Thanksgiving Prep Part 1

Next weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving, so we're in full preparation mode. We hit our favourite local farm last week and picked pumpkins and mums for pies and the porch. (OK, so the mums don't go in pies -- just on the porch.)

Isn't this a pretty site? (OK, I know some people think it's gross!)

We've been studying The Pumpkin Runner, a real pumpkin farmer who sustained himself for long distance running by eating pumpkin in all imaginable forms, so we tried some raw. DD8 and I quite liked it!

Since the plan was to make pumpkin pies from scratch, we set about doing so by scooping out the insides and baking them face-down for about an hour. 

Then we scooped the flesh out of the skins and made our puree . . . I hope you don't mind the mundane pix -- I just love the colours and textures!

We also roasted the seeds with some garlic oil left over from our last Blessing Meal, afterwhich DD8 made them into a face for our photo shoot:

Apparently I'm the only one that enjoys eating them!

Of course, she couldn't hold the camera without sneaking a self-portrait in there, too:

When it was time to make the crusts, I had to think creatively in order to find my favourite rolling pin. It wasn't where it belonged, nor was it in ANY of the drawers that someone might have THOUGHT it belonged if they were using any remnant of their logic skills. Before I got too frustrated, it did occur to me to look here, amidst the play-dough tools:

I shoulda known!

Anyway, once the crusts were made, it was time to start mixing the filling. DS3 wanted to help, so I decided to make it a bit of a directed learning experience. I told him I needed a teaspoon, and it was not the largest spoon, but the second largest spoon on the ring.

He got it right the first time! (I didn't know he understood ordinal numbers!)

Thinking it might just have been a lucky guess, I tried him with a 1/2 teaspoon, telling him that it was the third largest spoon. Again, he got it right away! The clever little duck! (Don't you love that he's dressed like a little pumpkin?!?!? I didn't plan that!)





 Speaking of ducks -- or rather chickens and turkeys -- we also did some decorating on the front porch this week, mostly with garage sale finds:

I love the fall mats DH picked up on sale in the spring:

In case you missed it in a previous post, this is the wreath DH made:

Anyway -- here are the pies all ready to go into the oven. I had more than enough filling, so I greased a casserole dish and just baked the filling in it along with the pies. We had it with ice cream tonight -- and it was delish! I just love the colour of the unbaked pies!

And fresh from the oven . . . they just need a couple of decorations, I think:

Finally, it was on to the pecan pies. (I was going to only make one, but DH reminded me that my pecan pies are always the favourite, so I should really make two!) DD8, photo-poser that she is, wanted in on the action and really did most of the work.

Mmmmmmmmm . . . are you drooling yet????

In addition to all this creativity in the kitchen, I got three blog posts composed today (two of which are scheduled for next week, this one being the third) -- so I'd say I had a pretty productive, creative day! I really am missing doing ART, though, so I'm hoping that I'll be able to find some time for that this upcoming week. I suspect that DD8 will be game to join me, and I wouldn't be surprised if others are, too. It has been a while!

Do you ever get caught up doing legitimately creative things, but wish you could be doing OTHER creative things? What would you be creating right now if you had the absolute freedom to do so?