Pumpkin Pie

It's that time of year to get ready for pumpkin pies. Last weekend I cooked my small pie pumpkins (sliced in half, placed upside down in the microwave or oven until tender), then I scoop out the pumpkin flesh.

I use a hand mixer to break it down. I freeze it in 3 cup packages ready to use for pies. Once you use your own pumpkin you can't go back to the canned.
The following is a recipe I found 30 some years ago in an old, old cookbook, I added a little more spice and have been using it ever since. It makes two large pies, if I have filling left over I put it in cupcake pans (with papers and sprayed with Pam) and bake it. It's a great pumpkin custard with whip cream on top.

Pumpkin Pie
3 cups pumpkin
5 eggs
1 1/3 cups brown sugar
2 Tablespoons flour or corn starch
1 teaspoon each of salt, ginger, & nutmeg
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons pumpkin spice
3 Cups hot milk (I use a large can of evaporated milk mixed with regular milk)
Mix altogether, pour in unbaked crust and bake-
400 degrees for 15 minutes
then turn the oven down and bake
325 degrees for 40 - 45 minutes (watch carefully so they don't over bake).

I also cooked down (the same way) these buttercup squash. They're a homely green/gray color but full of flavor. Martha Stewart recommends this type for baking. It is the best, I use it for all my pumpkin muffin recipes.

While I cooked inside my husband put up my new light (with the help of  Miss Tigress). 

The light looks like it should be on Snow White's cottage.  When we were ready to leave my parents place in Florida, as we were stepping in our vehicle I looked at the light and said to my husband "can we take it down" 5 minutes later it was down and we were on the road.

The most wonderful thing about this lamp is it is old, old, old. It's very heavy, hand forged, with thick wavy hand-made glass!

Well, I'll see you next week, I'm off with my other quilt bee girlfriends for our annual week  quilting retreat. One of my projects I'm going to be working on is a wallhanging for my father made from some his old navy uniforms. We have alot of white ones but only one blue, so I'm taking out the large pant hem to use. Also the wallhanging will include fabric from my brothers Navy uniform and from his daughters Navy uniform. We will have 3 generations represented. Also I transferred their Navy photos to fabric (including my other brother who was in the Air Force).
This is what my clothes line looked like last weekend as I washed and hung them out to dry. My dads dark blue wool and white cotton from World War II 1940's, my brothers dark blue cotton from the 1980's-90's and his daughters blue camo from right now.
Have a great week.