Well, the Sun is surely sinking down...

Today I began dismantling the garden.  This is a pretty big task, there's big roots, lots of huge plants no longer producing much.  Last night I cut the corn stalks to decorate in true Autumn fashion!  My first ever decorating with my own stalks and pumpkins.  The powdery mildew killed the pumpkins off a few weeks ago, and I picked the last of them today, some of them are partly green.  Pumpkins don't ripen off the vine, so I am using the partially green ones to decorate with.  Kind of gives it a neat look, actually.  Rather like a clever water color that I mean to turn out that way. 

I have left the peppers to attempt to get the green ones to get just a tad bigger and ripen up.  The days are still in the high 70's and low 80's so it's not over just yet, and I'm hoping to get enough to pickle a few for Music Man.  Friday I canned 4 more quarts of tomatoes and 4 pints of green beans.  Our larder is looking good compared to where it's ever been before.

I had a conversation with my mother the other day.  When she was a kid, my grandmother used to can all their food for the winter, and there were 6 people in that family.  I have 4 and we wouldn't have enough to go more then 2 months with what I put by.  I find this to be a tremendously time consuming venture, and I wonder how my grandmother did this for all of them every year.  I have the choice, she really didn't, of whether I want to just go to the store and buy it or put it by myself.  I'll admit, it's been an adventure for me, and mostly I've enjoyed it, but truth be told, I've been doing this almost daily for a month now and I'm ready to move on to other things in my life.  I've got sewing piling up, knitting to get to and heck, some fun to have! 

I wanted to take lots of pictures this autumn.  That's a deep passion of mine, trying to capture nature's intricacies on camera.  I'm very appreciative of the camera my mom passed down to me a few years ago, it takes great shots.  But, I very much miss my lenses and being able to focus on just what I want to show.  The camera I have is more of a point and shoot deal.   I was hoping to get that new SLR camera, but it's just not in the budget for us right now.  Oil to order, wood to buy, a stove to get installed, bills to pay.  I do realize that I'm not going to be able to stay unemployed much longer, so I was really hoping to get some wonderful scenery done by my view in my files.  I feel like taking photos is really very personal.  It's a glimpse into what the photographer is seeing and feeling at that moment.  A hundred people could take the same photo and have it come out different every time because it's not the location, but what the person manning the camera sees and wished to convey that is the outcome.  Pretty cool indeed.

This mornings cooler temps brought about the urge to bake something pumpkin, so I made the troop some Cranberry Pumpkin Spice Muffins.  They were quite yummy, and it was all I could do to stop myself at one.  I'm back on reducing the carbs after a summer of not doing that so well.  So, it was a banana for me while the gang all had 2 each.  And they got rave reviews, so they must have been okay...or maybe they were just needing some sustenance after a long night of sleeping in tents in the back field!  Served with hot cocoa, they were a hit.  Perhaps you have some pumpkin you're wanting to turn into a delicious breakfast as well, if so, here's a keeper.

Cranberry Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Makes 12 regular size muffins

3/4 cups white whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all purpose flour (if you don't have white whole wheat, you can use 1 1/2 cup all purpose instead)
1 3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/3 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
6 Tbsp butter or canola oil
1/3 c granulated sugar
1/3 c firmly packed brown sugar
1 egg
2/3 c mashed or canned pumpkin
1/2 c buttermilk or sour milk
1/2 c dried cranberries

1.  In a medium bowl, sift together flour(s), baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon and cloves.
2.  Beat butter and sugars in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
3.  Beat in egg and pumpkin.
4.  Add flour mixture alternately with milk, blending well.
5.  Fold in cranberries.
6.  Fill paper lined or greased muffin pans 3/4 full.
7.  Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes depending on your oven.

Enjoy!  Also goes great with Chai spice tea as well!  Bon Appetit!

Lamb & Pumpkin Quesadilla With Cilantro Sour Cream

My oh my...this was possibly the best quesadilla I've ever tasted!  I can't take credit for this recipe, it was from Cooking Close To Home by Diane Imrie & Richard Jarmusz.  I borrowed this book from the library in my quest for local eating recipes.  The authors live in Vermont, so I thought it would be a good bet that I could find one or two inspirational recipes.  I was not disappointed!

This recipe called for lamb, and after two trips to the grocery store and unable to find it locally, I used ground hamburger instead.  The other substitution I used was parsley instead of cilantro (as those of you who have graced me with your readership know, I very much dislike cilantro).  I also added shredded carrot, because, well, we all like them, I thought the flavor would compliment the pumpkin and I had them in the garden ready to be harvested.  I was looking for a pumpkin recipe as I got one at the CSA last week and wanted to try something with pumpkin that was not sweet.  This is a recipe I will make again, it's being added to my "bag of tricks" as it was a quick and nutritious meal to put together on a work night.  Give it a try, you won't be disappointed!

Lamb &  Pumpkin Quesadilla with Cilantro Sour Cream

Serves 6

1 tsp olive oil
8 oz ground lamb (or ground beef)
1/4 c onion, chopped
2 tsp fresh garlic, chopped
1 1/4 c raw pumpkin, shredded
3 Tbl fresh cilantro (or parsley, as I used)
2 Tbl water
1/4 tsp dried ground chipotle pepper (I used chili powder as I didn't have chipotle pepper)
1/8 tsp salt
4 oz cheddar cheese, shredded
6 six-inch whole wheat tortillas (or corn, which we preferred)
(I added  1/2 cup shredded carrots to the mix also)
Oil for pan

1 cup sour cream
2 Tbl fresh cilantro (or parsley)
1 1/2 tsp fresh lime juice (my addition, yummy)

1.  Heat a large saute pan over medium heat.  Add olive oil, ground meat, onion and garlic, and saute until fully cooked.  Stir to crumble lamb as it is cooking.

2.  Add the pumpkin, cilantro, water, chipotle pepper (carrots if using) and salt, and saute for 3 to 5 minutes until pumpkin is tender but still holds it's shape.

3.  Remove from heat.  Place the meat mixture in a bowl and add cheddar cheese.

4.  Lay out the tortillas and divide the filling equally between them.

5.  Spread filling in one half and fold over to form a half moon.

6.  Heat a large saute pan over medium heat and lightly oil.  Place the filled tortillas in pan and cook about two minutes on each side.

7.  In a small bowl mix together the sour cream and cilantro (and lime juice if using).

8.  Cut each tortilla into three triangles and serve with sour cream on the side.

So yummy!  The pumpkin is delicious without being overbearing in flavor and I loved using it as savory instead of sweet in a recipe.