Pumpkin Patch

No, we didn't take Patch to the Pumpkin patch, we went to the Pumpkin patch by ourselves.


It's an annual tradition in our house to go to the Pumpkin patch and heave a few soft pumpkins into the air so they can rest in pieces. It's a tricky process. You don't want to get caught so you have to wander off away from the crowd of pumpkin pickers. You want a pumpkin that is intact so the guts don't fall out onto your shoe when you pick it up. And finally, you want to throw it both high and far so you don't get splattered by the pumpkin goo.
We also picked up a few small pie pumpkins and a cute green gourd as well as a bundle of sorghum for decoration on our stoop. We'll be freezing fresh pumpkin puree this weekend.
We thought we'd check out some other area pumpkin patches and orchards while we were out on such a beautiful day. This was when I really felt that it stinks to live close to a big city. One pumpkin patch charged 7 dollars per person as admission. (We turned around as soon as we saw that.) The orchard didn't let you pick your own apples and they charged 3 dollars to go through the corn maze. Then the line to get into the barn to see the bakery and buy some apples was over 100 people long! Ugh!
I have been cooking, honest I have! I just haven't been taking pictures. I've been making some rather tasty but unattractive dishes lately. I made a scrumptious tuna noodle casserole with fresh pasta and home made cream of mushroom soup. It was delicious and disappeared very quickly. Tonight I made a shrimp alfredo, again with fresh pasta and homemade sauce. I think I have the cream sauce mastered.
Last night Michael made chicken caesar salad with dressing he made from scratch and a recipe that substitutes tofu for the egg yolks. It's surprisingly tasty, despite having tofu in it. We try to keep up a decent protein intake. Occasionally we overdose on the fat, so we'll make a tofu meal to balance things out. (Hence, the alfredo tonight)
As far as baking goes, last night I made fruity protein bars (Alton Brown convinced us they were much better and much much cheaper than the ones you buy) and today I made a batch of butterscotch cookies from the Farm and Home Journal cookbook that Mom handed down to me. I already love that cookbook. It has a recipe for a lard cake. How cool is that?!?!