Keep On Crafting

In my previous post, I told you guys I haven't been doing much crafting because a lot of my supplies and tools have been packed away.  Well, I realized that's not entirely true lol.

All Instagram pics.

 

Tshirt scarf I made for a coworker.

Bottle top coaster I made for my brother-in-law's "man cave"

 



 

New wreath for the front door (this form as been recycled a few times) and this will be moved to my new place too :)

I Can't Wait.

Last October my sister and I discovered Apple Annie's.  It's an orchard in Wilcox, AZ.  But they also have a few fields of produce and pumpkins.  When we went last year, we got there too late in the season to get many good apples, so we only came home with a few, but we did get a pumpkin and some other vegetables.  I forgot to mention, you can pick your own apples and vegetables!

This year I plan to go a few times.  Right now the peaches, pears, gala, and gold and red delicious apples are ready.  And there are a ton of vegetables.  They have this super cool "harvest calendar" on their site that makes it easy to know what to expect when you get there.

Last year I made a pumpkin puree with the pumpkin I picked there.  I posted that here (in going back to retrieve the link for this post I discovered the pumpkin used was purchased at Wal-Mart, so part of the above is a lie hehe), and I made Pumpkin Pie Pop Tarts with the fresh puree.

So, stay tuned for some delicious fall recipes made with my Apple Annie's purchases.

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

In this post I told you to scoop the seeds from the small pumpkin but not to throw them away.  And this is why.  Toasted pumpkin seeds are so good.  And I assume good for you because there's not much to them.

So, here's your pile of pumpkin seeds straight out of the pumpkin.

Separate the seeds from the gooey membrane.  And, yes, your fingers are going to be orange.

Rinse the seeds really well.  And be sure to pick out any pieces of pumpkin that may be trying to hang on.

Spread the seeds out onto a dish towel and pat them dry as best as you can.

Transfer the seeds onto a cookie sheet, or in my case a pizza pan.

Spray the seeds with oil, olive or canola.  Then sprinkle with a generous amount of salt.

After the seeds are oiled and salted throw them in the oven for 25 minutes.

Or until they are nice and light brown like this.

And they're done.

I put mine in a plastic bag and put them in the pantry on our "snack shelf," so hopefully we won't forget that they are there.

Pumpkin Puree

This being the season for Pumpkin and yummy fall recipes.  Let's talk pumpkin puree.  Pumpkin puree is good for pumpkin pies, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies...and on and on.

Cans of pumpkin are hard to find any other time of year except right now.  So, buying a pumpkin and making your own puree is great if you want pumpkin goodies other times of year.

My cute little pumpkin.  It was a pretty reasonable price at Walmart.  Next week I'm going to an orchard and vegetable farm and I'm going to get another one...or two :)

Cut the top off the pumpkin.

Cut the pumpkin in half.

Scoop out the inside of the pumpkin.  I used a melon baller.  It worked perfect.

Scoop all the seeds and such into a bowl.  Do NOT throw them away.  Stay tuned for what you can do with them.

Cut the pumpkin into about 8 pieces.

Arrange the pieces a cookie sheet then put them in a 350 degrees oven for 45 minutes.

After the 45 minutes the pieces will look like this, but perfect for peeling off the skins.

If the peel doesn't come off easily then you can cut it off.

Yes, this is like the smallest food processor ever.  Anyway, cut the pumpkin into cubes after you peel off the skin then put it in the food processor and puree.

As I puree it, I add a little water with the pieces I process.

It's ready!

Grab 2 one gallon freezer bags.

Split the puree between the two freezer bags.

Flatten the bag of puree and make sure you get all the air out.  Then seal it and be sure to label it, so everyone knows what this weird orange stuff in your freezer is.

We seem to have this nifty little shelf next to our ice maker that is perfect for the bags of puree.

So, now you have your puree for March or April when all the pumpkins are gone and the cans of pumpkin puree are not on the shelf.  I expect you to puree some pumpkin and impress me with your goodies :)

 

Pumpkin Puree

Ingredients:

1 small pumpkin

water, as needed

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Cut the top off the pumpkin.  Then cut in half.  Use a spoon, ice scoop, or melon baller to scrape out all the seeds and the goopy membrane.  Place the seeds in a bowl.  Cut the halves into quarters (8 pieces total).  Place the pieces on a cookie sheet.  Bake for 45 minutes.

Place the cooked pumpkin on a cutting board and peel the rind from the pieces.  If the pieces will not peel then use a knife.  Cut the pumpkin into small cubes then toss into a food processor.  Puree until smooth.  Sometimes it is quite dry and hard to puree, so you may need to add 1 tablespoon or so to each batch you puree.

Split the pureed pumpkin into two one gallon freezer bags.  Label the bags and place them in the freezer if not going to be used right away.