Thursday, December 09, 2010

subject: I've been naughty this year

  Okay, lets just take a moment to address the glaring fact that I have not posted a single thing on this blog for a whopping 139 days.  What have I been doing for the last 4 months and 16 days?  Well, I can assure you, dear readers, that I have been making lots of art and that I have photographed many things which I intended to post about.  Doesn't that count for something?  I'm not going to make excuses, people.  I'm going to blog.  Mark my words.  Do it.  Yeah.
  Moving on, please don't hold it against me that I've neglected you for approximately 3,336 hours.  I'll make it up to you.  I have a funny little Thanksgiving story to share.

  Have you met my cat?  Readers, its about time for you to meet Charley.  He and I spend a lot of time together.  I work here at home, so we are best pals.  Lets try to pretend that I don't talk to him all day long because I don't want you to think I'm a crazy cat lady.  But I do and I am.  He's just so lovable, you'll see.  Whatever. 

This is a story involving pumpkins: 
  Jarrahdale, (Ghirardelli)  -  Sort of a flattened shape and deeply ribbed, this one is a light blue/grey kind of slate color and a beautiful smooth skin.  This pumpkin is an Australian heirloom variety.  The flesh is golden yellow with a mild, only slightly sweet, flavor.  This variety has a very dense rind - you may need an axe to cut it in half!  But that thick skin pays off, you can store this pumpkin for up to two years!  Some say this is the best pumpkin for pumpkin pies.

  Galeux d’Eysines  -  A French heirloom with salmon-peach skin covered in tan peanut-looking warts.  The longer these fruits mature, the wartier they become.  This corking results from expanded fractures in the skin that occur because of the fruit’s high sugar content and thin skin.  The flesh is very creamy and smooth and is a favorite for pies and soups.  Its name means “embroidered with warts from Eysines” - the small city in France from which it hails.


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This is the first pumpkin Brian gave me (last year).  Notice, it has fewer sugar deposits compared to the Galeux d’Eysines that were harvested this season, it was still very sweet though.

  My friend Brian brought me five (YES 5) pumpkins this year.  Aren't they beautiful?  It all began last year when he brought me one of the Galeux d’Eysines from the farm of a family friend.  I made my first pumpkin pie from scratch and oh, my, my.  Actually, that one pumpkin made two pies, dozens of muffins and a batch of pumpkin-apple butter.  So when he asked me if I wanted some more pumpkins this year, I said "YES please!"  So in the midst of Thanksgiving preparations, I was photographing the pumpkins before roasting and pie-making.  Then I put the first pumpkin in the oven to roast.  I love the smell of vegetables roasting!  I noticed Charley hanging out in the kitchen doorway.  Its one of his favorite spots to survey the action.  Then I noticed something funny in the background.  Apparently Charley was feeling thankful and wanted to get in on the celebratory action too.  He was 'roasting' his birdie over the floor vent.  (He chooses not to participate in our vegetarian lifestyle but we're okay with that.)  

All right, now that I've entertained you with a story, beautiful photographs of luscious pumpkins and introduced you to my snoozie-woozle cat, can we please agree to just forget about my 200,160 minute lapse in blogging?  I'm so embarassed!  We must never mention this again!

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you about all the lovely new things I have been making for my Etsy shop!  Check it out right away if you want to get something in time for Christmas!