Work Hard, Play Hard, Learn Hard, Love Hard

What better way to learn than to train hands-on with your Dad? Children require a solid foundation to build strong character, confidence, and compassion. Working side by side with family on projects, chores, and hobbies helps establish work ethic and helps the kids discover their own passions, the things they love to do, while you create memories they will remember always. Want your kid to fall asleep quickly and stay in bed all night? Get them a shovel and a plot of dirt! Seeds are optional…baths will not be!

“Climb ev’ry mountain, Ford ev’ry stream, Follow ev’ry rainbow, ‘Til you find your dream.” 

~ Sound of Music

Pumpkin Pie

So I had never made a "real" pumpkin pie with an actual pumpkin versus a can of pumpkin etcetera. Have you? And to be honest, the last pie crust recipe I made...well we scraped out the pie and threw away the crust. That's how that went. My philosophy is, if you fail at something the first time get a new recipe and try again. So I did and made a perfect cinnamon graham crumb crust.

That went exquisitely with our homemade homegrown pumpkin pie recipe. Of course, we harvested and cured the pumpkins a back in late summer. Then processed, cooked, pureed, canned and froze the pumpkin meat in September. (Pumpkin processing post.) My daughter made a huge batch of iced pumpkin muffins and I knew we just had to make a pumpkin pie (it's our fave) once I found a pie crust that was actually edible.

Creating the pumpkin pie was just as easy as using a can of pumpkin (well mine was in a jar by this time). But the outcome? Well worth the extra time and effort, I can tell you for sure! I don't know that I've ever tasted a better pumpkin pie than this. We are saving the rest of the frozen pumpkin from the garden for Thanksgiving pies!

Sprinkled graham cracker crumbs on top of the pie, too!

Served warm and topped with butter and fresh homemade sweetened whipped cream. This pie did not have a long life. It was all gone by the next day!

"If you fail at something the first time get a new recipe and try again" ~ Ramsey

Pumpkin Muffins

If you missed the Pumpkin Processing article, be sure to check out the first part of the pumpkin story there. By the way, I just wanted to say "thank you" - this little blog is nearing the 3,000 visitor mark! I don't do any advertising or use this to feed my income at all. I just enjoy sharing some cool stuff with you in a journal-like style and so my mom can see what I'm up to! :) This blog is my fridge art to my mom! Thanks for checking it out! Now back to the pumpkin...

La cuisiniere!

I wrote a few weeks ago that the original oven here in the farm house quit baking or broiling or cooking. So viola! Meet una cuisiniere! We are enjoying the newer, larger, more modern oven. It wasn't a planned purchase, but I don't regret it. We have cooked 30 dinners, a dozen loaves of bread, dinner rolls, bagels, two pies, and yes...some pumpkin muffins in the new oven and so far it's my favorite oven ever. I am so excited about cooking the thanksgiving feast in this beauty!

Our frozen stash of pureed, cooked pumpkin has nearly been depleted! We couldn't contain ourselves...the draw of the pumpkin was huge. Are you ready to get your own pumpkin on? You can use homemade, fresh cooked, or store-bought canned pumpkin for these recipes. You will not regret it for a moment if you use fresh pumpkin versus canned! (I promise.)

The Ramsey Farms Pumpkin Muffins 

This tasty treat actually started culinary life as a recipe from Food.com called "Mom's Best Pumpkin Bread" (MBPB). My mama didn't make it and the smaller muffins work so much better than a big loaf. So MBPB is now "My Daughter's Awesome Pumpkin Muffins"! She added the frosting that didn't appear in the original recipe. You know, we get a little wild and crazy around here sometimes!

Ingredients

• 3 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup oil
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2/3 cup water
• 29 ounces (3 2/3 cups) pumpkin
• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix ingredients together in the given order.
2. Scoop out into greased muffin pans; filling about 3/4 of the way into each muffin cup.
3. Bake at 350 degress for about 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
4. Frosting: Mix 1 1/2 Tbsp milk with 1 cup powdered sugar and 1 Tbsp vanilla. Mix well then drizzle over cooled muffins.

In the next post, we'll take a look at PUMPKIN PIE! Just in time for Thanksgiving!

Hungry for more? Be sure to also see the posts about Pear Butter and Muscadine Jelly. Check out all the recipes on this blog here!

I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion. ~Henry David Thoreau