This and That ~ Pumpkin Pasta Dish

As soon as daylight hit, I noticed these ladies were out wandering.  And later a 4th.  Hm.  Daughter didn't do a head count, but they are all there.  Whew!

The new handicraft adventure I wrote about (several months ago) is still on the list, but delayed.  It may be a winter project.  

 Puffed pear pancake was enjoyed for an after school snack vs. breakfast.   Again, I used 2 pears. Apples would be delicious in this too.  Although I only have one kiddo in school, it's the perfect time of day to make a sweet treat, and double it as a dinner dessert.  And utilize our homegrown pears.  Right now, organic apples are $5.99/bag (3 lb.), so I am patiently waiting on a sale.  I am hoping our apple trees produce next year.

 The herbs are getting full attention this week.  Sage was dehydrated.

Rosemary was also dehydrated.  More to do this week yet.

I spent yesterday digging up potatoes, and I have to say the sweet potatoes did great this year.  I brought in 16.5# total of Kennebec, Red Norland and sweet potatoes.  Of course this meant pulling weeds, and that was very time consuming.  And I'm not done digging.  That alone took 3 hours.

I brought in a handful of Russian Kale too.  Dang it all, I just keep finding things that need done.  

However, meals need prepared for this family, so after a very welcomed shower, dough was started for English muffins, my garden clothes washed and out on the line ready for another long day.

"Grad" Daughter did some mowing, but has been helping me muck the chicken coop on her days off work.

Dinner was a new recipe - Pasta with Creamy Pumpkin Sauce.  It's online. If you google it, I used the one by Budget Bytes.  As I sat down on the porch to eat, I realized it just needs a sprinkle of fresh herbs - thyme or basil perhaps.  It was good and filling.  It just needed something to add color to the dish (and flavor).  It contains garden garlic, pumpkin, broth, seasonings and pastas (all organic).  I bet this sauce would taste good using cooked millet too.

I woke up to a slight sore throat.  Grad Daughter spent the night with a friend, so I'm also on dog duty.  I am debating to stay out of the garden today and take a rest day from it, but I have so much to pull out of it before the ground freezes.  First, I think I'll enjoy a cup of miso soup to help stay healthy.

Enjoy your Wednesday. 

Dry Sherry Roasted Pumpkin Seeds ~ Garden Goodies

The last pumpkin seeds I roasted, I did a bit differently.  I made dry sherry roasted pumpkin seeds.  I used the whiskey-bacon recipe, but swapped out the whiskey for dry sherry.  I took them out of the oven about 10 minutes earlier, and they are better than the whiskey roasted ones.  Crispier too.  Hubby loves them over all the ones we have tried this season. By the way, all of the roasted pumpkin seeds have been eaten.  Hubby wants more, ha ha!  I hate to tell him, the pumpkins are all roasted, and I would have to buy them (and it's a bit late to find them anywhere now).

The garden still provides.  However, the hot peppers plants need pulled.  We enjoyed these raspberries for a snack and over waffles.

It's a busy week, so posts may be short (or packed with updates or sporadic). I'll do my best to keep up with reading your blogs too.  It was too wet to work in the garden yesterday, and very well may be the same situation today.  It was too cold to enjoy the porch, however we are warming up just a bit this week.  

Glady bulbs were all dug up and brought in for the winter, and I brought in three geraniums.  I took down the hanging pots, but need to put them in storage. I got three herbs re-potted (two outside, and one inside), and ready to bring inside soon.  I'm getting them acclimated to a pot before bringing indoors for winter.  The mucking of the coop is being delegated today.  I'm glad to have the help.

Happy Homemaker Monday

I'm joining Sandra for Happy Homemaker Monday at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.  Hubby and I had a very productive weekend, had some fun, and some rest time.  He even made cookies yesterday (what a man!).  It's back to work this week, and I hope the wind dries up that veggie garden.  It's soaked to the rims today.


On the breakfast plate. . .

Freshly picked red raspberries and. . .

 Leftovers from Sunday - pumpkin waffles (homegrown pumpkin), homemade sausage patties, fried homegrown potatoes with green onions.

Right now I am. . .
 - writing out a grocery list, brewing a quart of tea infusion




The weather outside . . .

  Much colder than yesterday.  Yesterday, we enjoyed breakfast on the porch, then simply relaxed most of the afternoon.  A few home repairs were completed too.  After the rain stopped on Sunday, cold air moved in and the wind picked up.  Today the wind is down, but cold, cold, cold.  Woke up to a chilly 43°F.


Looking around the house . . .

 Hubby attemped to pick pears, but the rain fell again, and he only brought in 6.  However, they are huge!

Currently reading . . .
 going through old magazines, purging them


On the TV today. . . 
 netflix, anything we stumble upon at bedtime


The menu this week . . .
Monday: Michigan Salmon patties, veggie
Tuesday-Sunday:  

Breakfast meals:  Pear Pancake, Pumpkin waffles, egg/greens scramble, burritos

Meal ideas are cabbage/sausage/potato soup, stuffed shells, more hummus for snacking, possibly meatballs and potatoes, bluegill for sure,  maybe a pasta dish of some sort


On the to-do list . . . the all-week list

-exercise 
-laundry
-vacuum carpets
-dust
-crack walnuts(we were gifted a new bag this fall again)
-muck chicken coop
-drain and flip all rain barrels
-dump porch pots and put away hanging baskets
-herb garden work
-dig potatoes, pull garden
-repot two herbs 
-dig glady bulbs
-put more porch furniture in storage
-work on barn wood, remove nails, saw and stack
-split wood for winter
-bake cookies 
-bake English muffins
-start fermenting sauerkraut
-sort bills
-pick up printer ink 
-check library return dates/pick ups
-make some calls
-computer work, get some things printed
-file a few more newly tried recipes
-write
-pick more pears
-continue deep clean 
-wash winter gloves/mittens/hats/scarves and spider proof the drawer they are in 
(crossing off as I complete and as the week goes by)


If I have a few minutes to myelf today I will . . .
 Crochet, and check supplies for a handmade Christmas gift idea.


New recipe I tired or want to try. . .
  Carrot tart, pumpkin pasta, pumpkin stuffed shells, millet stuffed peppers 


One of my simple pleasures. . .
 Send a positive text to Hubby while he is hard at work.



What I am creating, crocheting, sewing, or knitting . . .

 This week it's a sewing project.  The longer, antique patterned fabric has left the closet and will be made into a tablecloth.

From my camera . . .

This morning's sunrise

And!  Yesterday's rainbow's.  Now one but two of them in the same day.

Something I found interesting. . .

. . . that swapping dry sherry for whiskey in a recipe I use, made it taste even better.

Bible verse, Devotional . . . 

Proverbs 17:7(NIV)

⁷ Eloquent lips are unsuited to a godless fool—
    how much worse lying lips to a ruler!

Weekend Work ~ Pumpkin, Potatoes and Pears

The previous rain left things very wet outside, so the inside got the attention it needed all day Friday.

I roasted 1 larger pie pumpkin for making a batch of pumpkin butter. I put 2 cups in the fridge, and the rest went into the freezer.

I roasted 6 more pumpkins for pumpkin puree, and have one very tiny one went to the porch for fall decor.  The puree will be used for pumpkin pancakes/waffles, pumpkin muffins and bread, pumpkin hummus, pumpkin steel cut oats, pumpkin-sage macaroni, pumpkin pie . . .just anything.

I roasted more whiskey-bacon pumpkin seeds as well.  They are so good.  I updated over on the recipe post.  I doubled the amount of pumpkin seeds.

(Saturday sunrise, just before we enjoyed our breakfast on the porch)

Saturday the weather warmed back up, so I high-tailed it to the tomato patch and starting yanking those pesky stakes and tomato plants (which surprisingly, some were still green and alive).

 What we started with. No kidding.  See the red tomatoes on the ground?  The chickens got a treat.  Foxtail as tall as the stakes....

Me singing to the old McDonald's song:

Foxtail up my nose,
Rotten tomatoes between my toes,
And don't forget that pokey thistle,
It's will make you want to whistle (ha ha, NOT!).

. . .in progress, as we took a break.  We had to dig around the stakes, and then get them out with the spade shovel.  Even though it was still a bit wet out there, I broke two trying to pull them out by hand.

Those are my feet, hanging off the truck tailgate, as we took a break to sip ice water.  When we had the entire tomato patch (2nd garden area) pulled, we had to hose off the mud.

 One more section successfully pulled for winter.  Oh what a good feeling that was.  I was so happy to have Hubby's help too.  There is much more to pull.  Hubby was all for leaving it until spring, but I had to remind him why we must not get lazy.  The rotten plants will attract animals, bugs, cause problems with bugs, etc. And the weeds absolutely must go before the snow flies, to avoid any more weed seeds from setting.

As for the potato and pear part of this post?  Well, it won't be happening.  It's raining this morning.

There is nothing more "fueling" for me than my first morning cup of java.  See those two pumpkins?  That's today's "to-do" on this fine rainy day.  The very last two to roast.

The potatoes sitting behind them?  They will be part of our humdinger breakfast this morning.

I had plans to dig up more potatoes and walk out to the "upper 40" fruit tree area, and pick pears.  If the rain stops early, I may still pick them, but it'll have to dry up a bit before I can dig potatoes.

Breakfast is typically, and traditionally more loaded on the weekends, especially Sundays (or before a big work day).  I saved some freshly made pumpkin puree for pumpkin waffles, adding homemade sausage patties, and home grown potatoes sliced and fried with onion.  Mmm.  Mmm. Good.  The only thing missing will be homemade bread of some sort (slacking in that department).  

 The weekend, so far, has not gone by without some porch time and handiwork time.  I took time for some R & R, and sipped herbal teas.  The weekend did not go by without a motorcycle ride or two either.  The rain today is a bit of a happy moment, although thwarts the removal of the garden.  It forces me to take a day off and rest up and stay healthy, so I am looking at it with a positive attitude.

First thing on my agenda, before tackling a delicious breakfast, is brew a quart of nettle tea.  It'll steep for 4 hours or more, and then Hubby and I will be sipping it (hopefully on the porch).  We'll be "refueled" for getting back at it on Monday.

Friday's Finish and One Liners

I finished the purple baby blanket.  I thought I only had one row of diamonds to crochet, but had 2 rows.

 Thank you so much Susan for helping me find the yarn.  It'll be priced for sale today (hopefully).

Current library loot.

Facial Toner ~ Brain Booster tea ~ Pumpkin Hummus

In the midst of my morning routine lately, I have been forgetting to hunt down my recipe for my apple cider vinegar facial toner.  The empty bottle haunted me long enough.  Oh, I found several recipes for the toner on the internet.  That's now restocked.  I use lavender essential oil, because organic is expensive.  A 1/2 oz bottle is $37.50.

In search of that recipe, I dug out my essential oil/herbal DIY books, and came across my copy of this book. . .

Random Tidbits ~ Pumpkin Hummus

The carrots are all out of the ground - 7.7# more. I got them all out after a day of rain, but it was so wet out there.  I could not pull dead plants, and then the rain returned this morning.  With a vengeance.  This puts all garden work, and barn work to a halt.