Pumpkin Candles

Today we are getting into our first craft!  It's fun. simple, and guaranteed to be a hit. Here's a chance to exercise your creative side and make something really unique.  Crafts can give your living space a meaningful touch that embodys your individuality and creativity.  Our craft today is pumpkin candles.  What a perfect addition to your home to give it that warm autum touch! Don't worry if you’re not craftily inclined, you can definitely do this one.

Supplies

Baby Pumpkins, as many as you want (I’m using 3).

Tea lights/Votive candles, corresponding to the number of pumpkins.

Knife

Short and simple right?  You probably have most of those things already.  

Step 1: Take your baby pumpkins (so cute!) and place a votive on top.  Here are mine.

 

Step 2:  Use the knife to make incisions around the candle to mark how you will cut it.  See how I did it.

 

Step 3:  Remove the votive and cut off the top. 

 

Step 4:  Place candle in the hole and light!  TaDa!

Note: If your candle doesn't fit, cut around the hole more until it does.

 

Add a warm glow to your living room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom.  I placed mine on the window sill. 

 

 

Three won’t be enough, I’m gonna have to get some more baby pumpkins!  Now, don’t you feel very accomplished!  Aren’t you just going oooh and aaah over your handiwork!  If you feel inspired to do more crafting head to my 31 Days of Pumpkin pinboard to get more crafty ideas! 

Tomorrow we head back into the kitchen to cook up a batch of Pumpkin muffins!  Get connected to my other pumpkin sites by clicking on the links on the side bar.  And don’t forget to like 31 Days of Pumpkin on Facebook, something is supposed to happen when I get to 30.  I don’t know what, but I’m pumped to find out!

Pumpkin Pasta in a Light Peanut Sauce

Usually toward the end of the week, my meals get pretty creative.  Last Friday was no exception.  I opened my fridge to see that I really didn’t have that much to work with, but dinner needed to happen.  So I grabbed a few ingredients, namely Pumpkin, and got work on making a “throw-together” dinner.  And the results were amazing!  I encourage you all to try this recipe. 

Note: This should take you 30 minutes or less to make.

Ingredients

 

 

Chicken, 2 boneless breasts, cubed.
 

Garlic Powder

Cumin

Pepper

Pasta, any type, ½ box (I used whole wheat penne)

Pumpkin Puree, 1-2 cups.

Peanut Butter, 1-2 Tablespoons

Water, ¼ cup.

Eggs, 3, scrambled.

Spinach, 2 cups.

Olive Oil
 

Walnuts

Parmesean Cheese

Step 1: Place a large pan over med-high heat.  Drizzle olive oil over the bottom of the pan.  Boil water in a medium pot for pasta.

Step 2: Throw uncooked chicken into a heated pan.  Season with pepper, garlic powder and cumin.  When water boils, add pasta to the pot and cook until suggested time on box.  In a small bowl, mix together peanut butter and water, set aside.

Step 3: When chicken begins to brown, add the pumpkin puree, a bit more oil, and saute.

Step 4: When the chicken is just about cooked through (like with 5 or so minutes to go until finished) add in the scrambled eggs.

 

Step 5: When egg begins to cook through (about 1 minute or so) add peanut butter/water mixture.  Add a few more drops of oil.

 

Step 6: When chicken is cooked through add the spinach and cook for one minute, then turn off the heat, and cook for another minute or two.

 

Step: Add Walnuts, grated parmesan cheese, and serve!

 

I love how I had no idea how this would come out and I was literally just pulling stuff out the fridge like eggs? Sure why not?!  And it really came out awesome -- I would so make this again!  Make sure to enrich the experience with pumpkin beer (Oct 8).

A look ahead:  Tomorrow, I will be covering a cute little pumpkin craft!  And Thursday, some pumpkin muffins!  Check out the side bar to connect to my other social media sites.  I also have had people sending me some ideas!  They are so welcome, and I will pick one or two to feature in the coming weeks!  Maybe your recipe will be the lucky one!  Thanks for getting into it guys! 

The Must Try Pumpkin Beer

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!  Now, this is the post where I show you how to brew pumpkin beer!  No not really, I’m not that bonkers for pumpkin!  But I am in love with Pumpkin Beer.  Actually, it was my first sip of Pumpkin Beer a few years ago that started my whole pumpkin obsession!  It was at a restaurant and they served it with a ring of brown sugar around the glass.  I figured I could do this at home, and now so can you.  You will never drink Pumpkin Beer without the brown sugar again!

Step 1: Get out two small plates.  Cover the bottom of one with a bit of water.  Cover the bottom of the other with brown sugar.  See how I did it.

 

Step 2: Take a tall glass, if you have a pint glass go you-if now use a regular drinking glass.  Place the glass top down in the watered dish then place it top down on the brown sugar dish.

Step 3:  Fill that glass with Pumpkin Beer! 

 

This would be an excellent pairing with Pumpkin Pasta (on the docket for tomorrow), or roasted Pumpkin (see Oct 7)!  So grab a friend make a toast!  Cheers!

Roasted Pumpkin

Roasted Pumpkin: is there nothing that says fall more?  Besides Pumpkin Pie, it really is a quintessential pumpkin dish that everyone should know how to make.  It’s a great side dish to bring at Thanksgiving, or a warm and yummy meal perfectly suited to chilly nights.  As the leaves around us begin to change color, so can the colors you add to this dish.  The standard orange of pumpkin can mix well with the red of a beet, or the white of a parsnip.  It’s easy to prep so it’s great for shoving in the oven after work too.  I think this dish with quickly become one of your favorites! 

Step 1: Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.  Prepare and cookie sheet that is covered in tin foil and sprayed with cooking spray.  Cut up (but do not cook) the pumpkin (See Oct 1 for instructions on how select and cut up a pumpkin).  The short version: Cut of the stem, scoop out the seeds/goop, and cut the pumpkin into fourths.  For this recipe, you’ll need ¼ of that pumpkin. 

(Note: If you’re not planning to cook the roasted pumpkin right now leave that pumpkin slice in the freezer overnight, then take out and leave in the fridge the next day.  It will soften up and cut up easier.)

[Pro Tip: What do you do with the rest of the pumpkin?  Cook it up and puree (See Oct 1) to save for later on this week when we make Pumpkin Muffins!]

Step 2: Cut the pumpkin slice into fourths. 

 

Step 3: Stand up the little piece with the wider part on the cutting board.  Place your knife on top, between the flesh and rind, and slice in a downward motion until cut all the way through.  See how I did it.

 

Step 4:  Cut up the pumpkin into smaller pieces and place on the cookie sheet.

Step 5: Now it’s time to get inventive.  Tonight I am making this as a side dish to baked chicken.  So I’m adding some potato and parsnip to give it some more umph.  But you should add what you like to this dish.  I’ve added sweet potato, beets, onion, garlic, walnuts, pretty much anything will go! 

 

Note: If you wanna beef it up for more people use more pumpkin!  I’ll never say no to more pumpkin!

Step 6: In the oven it goes!  30 minutes or until veggie are softened.

When it comes out it will be a delicious fall side dish you can pair with chicken, rice, pork chops, the combos are endless.  That’s what great about pumpkins they are versatile and instantly give a meal that Fall Feeling!

 

Join me again tomorrow for a crazy post on Pumpkin Beer!  You’re gonna wanna clue your friends into that one!  And if you haven’t liked 31 Days of Pumpkin on Facebook yet, then what the heck are you waiting for?!  There are only 24 days left of this amazing blog!  Click on the links on the side bar to be transported to my other pumpkin pages!

Shout Out!  Thanks to everyone who has been supporting and liking my blog!  I hope you’re enjoying good recipes, quirky puns, and fun pictures!  <3

Pumpkin Scones

Today we make real pumpkin scones!  I am especially excited about this one because scones have become a new favorite of mine.  They can be great for breakfast or for a snack.  Pair with warm pumpkin tea or coffee (see Oct 5^th) and be transported to your favorite fall location, be it a log cabin with a roaring fire, or a quaint English tea house.  This could be the perfect take a break and relax with pumpkin treat!  So let’s get working on that.

Note:  This should take you 45-60 minutes to make, and your hands will get very gooey : )  Also, these scones are not like the hard scones, but a soft fluffy scone.

Prepping Note:  If cooking up your own pumpkin puree for this one (see Oct 1) there is a slight variation.  Only cook up ¾ of the pumpkin.  Leave ¼ aside in the freezer for tomorrow’s post on roasted pumpkin.  Then tomorrow take that 1/4 out to thaw, it will soften the pumpkin just enough to make it easier to cut, but still preserve its shape.

Step 1:  Pre-heat the oven to 425.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or tin foil (I’ll be using the foil) and spray with cooking spray, or grease with a tiny bit if butter.  I’ll stick to cooking spray (or not-stick as the case will be, ha ha).  Assemble your ingredients.

Ingredients:

All-purpose flour, 2 cups.  I use self-rising flour, which means the flour already contains a rising agent and does not need baking soda or powder to help it rise. If you also use self-rising flour you can omit the baking powder from this recipe.

Sugar, ¾ cup.  I’ll be using ¼ with extra cinnamon, because I believe that pumpkins are sweet enough with natural flavoring.  Also, I’m watching my intake of sugar.

Baking powder, 1 tablespoon.  (If not using self-rising flour)

Cinnamon, Ginger, Nutmeg, Allspice.  Use a few shakes of each, or whatever you have on hand.  I find that all these spices together make the best pumpkin flavor, but without one just add a little more of something else.  You can also add salt, which I won’t do.  I’m cutting back on salt as well. 

Pumpkin Puree, ½ cup.  See Oct 1 to learn how to make real pumpkin puree yourself, rather than from a can.  

Pro Tip: Using real pumpkin you cooked yourself makes a huge difference in taste and texture!  So give it a try!

Half and Half, 3 Tablespoons.  Use fat free if you prefer.  I will be using regular, but only because my fiancee likes that in his coffee. 

Egg, 1 large, scrambled first.

Butter, cold, cut into 6 tablespoons.

Step 2:  In a large bowl mix the dry ingredients.  I’ll be using a whisk to do this.

Step  3: In another bowl mix together wet ingredients.  Mix thoroughly with a fork or spoon.

Step 4: Cut butter in six tablespoons sized squares.  Then using two knives cut butter into the dry mix.  What I did was put in each square of butter cut it up a few times, like a tossing a salad sort-of.  Then I used my hands to move it around the flour mixture breaking up the butter further.  Then after that I used a whisk to get the mixture to look like little crumbs.  That seemed to work for me.  I like to experiment a lot when baking.  I don’t always stick to one way or another, I do what works for me in the moment.  You get the best results that way ; )

Step 5: Mix the wet ingredients into the dry.  Mix thoroughly with a spoon.  Once mixed, use your hands to glop it together into a ball.  Your hands will get very sticky!  Then put the dough ball on the baking sheet and spread out int0 a rectangle (or something resembling a rectangle: see my efforts).  It’s very sticky so it won’t be easily movable, but that’s ok just work it. 

 

Step 6:  Use a pizza cutter, or knife if you don’t have, to cut the dough into three equal-ish pieces and then cut those three pieces diagonally for 6 triangles.  Separate the piece a bit, used the pizza cutter to create space between.  See how mine came out.

 

Step 7: Place in an oven heated to 425 degrees for 15 minutes.  When they come out you should be able to stick a toothpick in and have it come out clean.  If not, try another 5 minutes.

Step 8:   While your scones cooking and cooling decide if you want to ice these babies!  I do!  Go together icing ingredients.  (Or not, they are super tasty either way and without icing is a little healthier for you)

Ingredients:

Powdered Sugar, ½ cup.  I used a ¼ because, well you know by now.

Milk, 1 Tablespoon.  I use fat free milk, but use whatever you have in your fridge.

Your Pumpkin Spices, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and nutmeg.  A few shakes of each (or any). 

Step 9:  Whisk ingredients together until they become smooth and easy to use as a glaze.  Add more milk if it is too thick for you.  I like it sort of thin and runny.  I also used a lot of spice, but I like it spicy so the color of the icing is brown, which is cool with me : )  Without spices you’ll have a nice white, and with just a pinch of spice, it will look white with a little brownness. 

Step 10: Let the scones cool a bit when they come out of the oven before putting on the glaze.  I lifted mine right off the baking sheet with the tinfoil still underneath and put them on a wire cooling rack.  I’m going to wait ten minutes because I’m hungry and they look seriously good!

 

For me, I’m picturing a coffee house right outside of marble arch in London, listening to some Adele, as I bite into this scrumptious treat!  Wow!  I’m having it some pumpkin spice coffee (Oct 5^th)

 

Check back tomorrow when I’ll be covering roasted pumpkin (Remember: to prep for this I would cook up ¾ of the pumpkin for puree and leave ¼ aside in the freezer and transfer to the fridge tomorrow morning.)  And as always you can like me on facebook, check-out my pinboard, and follow me on twitter, or get me on the go with your phone to get your Pumpkin overdose!  See the side bar to link right up!  Enjoy!

Looking ahead: Tomorrow I will cover Roasted Pumpkin.  Also if you're going to the store to get some pumpkins, in addition to getting a few, I would get some of little baby pumpkin gourds too for a crafty project I'll be covering this week!

Pumpkin Spices: Pumpkin Tea and Coffee

When the cold weather starts to move in, for me that means I’ll be drinking more hot tea (and for my fiancee just has much coffee as usual).  It’s nice to have a nice warm cup of coffee in the morning to get you going or a soothing cup of tea in the evening to warm up a cold night.   Since, this is 31 days of Pumpkin I’m going to teach you how to Pumpkin Spice those drinks!

First you need to know what I mean when I say Pumpkin Spices.  The Pumpkin Spices are Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Ginger, Allspice, and Ground Cloves.  I say, to make something Pumpkin spiced you need to use at least 3 out of 5 (but definitely cinnamon, which everyone should have).  I use them all except Cloves.  You should have most of these already, but go ahead a splurge on 1 or 2 more.  It will be worth it because you’ll get more mileage out of a jar of spice then you will a bag of pumpkin spice coffee, or a tiny jar of pumpkin pie spice (which is just all of the those spices marketed as something more).  Plus you’ll be using them all month making delicious Pumpkin treats with me!  

Now how can we use those spices to our advantage? 

Step 1: Get out your regular filtered coffee maker (sorry one cup coffee maker owners, you’ll have to just go out there and buy the pumpkin spiced cups).

Step 2: Add a few healthy shakes of your pumpkin spices to the bottom of the coffee filter, before you put into the coffee.  Note:  The more coffee you are making the more spice you should use. 

[Pro Tip: A healthy shake is a big heavy handed shake- the more spice the better in my opinion]

 

Step 3: Add desired amount of coffee and brew

Step 4: For Tea you need a tea ball and loose tea.  If you are already drinking tea this way then it’s an easy process.  Just add some of your pumpkin spices to the loose tea you are brewing.  Don’t be afraid to experiment with different teas!  But if you a bagged tea drinker like me there are Pumpkin Teas out there in grocery stores just waiting for you pick one up.

That’s good right?  Now you can have delicious pumpkin coffee or tea in the comfort of your own home.  Why not also pair it with those yummy pumpkin pancakes.  Or try it out tomorrow when I cover pumpkin scones!

Going food shopping with weekend?  In addition to picking up some new spices, also get yourself a couple of pumpkins!  Saturday we’ll be cooking up another pumpkin for this week’s delicious pumpkin treats!  You will see pumpkin scones, pumpkin pasta, and roasted pumpkin--just to name a few : ) 

(Remember: You're Pumpkins should be sugar pumpkins.  Check out the one I got last week)

Hey here’s an opportunity to cook with me!  On Saturday morning, Oct 6^th, I’ll be cutting up and cooking my pumpkin (See Oct 1^st to prepare) and making pumpkin scones!  If you want my advice, to ask me questions, or just want to cook along with me, follow me on twitter at 9:30am! 

Remember to check out the side bar to see previous posts and connect to other social media sites for 31 Days of Pumpkin!  Don’t forget this blog also has an app form so if you log on to the site on your phone it will be easy to read!  That’s so helpful!  See ya tomorrow!

Pumpkin Pancakes

Hello, fellow Pumpkin Heads!  I hope your week is going well.  Now that it’s winding down it might be nice to end off today with some pumpkin pancakes, or maybe whip them up tomorrow morning for a TGIF breakfast!   It’s easy and quick which is why I like it.  It takes something you already know how to make and spices it up!

Step 1: Get pancake mix.   Mix ingredients following said pancake mix’s instructions.  This is a really tough step, I know.  I like whole wheat pancake mix.

Step 2: Add leftover pumpkin puree, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and ginger (healthy shakes).  Mix well.

Step 3: Cook pancakes any way you like-thick, thin, add chocolate chips, walnuts, whatever!

You know, I wonder what else you are already eating that you could just add some pumpkin to?  Let me know-maybe if I like your idea, you might even be featured on this blog!  Comment below, on Facebook, or Twitter.  Also check out my Pinboard for other cooky pumpkin crafts and inspirations!   I’m easy to find-just look for 31 Days of Pumpkin! 

And don't forget!  Tomorrow I will cover pumpkin tea and coffee!  Drink while having your pancakes to start your day off in a pumpkin coma!