On Saturday, we took the kids to a local pumpkin patch and they each enjoyed choosing their own. It was a fun experience with a non-commercialized flavor which is what we were looking for. Paying an entrance fee to a farm just kinda’ ruins the experience for us. There was a “train” ride for the kids made out of large plastic drums linked together with cut out seats and a steering wheel screwed onto each “traincar”. There was also a large “tractor-thingy” that we rode out to the pumpkin patch, hot apple cider, fresh cookies and other goodies for sale inside at a small store that was set up. Unfortunately we forgot the camera, so these rather pathetic pictures are all I’ve got. The kids weren’t feeling very cooperative. 
Chloe found a pretty round one and Darius was immediately drawn to the strange white ones that were there.
We spent quite a bit of time choosing “the biggest one”(of course!) for Josiah. He really wanted a huge one and we looked at quite a few before finding one that didn’t have any bad spots or holes anywhere on them. He wants to make it into pumpkin pie, and I told him it would probably make about 10 pumpkin pies, so he’s pretty excited about that!
This is Chloe today after she told me she wants Princess Leia hair. She was laughing so hard after I created this! I think I have to work on my hairdressing technique. The kids decided she looked more like a cow with horns than Princess Leia!
She most definitely does not look like a cow with horns! Very cute, maybe ready for a dance recital of some sort.
You will have a lot of pumpkin to cook up! I heard of an easier way to cook pumpkin other than the cut into four and roast on a pan way. You cut the pumpkin in half (top/bottom), and then put it flat side down on a cutting board and slice the skin off with a downward motion. I think a strong sharp knife would be needed. Then you can cube up the flesh and put it in a roaster, cooking till soft. You can either blend it/put it in a food processor after, or just make sure to cook it until there are no lumps.
Comment by The Chatty Housewife — October 21, 2008 @ 12:23 pm
Cute pictures! Just a tip, as I’ve researched making homemade pumpkin pies…the sugar pumpkins (small ones) are better and more flavorful for cooking with…the bigger the pumpkin, the lesser the flavor. Still fun to try though. Hmm, baking the pumpkins smells SO good in the house!
Comment by Jill — October 21, 2008 @ 6:56 pm
I saw jumbo 150 - 200 pound pumpkins for sale at Fred Meyer. They were only $40, but they were not moving very fast. I guess people couldn’t figure out how to get a 150 pound pumpkin out to their car.
Comment by sam — October 22, 2008 @ 3:32 pm
Too cute! We’ve been having fun doing different hairstyles lately as well, and it can be interesting! I think the Leia style would work better if she had long thick hair. But it’s still very cute!
Tip for the pumpkin: after you puree it, you can freeze it in portions for later use. Or do research on the net for pumpkin recipes. I even have a recipe for a soup served in the shell (probably works best with a small pumpkin tho!). There’s pumpkin bars, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies… Or you could add cubed pumpkin to other roast-able veggies like potatoes, squash, onions, etc.
Comment by Susie — October 24, 2008 @ 11:36 am
Happy Anniversary!
Comment by ioi — October 28, 2008 @ 8:37 pm