Secret Lovers That's What We Are

Secret lovers that's what we are,
We should not be together,
But we can't let go cause we love each other so.



The time is here.... I begin my steamy affair with pumpkins once again. From September through December, I pull out my pumpkin recipes and make my plans for falltime festivals. I love this time of the year!

I turn into Bubba Gump but instead of shrimp infatuation, it is pumpkins that I crave.... Pumpkin pie, pumpin bread, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin spiced lattes, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin beer, pumpkin brownies and pumpkin toe cheese

(okay, so I was just seeing if you were paying attention with the last one).

Anyway, you catch my drift on this. I LOVE pumpkins. That includes pumpkin patches too. I can't pull off wearing the color orange (not good for my pale complexion) but I foam at the mouth to see brightly colored orange pumpkins spread across a green field, just waiting to be picked and hand carved.

My favorite pumpkin patch (so far) that I've visited is Kleather's, located just down the highway from where we lived in Springboro, Ohio. I took this photo of the lovely rows and quaint home, in 2006:



For whatever reason, I enjoy selecting the weird-looking pumpkin. One that is leaning to the side, has an odd stem or looks as if no one else would pick it. I feel sorry for the bastard, I guess. (The Charlie Brown of pumpkins).

I'll sit that pumpkin at the foot of our front door for several days before I carve it. Sometimes I buy those tiny, decorative pumpkins from the grocery store and place them next to my deformed pumpkin. One big happy, dysfunctional family.

Then I wait for family to arrive for the real fun to begin. For instance, Kirk's mother visits us each October. During that time, she and Kirk will have a friendly carving contest to show off their artistry. I enjoy watching their jack-o-lantern competition. They turn into Top Chef contestants with sushi culinary skills the way they handle those orange beasts. The end results can be downright scary too:



When pumpkin season arrives, that means that fall festivals, corn mazes, Halloween parties, haunted carnivals and other wickedly wonderful things are also among us. Tis' the season for true celebrating and make believe.

I love this time of year so much that I just knew my daughter would be born in October. Sure enough, just two days shy of Halloween, Vivian entered the world in 2007. She is so cute, that it's downright scary, just like her shirt here says:





Even better than pumpkins and almost as wonderful as my daughter is Oktoberfest time. You haven't truly lived until you have witnessed a group of Germans wearing shorts and knee socks, dancing around in circles, drinking beer and doing shots of Jagermeister all before 10:00 a.m. They just know how to have a good time, I tell you!



I line up to sample the Oktoberfest beers and pumpkin ales that come out every year around this time. I had my first pumpkin spiced latte this morning before work too..... Mmm, dee-lish!

And what goes best with pumpkin beer? Pumpkin bread of course! Here is a sweet recipe that I've been making for years! It's moist and delectable. You'll love it, even if you are not a big fan of pumpkin flavor. Try it....

PUMPKIN BREAD RECIPE (makes 2 loaves)



INGREDIENTS:
Dry:
-2 cups of flour
-2 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp baking soda
-1 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp nutmeg
-1 tsp cinnamon
Wet:
-1 can pumpkin (or about ½ cup fresh)
-1 cup sugar
-1/2 cup milk
-2 eggs
-1/4 cup butter, softened
Optional: 1 cup walnuts

INSTRUCTIONS:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift the dry ingredients (first six listed above) together in one bowl. Combine the wet ingredients (remaining six - milk, eggs, pumpkin, etc. on the list) together in a separate bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the wet bowl. Stir until moist only. Divide batter evenly into two bread loaf pans. Bake 50 minutes. Cool 10 minutes and remove from pan.

SPREAD (DIP) FOR THE PUMPKIN BREAD:
-1 package of 8 oz. cream cheese
-1/2 stick of butter
-1 tsp powdered sugar to taste
Mix all spread ingredients together with mixer until smooth. Dip bread into the spread. You can't dip only once!

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And if you're looking for something even sweeter than bread, try this pumpkin cheesecake recipe. You'll be licking your lips and skipping the candy corn!

PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE (makes 8 slices)



INGREDIENTS:

1 package 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
¾ cup of sugar
½ cup of Bisquick mix
3 eggs
1 can Pumpkin (15 oz.) – Libby’s
1 tsp grated orange peel
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp vanilla

TOPPING:

1 cup (8 oz.) of sour cream
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp vanilla

• Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Grease 8 or 9 inch pie plate.
• Mix all ingredients except topping for cheesecake in one bowl.
• Beat with electric mixer (or blender) on high speed for two minutes, scraping the bowl.
• Pour into greased pie plate.
• Bake 45 minutes or until puffed up and the center is dry (Do not over bake).
• Cool about 20 minutes before putting on topping.
• Make sour cream topping by mixing all three above ingredients together. Smear topping over cooled pumpkin cheesecake.
• Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving (I think it comes out best if you let it sit overnight).
• Enjoy!


Mmmm, mmmm tasty. Happy Pumpkin Days ahead!