Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Hello, Pumpkin!

Hi friend!!  

Happy October.... and I was wondering...

Do you remember this nursery rhyme:

Karri Perry, quite contrary, 
How does your garden grow??

(Perhaps the name was slightly different...)

Well, I was as surprised as I could be 
to have to finish my version of this rhyme...

"With vines and leaves, as big as trees
and pumpkins all in a row!!"


Really!!

I could not believe my eyes ...


The other morning with
the sun catching one of the
 orange-yellow blossoms
waving in the wind...

literally, waving to me...
and as if it could talk:

"Hey, here I am...
Come see this!!"

I spied it... 


A realllly big pumpkin vine.

See for yourself...
There was not just one vine...
but six of them, and some of them were enormous.

I didn't spy any pumpkins at first glance...
I didn't spend too much time investigating, 
due to a few too many mosquitoes buzzing around.

So--my discovery turned into a pretty great 
show and tell...

Once everyone got home in the afternoon...
(I was counting down the minutes until they were all home)
we marched ourselves to the edge of the woods...
and we looked...

To everyone's surprise... 
(except me...I already had my great big surprise in the early morning...)

They gasped... and giggled...

And to what do we owe this
 great pumpkin mystery??

As it turns out,
last year, a few of our pumpkins were 
lovingly tossed into the compost...

...with the help of our woodland friends...
TaDaa... 
We have our very own pumpkin patch!

Keeping with the spirit of things 
and because it is the busiest month of the year...(for some)
and it might arguably be the prettiest month of the year  
...OCTOBER...

I brought a little of the beautiful outside in...
you know,...to spruce up our
dining room.

A pumpkin here...a pumpkin there...

A little splash of orange is just the thing to put me in the mood for a 
second cup of pumpkin spiced coffee and a slice of something...
basically, anything decidedly warm and fall-like.





Just for a little extra pumpkin fun...
I'm including a few of my favorite past
pumpkin-inspired foods and crafts for this post.

I hope you enjoy them and that 
it puts you into the autumn mood.
Even if you are not a crazed pumpkin-spice fan,
these recipes are perfectly balanced and very delicious.
The crafts are pretty cute too...
 Aren't the Zinnias so gorgeous??
  They are my favorite cutting flower 
and the colors...
they are so vibrant...so bright... just stunning.
**
I am very patiently waiting on a frost to end the
 mosquito season... 
but, I think I could stand a few more weeks
 of warm weather 
if it means I get to collect a few
 more breathtaking bouquets 
from my garden like this one!!

Thankfully,
 weather decisions are not up to me...
...the contrary one.


Back to the pumpkin fun:

Here is an award-winning pumpkin cake!!

(I'm sort of under-selling it... this cake has won more awards than
almost anything I have ever baked...really...
and it won best-of-show, two years in a row...a really great cake)


Easy.  A super make-ahead dessert.

Visit: Pumpkin Cake-Award Winning Must-Have Dessert



Pumpkin fudge...
It's so easy and makes a great party finger food.

Visit:Pumpkin Fudge


And while this isn't all pumpkins...there are a few
pumpkins sprinkled throughout the tree...
Besides, it's
one of my very favorite
 things this time of year.

Simply an adorable table
decoration for Halloween!

Visit:Halloween Photo Tree
 See, there's a little pumpkin guy...

And this fun craft is new
 and perfect for October...

A great way to share hope and support!!

Made with a faux pumpkin...this
super-cute craft will last and last.


And finally this post was from last October...
it's a great reminder to enjoy 
all the beautiful fun and plentiful activities
October has to offer...
Even if you don't make it to every hay-wagon ride
in your county ...
Well...you'll still be doing just fine!!

It's October and there is simply too much 
amazing October-ness to squeeze into 31 days.
The Over-Achieving Month of October Post



I was super-crazy busy the last two weeks, 
teaching at the beautiful Dorothy 
Lane Market in Dayton.

I  had the pleasure of teaching a continuing education 
course for the University of Dayton...apple pie...
and a class for DLM patrons on prize-winning
apple dumplings... 

Mmmm...the apple-y-deliciousness was just too much...
Rest assured...we managed to sample everything.






Both classes were wonderful,
filled with inquisitive students,
 full of great baking questions.

The apple recipes were
right on time for 
cooler weather and the start of autumn.


I do teach a few more classes this 
fall and there are still a few seats available.

If you think you might be interested, 
feel free to look at the 
schedule here:
DLM CLASS SCHEDULE

I know it might look as if I am somehow 
all ready for a fall house tour...

almost...


I might still need to make a few
 more trips to our local farm...
and maybe pick out a few more pumpkins...
just a few...

Maybe even a pumpkin from our very own patch!!  
You never know!!


Thanks for reading!!

xo Karri




5 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thank you Janice!! Our leaves are just turning here...and the weather so far has been a little on the warm side...which is making it not seem very fall-like... I hope I don't blink and miss the bright oranges and reds that October usually likes to show us... however brief if might be... ;)

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  2. Would love the recipe for the pumpkin cake or did I miss the link. Looks delicious!

    Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Sue!! I just put the link in... I cannot believe I didn't put one in the post... I must be busy doing too many things... Thank you for letting me know. The new link is right above the photo of the cake, or you can get it here: http://blueribbonkitchen.blogspot.com/2014/09/pumpkin-cake-only-cake-to-make-this-fall.html I hope you make it sometime...it's quite good!! Best, Karri

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    2. Thanks Karri, I am grateful for all of the yummy recipes. Congratulations for all the good things coming your way.

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