Lobster Baby Halloween!

Little baby G was a cute little lobster for Halloween! It was awesome. Dashing Boy and I decided to be part of the sea creature theme so we were sushi. Thus, our theme became seafood. It was pretty fun though and all of the costumes were comfy which is important.

At the trunk or treat most people didn't know what we were. Also, we decided to pose with a more decorated trunk as ours was spookily decorated with jumper cables ;)! Baby G was a bit confused as to what was going on so he decided to fall very soundly asleep about five minutes in!

I love how cute and squishy he looks in this picture with his grandpa!
This is by far the best Halloween Ive had since I was a child. I was (secretly not) joking all weekend that I have been waiting for this day for 15 years when I became too old to trick or treat. I seriously remember thinking, "Now I am going to have to wait until I have children until I can go trick-or-treating again. I wonder if people will give me treats too when I take my kids."

I pretty much love candy.

But I love a little lobster most of all!

Fall Time Times.

(photo by very talented: Kali Foley)

There is something about the fall that makes me feel like I should be getting lots of things done.

Like I need to hurry and gather all my acorns or something before I scurry inside for the winter.

I feel that crisp air, and in it I feel light and happy (it is my favorite season). But also I feel a bit weighty too as a string of little tasks that I want to accomplish go through my head. Preparedness before the winter.

And so I've been running around. Planting bushes. Pansies too, because at our last apartment we had pansies that lasted all winter long. Doing lots of little projects around the house.

But now all I want to do is lie on the floor.

That actually really sounds like a good, worthy way to spend my day.

But that is what I did (for the most part- aside from a 3 hour motivated block of time) yesterday.

no good. no good.

There are garden boxes to be built, and garlic waiting to be planted. There are sewing projects asking for some attention. There is that Julia Child cookbook I bought along with everybody else, and a husband who would probably love some nice fancy food. There are jobs to be found, visiting teaching to be done and new moms to give gifts to.

No no. I musn't lie on the floor.

Perhaps I can reserve that for a stormy day in the winter.

"You Do Know That Soup Will Be Green."

Words of my mother-in-law as we made and canned heirloom tomato soup from the bounty of tomatoes in our garden. It turned out to be more of an orange-ish color. It's quite lovely.

Mrs. Muppet also taught me how to can peaches. Something that always seemed so difficult but was really not so hard!

Hooray!

Thank you Mrs. Muppet!

Highlights of Thanksgiving

Family + delicious food + crowded kitchens + hugs + lots of gratitude = Thanksgiving weekend. Here are some of the highlights:

1. Gratitude Tree
Before Thanksgiving dinner began, all cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and loved ones wrote out what they were thankful for on a cut-out leaf and added it to the family gratitude tree. We read the entries during dessert. Gratitude leaves included:
"family," "my mission", "the opportunity to go to school," "traditions," "freedom," the gospel," "my parent's testimonies," "a family that loves me," "all my grandkids and their spouses."


2. Homemade Pie (making and eating)

3. Favorite Sibling Photo- A Tradition.
Years ago my brother and I began a fabulous picture taking tradition. I think it stemmed from my sister Juju looking so nice and proper in all of our family photos. So one day as the three of us were posing for a picture he and I decided to do over-the-top smiles. We couldn't stop laughing at the end result- us looking completely ridiculous with my sister looking so nice and serious.

Now, we just can't help ourselves and inevitably one of these photos sneaks in to every sibling picture session. Silly, yes, but we find this hands-down hilarious. The best part is that Juju still poses so nice even if she suspects we might do our big smiles. "Did you do it?" she'll moan after a picture is taken "I knew it!"

4. This silverware is plastic.

5. Gourmet Food by Dashing Boy's Father
I don't eat turkey, but if I did, I would be mighty excited about this one. Instead, I was mighty excited about the delectable vegetable dish Dashing Boy's dad made for me. Once a year, Dashing Boy's house turns into a gourmet restaurant- complete with a seasoned chef (my father-in-law), appetizers, and a menu filled with descriptive dishes and impressive desserts.

6. Cornucopia Centerpiece
Meet Buddha's hand- a lemon-like citrus fruit that we were all enamored with. No one could quite resist the urge to pick the fruit up and pretend an attack on themselves by the claw.

7. Marzipan Pumpkins
I love these special treats made every year at Dashing Boy's house.

I absolutely loved all Time With Family. Thank you for a wonderful holiday!

Pumpkin Spice Popcorn

First:

pop the popcorn.


Next, make the spice.
2 T. sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/8- 1/4 t. nutmeg
dash of allspice
pinch of salt


Now, add a little butter to popcorn and mix in desired amount of spice.


Gather your family. Get some cozy blankets, a good movie, maybe some hot cocoa or cider... and enjoy!

A Witches' Tea.

Last night I was lucky enough to join my mom and sister for A Witches' Tea- an annual event put on by some good friends who love tea parties and know how to do them in style!

These tea parties are a big deal and were a HUGE part of my childhood and growing up. All kinds of occasions were celebrated with tea parties- Valentines Day (my favorite), babies, weddings, and (my not-so-favorite when it was for me) periods. Yes. That's right. We had a tea party when somebody started their period. It was called a coming-out party and they were celebrated with all kinds of yucky, yummy things associated with entering womanhood. I was worried for years about mine before it was my turn.

Alas, that time has passed.

On to bigger things like Witches Tea. I don't know if I could ever pull off something this snazzy- I honestly felt like I had walked into a magazine spread.



Try these donuts from Beyond Glaze! It's our friends business-the one who threw the party- and they are seriously delicious.

Pumpkin Soup: a recipe.

Three years ago, Dashing Boy and I made our first television debut together on the wildly popular cooking segment Aggie Kitchen for Utah State's campus broadcast station.

We were making pumpkin soup- an impressive dish that my father-in-law used to prepare in his award-winning restaurant. It was very exciting. Two cameras were set-up in the kitchen- strategically placed for optimal shot variety. Ingredients were pre-measured for effortless work while the cameras were rolling. And a script was created so that we could be sure to do a super-fancy job as cooking hosts.

It took us about 30 minutes to write 4 lines.

"How about this..." "How about that..." Dashing Boy would say as I scribbled things down. "I don't know if that works," I'd say, concerned with the flow and whether we'd be able to fit everything into the allotted 3 minutes for the segment.

But there were 2 lines I just couldn't turn down as I stared into Dashing Boy's sweet, eager, serious eyes. First:

"As temperatures begin to drop in Logan, Utah State students are on the lookout for two things: some one to cuddle-up with and a hot meal."

and my favorite:

"Now the most amazing thing about this soup is that it reminds us that pumpkins are not just for jack-o-lanterns. They are an excellent source of food and it's so amazing because it's so cheap and students who are looking for cost effective meals could have meal after meal out of just one pumpkin!"

Oh, he's so cute!

This last week I received 2 requests for this lovely, delicious soup and so I present it to you here. Dazzle your family, amaze your friends, and give your wallet a break as you experience the economic power of the pumpkin.


Pumpkin Soup
1 (6 to 8-pound) pumpkin
3 cups toasted croutons
8 ounces grated Swiss cheese
4-6 cups chicken or vegetable broth (depending on how large your pumpkin is!)
salt and pepper to taste
nutmeg to taste
1-2 cups cream
shrimp if you wish

• preheat oven to 425°
• Cut top off pumpkin as if you were making a jack-o-lantern (make sure to cut on a slant so the lid can go back on without falling inside!) Clean pumpkin out, removing all seeds. Set top aside.
• In a saucepan bring vegetable broth to a boil
• In alternate layers add croutons and swiss cheese to inside of pumpkin (the pumpkin should look pretty full when all is added!)
  
• Pour hot broth into pumpkin (fill pumpkin about 2/3 full with the broth)
  
• add a little salt, pepper, and nutmeg (you can be modest at this point if you wish, as you can add more to taste later)
• Put the lid on the pumpkin, place pumpkin in baking dish or large pan and bake in the oven at 425° for 40min-1 hour.
• Check the pumpkin periodically to see how soft the inside of the pumpkin is getting by removing the lid and poking it with a knife(this usually takes around an hour as stated above.) However- it varies- so check! You want it to be softening up just like squash but not too soft (IF YOU LET IT GET TOO SOFT THE ENTIRE PUMPKIN COULD COLLAPSE!)
  
• After about 40min-1 hr add the cream. Put lid back on pumpkin and let cook 10 minutes more or less until the pumpkin flesh is tender.
  
• Take pumpkin out of oven and present to your loved ones
• Scoop out the pumpkin flesh with the soup into bowls and enjoy!