Flavors of Fall

On October 29th, I stopped by Fleitz pumpkin farm (before they closed for the season) to pick up four more pie pumpkins to cook and freeze for the winter...

Oops. They're not going to last that long!

We've been enjoying too many pumpkin recipes to leave any behind for freezing.

Recently, I stopped at Meijer to stock up on the top three natural sweeteners we've been using so much: real maple syrup, agave nectar, and pure clove honey. The agave and honey can be used almost interchangeably and the honey is considerably cheaper, but I do use both.

Here is a new recipe that was a HUGE hit with both kids: Weelicious Pumpkin Milkshakes. Sounds a little strange, but they TOTALLY loved it! If you click the link, Catherine's finished product looks much thicker and more colorful than mine, but I think that may have been because she said she used canned pumpkin? It's 1/2 cup pumpkin puree to 1 cup milk. So mine was just slightly tinted and only a little thicker than regular milk. But Will, who normally takes these tiny little birdy sips when he drinks, just sucked this right down! Hooray! An easy (healthy!) way to increase his calcium intake. He's requesting them daily.

I use my immersion blender to whip them up super fast.

And continuing on with our overdose on vitamin A :)... I made the Weelicious Pumpkin Apple Muffins that I'd been eyeing for awhile. Not one, but two batches! I made a mixture of mini-muffins and regular size and found that the recommended 20 minute bake time is only for the regular size. I think around 15-17 is sufficient for the minis. These were great for breakfast, lunch, Sunday supper at my parents, a care package for my babysitter, Will's school lunch, etc. Very tasty!

I might like them with walnuts or a little wheat germ next time for a little extra protein.

So I have just one pumpkin left and was thinking of making another couple loaves of pumpkin chocolate chip bread for Thanksgiving parties. But I also like to have the extra puree in the fridge to serve plain to Sophie or to make our milkshakes. Hmm... decisions, decisions.