Day 21

Everyone can sleep well tonight because my pumpkin shipment has finally arrived. Can I get a whoot, whoot! As you can tell from the photos below, I was rather excited.

My Day 19 post was misleading. And by misleading, I mean I lied to you. I decided against the pumpkin seeds because I want to incorporate them into my Halfway Day plans for tomorrow. Basically, if you see me tomorrow I am going to make you eat something pumpkin – be it seeds, bread, etc. Friday I will be sharing the pumpkin love whether you want it or not. Day 19 was my lowest point on the pumpkin journey. By the time Kristina and I got home I did not have time to make anything pumpkiny (we had already had dinner) and all we had in the house was the leftover pumpkin fudge so I forced down a spoonful. Although I hit my pumpkin quota for the day, I did have some guilt over my poor showing.

Day 20 was my first day cooking with a real pumpkin. I made a delicious batch of Pumpkin Curry with Lentils and Apples which called for chunks of pumpkin. This required me to cut and peel a pumpkin. If you know me, you know I am awesome with a knife (sarcasm). Things were going well, thanks to a video I watched on GreenLiteBites.com on how to cut a squash, until I almost sliced off the tip of my finger with the peeler. Don’t ask – I have no idea how I did it. Some days I think I have no business in a kitchen. Since I did not have any spinach in the house I skipped that ingredient and I think I let it simmer too long because the pumpkin became mush instead of tender chunks. That aside, it was really quite delicious. I served it with naan and a glass of Night Owl pumpkin beer. Bon Appetite, Jamie

I also made a new loaf of pumpkin bread last night. I don’t want to brag or anything but I think my pumpkin bread kicks arse. Thank you, Joy of Cooking.

Day 21 has only just begun but I think I may make the pumpkin pear soup this evening. I will also be enjoying pumpkin bread for breakfast and leftover pumpkin curry with lentils for lunch. Watch out!

Upcoming Events
The Elysian Brewing Company will be hosting their annual The Great Pumpkin Beer Festival this weekend at the Capitol Hill location. It is a pumpkin delight. Last year I sampled roughly 15 pumpkin beers. It was like a party for my taste buds. Yeah, I just said that.