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.

Losing my Mind. . . Holiday Prep ~ Paranoid Prep

My brain has gone plain insane.  I feel like I'm caught up in a whirlwind and I'm trying to reach out to stop and get a job done, and I'm sucked back in again heading another direction. 

The barn....

Oh lets not talk about that job.  It's getting on my nerves, although I've wanted that job done for several years.  So. Much. Work. The barn siding was delivered.  Then rain arrived, so garden work halted, and I was back indoors.  Deep cleaning, cooking, putting up. . .


The hens are molting.  Egg supply is at it's all time lowest.  I made a crock pot of pumpkin oats.  We are not tired of pumpkin just yet, ha ha!  I picked a handful of red raspberries for topping the oats too.

I baked my first flourless pumpkin bread.  I have always baked it with flour, so this was a new recipe.  I only tired it out of curiosity, and the fact it saves me on ingredients.  Einkorn flour isn't cheap. It was so-so.  Not awesome, yet not bad either. 

Flourless Pumpkin Bread

Happy Homemaker Monday

I'm joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom today.  

On the breakfast plate. . .
 Pumpkin steel cut oats, banana, tomato juice, coffee


Looking around the house . . .
  I see I need to dust again.   


On the "to-do" list . . .

Uses for Yellow Squash Relish

I had a few pints of yellow (straight neck) squash relish to use up.  It appears to be an item we don't use as often as I though we would.  I read it's great on hotdogs.  We don't eat hotdogs.  I also canned it in pints vs. half-pints, like I should have. Of course it's good on burgers too, but then we have most of the jar to use up before it goes bad.
Here is what I tried with the yellow squash relish, and liked it.

Over Black Beans:

First up, I soaked black beans, then cooked them in the crocky the next day (with chopped onion and minced garlic sauteed and added).

On Burritos: