Pumpkin Seeds and Pictures

How I made pumpkin seeds this year...

Put single layer on sprayed cookie sheet (I used I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray)

Spray and salt seeds

Roast in 250 degree oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Good

Found some tulip and daffodil bulbs on sale and will be planting them in the morning.  I got purple and red tulips...should make me smile in April.  Weather is in a warming trend and it's supposed to be in the mid to high sixties for the next few days.  I made a really good dessert for supper.  Cut up apples in the bottom, sliced Snickers on top put in a 350 oven for 15 minutes and ate will a scoop of ice cream.  I also enjoy baked apples cooked for 15 minutes at 350 with sugar/fat free frozen whipped cream on top.  I guess I just enjoy apples raw too...I really like apples.  I took a picture of the dessert and that's it above.

 

still doing some gardening

I planted a new mini garden with Danford Iris and Grape Hyacinth.  It's supposed to come up in early spring.  Did some weed pulling.  Plugged in the electric birdbath and filled the feeders again.  Started cleaning the garage, my saddest job because it means that summer is really over.  Supposed to be a killing frost tonight and the rest of the flowers still in bloom will go.  I'll just have to bring in the Canna Lilies and spread the straw mulch and then I'll be done for the winter.

...and of course finish cleaning that darn garage. 

Creatures of the night party/ Mystical herbs

Except on Halloween most of us don’t think much about goblins, ghosts and witches, but there was a time when these creatures of the night were a hot topic. And many of the plants we now use to beautify our gardens were believed to have certain powers that could protect us.

For instance, rue was thought to keep werewolves at bay and larkspur was used to put ghosts on the run. And of course, we all know garlic will keep vampires away and your friends too if you eat enough of it!

The thorny hawthorn was considered to be a favorite of witches and it was said that witches danced under pear and oak trees. But all it took was half a cup of basil juice to send them flying into the air.

According the ancient Greeks pomegranate and rosemary placed over a door would protect home owners from misfortune.

And of course, the pumpkin was transformed into a Jack-o-lantern to keep goblins away on Halloween.

In the past people believed that plants had specific powers and even today some of us are still intrigued by these myths and superstitions. Buckeye has long been regarded as a symbol of good luck .

Tags: Halloween, herbs

Busy Day

Not much journal reading time anymore since grands moved in.  Also busy time of year getting the house, garage, and yard ready for winter.  Library day today, then met old friends for lunch.  Yard work mostly finished except for a few more spring bulbs to plant and after halloween to spread the straw mulch.  Garage is another story, still is my potting shed and have to turn it back into a garage.  The closets are changed around except for mine which still has all the summer clothes in.  I do stop at other journals on my list but rarely get a chance to leave a comment.  Lots of birds in the yard and the seed goes fast, will have to stock up again tomorrow.  Last night there was a bat in the house and Owen wasn't here so he missed it.  I bet he would have loved it.  It was a Momma bat and she's caught and safely returned to her children...probably back up in the attic and we'll meet again I'm sure.  When I get a chance to watch tv late nights I have been knitting hats and mittens.  Tomorrow is WW meeting and then maybe a little shopping for sundry things...whatever that means.  Prayers and love to all.

Picture is of my Jenny on her birthday with her niece and nephew.

Fall Harvest

Farmer's Market ends next Saturday for the winter months. 

 I will miss it. 

Yum

Kraft Caramel Apples

If you are a product of post 1950s America like me, whenever you see a bag of individually wrapped, chewy caramels the first thing you think of is caramel apples. Those candies always take me back to my mother’s kitchen and October afternoons spent with my brothers and sister preparing these tasty fall treats. 

To me the flavor is a classic and they are so easy to make. I suppose that is why kids continue to create fall memories about making caramel apples.

Ingredients

5 medium to small apples. (Tart varieties such as Granny Smith’s complement the sweet caramel the best.)
2 tablespoons milk
1 (14) ounce package individually wrapped, chewy caramel candies

Possible Toppings
Chopped nuts (I think walnuts are extra delicious with the apple and caramel.)
Chocolate chips
Candy sprinkles
Raisins
Pumpkin Pie Season Mixed with Sugar

Special Tools
disposable wooden chop sticks or popsicle sticks
wax paper, lightly buttered
cookie sheet

Instructions

Wash and dry the apples. Remove the stems and insert a wooden chopstick or popsicle stick for a handle. To help the caramel set better, chill the apples overnight in the refrigerator. Leave them there until you are ready to dip them in the caramel. If you are short on time, put them in the freezer while you prepare the caramel sauce.

Unwrap the caramel candies.

Place the candies and 2 tablespoons of milk in a medium sized, heavy bottom saucepan. Cook over a medium-low heat until the candies are melted, stir constantly.

Remove the saucepan from the heat. If there are kids involved with the preparation, allow the caramel sauce to cool slightly.

Dip the chilled apples in the caramel. To get an even coat, turn the apple while dipping. Allow excess caramel to drip back into the saucepan.

Place the caramel apples on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper that has been lightly buttered.

Chill the apples for about 15 minutes and then press the desired topping into the soft caramel.

Return the apples to the refrigerator and chill for another hour.

Notes

Chilled caramels are easier to unwrap.

For easier eating, cut the caramel apple into wedges.

A seasonal recipe

Pumpkin Spice Bread

Half a 15 ounce can of pumpkin with spices added as for pie (one cup minus one tablespoon) If you are using plain pumpkin you can add 1/2 teaspoon each..cinnamon, nutmeg and clove.

3/4 cup water

1 3/4 cups dark brown sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

Adjust oven rack to middle position and pre heat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat pumpkin in a small saucepan over medium heat until steamy.  Stirring continuously.  Cook until pumpkin is stiff and starts to stick to the pan bottom..about 3 minutes.

Transfer to a bowl and whisk in the water, then brown sugar, then oil, then eggs until smooth.

In a separate bowl, whisk together remaining dry ingredients, then fold into the pumpkin mixture until just combined.  Scrape batter into 3 greased miniature disposable loaf pans (or 1- 9 inch pan).  Bake until firm and golden brown..about 50 minutes for miniature loaves and about 70 minutes for large loaf.

Let bread stand for a few minutes.  Then place on wire rack and cool to room temperature.

Slice and serve.

Recipe doubles easily and freezes well.

 

The Clothesline Said So Much

A clothesline was a news forecast 
To neighbors passing by.
There were no secrets you could keep 
When clothes were hung to dry. 

It also was a friendly link
For neighbors always knew
If company had stopped on by
To spend a night or two. 

For then you'd see the fancy sheets
And towels on the line;
You'd see the company table clothes
With intricate design. 
                                      
The line announced a baby's birth
To folks who lived inside
As brand new infant clothes were hung
So carefully with pride. 

The ages of the children could
So readily be known
By watching how the sizes changed
You'd know how much they'd grown. 

It also told when illness struck,
As extra sheets were hung;
Then nightclothes, and a bathrobe, too,
Haphazardly were strung. 
                                
It said, "Gone on vacation now"
When lines hung limp and bare. 
It told, "We're back!" when full lines sagged
With not an inch to spare. 

New folks in town were scorned upon
If wash was dingy gray,
As neighbors raised their brows,
And looked disgustedly away. 

But clotheslines now are of the past
For dryers make work less.
Now what goes on inside a home
Is anybody's guess. 
                                   
I really miss that way of life.
It was a friendly sign
When neighbors knew each other best
By what hung on the line! 

         Author: Marilyn K. Walker

I'm not feeling well today

Not serious, just sore throat and cough.

Was library day, pajama day, Owen is so pleased to get there and see all his friends now.  I'm very happy to have started this for him.  We had a picnic at Murphy park as usual but it was so cold and the day care kids didn't come so we were the only ones there so we came home and played horse shoes for a while until the kids left and went to their mother's house for the night.  It's good to be a grandmother.

I ran across this quote and wanted to save it...

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass.....

it's about learning to dance in the rain.

A few pictures of a family outing

A Time to Talk

 

When a friend calls to me from the road

And slows his horse to a meaning walk,

I don’t stand still and look around

On all the hills I haven’t hoed,

And shout from where I am, "What is it?"

No, not as there is a time to talk.

I thrust my hoe in the mellow ground,

Blade-end up and five feet tall,

And plod: I go up to the stone wall

For a friendly visit.

 

Robert Frost

 

 

Library Day

Owen continues to have a lot of fun at library story time at SW library.  Today he made another new friend, Olivia, and they won a game together as partners.  We had a picnic at Murphy Park after for lunch.  It was a little windy and cold but fun.  There was a group of kids from a day care center again and Owen played a lot and ran around.  Hali was here today too but doesn't go to Owen's story time.