Pumpkin Cinnamon Chip Cookies

I made these as a going-away present for some neighbors, brave souls who put their house on the market, sold it two weeks later and moved, all in the month of December. The recipe came from the website amandascooking.com and are actually an advertisement for Reynolds parchment baking paper. The cookies come out soft little pillows with cinnamon chips scattered throughout. They contain vegetable shortening, which is an ingredient I usually avoid, but is probably what gives them their texture, too. Both the Hub and I liked these cookies and, because it makes so many, I froze two dozen for a special occasion, which appears to be every morning before I go to work when I get ice, see them in there and feel the need to eat a cold cookie. lol

Baked Barley Casserole w/ Mushroom & Pumpkin

This recipe from the website Clean Eating is the kind of thing the Hub likes once and not very often. Some recipes just work too hard at being healthy, sacrificing flavor. We both liked it straight from the oven, although I forgot the goat cheese and pumpkin seed toppings. I substituted green onions for the leeks and dried herbs for the fresh. I ate the leftovers for lunches and it was nice to have a warm casserole in winter, but I doubt I would make it again.

Roasted Artichoke Hearts with Pumpkin & Thyme

This easy, but impressive vegetable medley recipe is from the December 2012 issue of Martha Stewart Living. They used butternut squash, which I switched out with pumpkin. I also used dried thyme. They suggest this as a side at Thanksgiving, which is nice, but would take some planning with one oven and a turkey. The vegetables roast for 45 minutes (although mine didn't take that long) at 450 degrees. My store brand canned artichoke hearts were amazingly tasty. Both the Hub and I thoroughly enjoyed this side dish, it was easy to reheat and I plan on making it again.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Three Types of Frosting

In November we had a family contest to come up with the best frosting for pumpkin cupcakes. I made two types of pumpkin cupcakes using this recipe and this recipe, both of which are adaptations of  a recipe by David Leite. I'll have to see if I can find the original because both of these were just ok. Although there was a general lack of interest because we had other desserts and had just finished a big lunch.

The three types of frostings were maple bacon, submitted by Karen and Andrew, cinnamon cream cheese, submitted by Robin and Roger and salted caramel, submitted by me and the Hub. As with almost every contest I've put on this blog, we had no real winner. It was a matter of personal taste and they all differed. All the types got some votes. I'm not giving the exact recipes we used because there was a lot of last minute tampering going on with them. (And I don't have them:) ) But you can get the general idea and all three complemented the pumpkin cupcakes.

Pumpkin, Tomato and Red Pepper Soup

This recipe comes from website FrenchEntree.com: the guide to property, holidays and life in France. This particular recipe comes from the Lot and Quercy (regions of France) section. Here's what it has to say about pumpkins: "In the colourful markets of France, the October stalls are awash with vast orange globes. Old ladies brandish fearful looking knives as they slice off precisely the amount you require - and woe betide your fingers if you don’t stand back. It’s a phenomenally popular vegetable here and rightly so." They are comparing it to other places where you have to buy the whole pumpkin, and feel cooks don't us it as much as they should when you have to buy so much more than you need. They have a point. It would be much easier to chop up or just roast a slice rather than having to tackle an entire pumpkin. I liked this soup because I like all the ingredients separately. The Hub doesn't like tomatoes or red peppers, so passed on the soup after the first bowl. 

Chiles Rellenos in Pumpkin Sauce

I made this recipe from the website whatscookingmexico.com. I bought the poblanos late in the season at the farmer's market and wasn't sure about their heat, which can really vary. So I decided to freeze them and give them to Kevin. (He ate a package of habanero potato chips at Christmas so I knew he could take anything these mild peppers had.) He reported back that they tasted great and weren't hot at all so I would definitely try them again. Buen provecho! 

Pumpkin Pie Sugar Scrub

I'm back! Sorry it's been so long but I was having some issues with the pictures (way too big apparently) and had to wait for Kevin to come home at Christmas and help me. He's so smart about things like this. I am slowly reducing the size of the pictures on the blog to make room for some more. We'll see how long we can go before the blog people tell me again to buy some room. I was only going to do this for a year, hence the name of the blog, but have been at it for 2 1/2. I still have lots of recipes to try and more are developed each fall.

I got this sugar scrub from Karen and Andrew for Christmas. They made it from the recipe on the website bystephanielynn.com. I have been using it on my hands, feet and legs and really like it. Even keeps my especially dry feet looking sharp.