the D.I. And my wish came true! I found this pair of tall leather boots for $6.00. Beautiful boots at an awesome price. They were my size and in great condition. The “shopping deal angels” were smiling down on me that day.

Nerdiness

I can’t justly express Stephen’s feelings about his experience in grad school. But I know he is extremely busy with way more work, reading, programming, and studying than humanly possible. I know he feels overwhelmed and inadequate in some ways. But for you that know Stephen, you know he is extremely smart, hard working, dedicated and he would add good looking. Plus, he is one of the nerdiest nerds around. We all know he can totally handle grad school.

Here’s a video of his first computer graphics project. He hasn’t gotten his grade yet, but the professor chose to show his first, which I think is a good sign. Before the professor showed the class Stephen’s project he asked Stephen to raise his hand so he could see who Stephen was. Then the professor said, “I thought is video was especially…..” and then this voice trailed off and Stephen and those around him couldn’t hear how he ended the sentence. So, watch Stephen’s especially…..something video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjY9sfMwrkY

Scrap and Share

Mally was in our city’s children's production of Cinderella this past summer. These pages prove it.

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I LOVE these girls! So sweet, so gorgeous, so precious.

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Scrap and Share

See, give me a little time to scrapbook while Mally’s at school and Eva naps, and even I can stay up-to-date with my scrapbooking.