Butternut Squash Soup For some reason, my garden was kind of a dud this year. The tomatoes were stubborn, the kale was cranky. And don't even get me started on the cucumbers. ugh. But the butternut squash? They must've known the other vegetables were slacking off because they kicked it into high gear this summer. I have two boxes filled with big, beautiful butternut squash. If you're just not that into squash, I totally get it. I was once a card carrying member to Squash Haters Anonymous, but I am slowly coming around to its charms. Butternut is a great place to start. It's sweet and firm and mellow and friendly. Simply roasting little cubes Keep Reading
How to make pumpkin puree
I'm pretty sure I could live in a perpetual season of Autumn and be perfectly content. The crisp days and rainy nights, the bright colors and cozy flavors. I am crazy about all of it. While driving home yesterday, I stopped abruptly on the side of the road twice in the span of ten minutes. Each time, my five year-old daughter hollered from the backseat, "Did you forget something, Mama?" Why yes, I did. I forgot about that beautiful row of bright red trees and that farm stand that has perfect pumpkins for two bucks each. We turned the car around and drove back for a phone full of pictures and a trunk full of pumpkins. My kids accept this as normal Keep Reading
Pumpkin Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe)
Pumpkin Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting Last week my 5-year old son announced we should make a pumpkin cake. Not one to argue about such things, I started looking at recipes. A bunch of them were 2 or 3 layer jobs or had ingredient lists a mile long. Way more involved than I was interested in tackling on a Tuesday afternoon. Then I found this recipe from Bon Appetit and knew it was the perfect fit. Basic ingredients, simple steps, and we were eating cake about an hour after we started. Now that's my idea of a good time. The cake is dense without being heavy and moist without being greasy (So many pumpkin recipes start with 1 cup of Keep Reading
How to roast pumpkin seeds
How to Roast Pumpkin Seeds The other night, a friend casually asked me where I had bought pumpkins this year. Um... pumpkins? I don't have any pumpkins. I saw some outside the grocery store last week and seriously considered piling my four children on them and taking pictures, like some weird pumpkin patch outing gone wrong. The thought of being blocked from Instagram was the only thing that kept my grocery cart on the straight and narrow. What is wrong with me?! I love everything about fall. But other than eating a piece of pumpkin pie, I barely even understand it's already October. Is it having toddlers? Coronavirus? Do I just need to buy a new Keep Reading
Soft Pumpkin Cookies with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe)
I had never even heard of pumpkin cookies until a few years ago. I was at a friend's house, when she casually asked if I wanted to try some cookies she had just made. Wait, pumpkin cookies? That's seriously a thing? Where have I been? After eating a socially unacceptable amount, I was in love. The following week another friend brought a big platter of frosted pumpkin cookies to our mom's group. They were equally delicious. Suddenly, I was feeling like everyone was in on this great secret but me. Good thing she brought me the recipe the following week. Now I'm in the club! If you haven't joined yet, this is your chance. Trust me, these cookies are Keep Reading
Pumpkin Streusel Bread (a low fat, low sugar recipe)
Pumpkin Streusel Bread (recipe) You know something is not right when you are considering buying things online just so the mailman has to deliver packages to your door. Human interaction! Tell me about the outside world! And that's really saying something because my mailman is grumpy and grunty. But desperate times call for desperate measures. With some exciting exceptions (the bank! grocery store!), I have been trapped inside my home with four young children + one large stomach flu + two small colds for longer than recommended by the Board of Mental Health and Well Being. It hasn't been pretty, folks. This is coming from a total homebody, but there Keep Reading
Roasted delicata squash with pomegranate and pumpkin seeds (recipe)
Anytime I know somebody who loves something within a category they normally hate, I sit up straight and pay close attention. The person who hates romantic comedies but has Sleepless in Seattle at the top of their movie list, who hates pop music but is gushing about the new Taylor Swift song, who hates sports but has memorized every Blazer player stat. Rip City, Baby. Or, say, someone who normally hates squash but saw this picture in an old Sunset magazine, went out the next day, bought three delicata squash for the first time ever, made the recipe, and ate it immediately (while taking pictures, no less). To use the most tired phrase in the whole Keep Reading