Wednesday 31 October 2012

Trick or treat?

Well with a crop of pumpkins and squash as good as that lot you really didn't expect me to miss out on proper Halloween festivities did you?

I'm not really sure why I like Halloween quite as much as I do ....its all a bit foreign... and trick or treating feels like a naughty American import.  Those of us raised on lashings of ginger beer and Blue Peter really shouldn't give in to it but aw shucks! sometimes you just gotta go with the flow.  I blame the film E.T. for my enduring wistfulness and desire to go trick or treating....sadly my boys are singularly unimpressed by the notion of dressing up as something scary so I just have to make do with pumpkin stuff.

It all starts fairly brutally...chop the pumpkin's top off and scoop its guts out.  Thankfully 'im indoors is a bit useful at this bit, particularly when bribed with many cups of tea...

 

You wouldn't believe how many seeds some out of a pumpkin...

 




But 'im indoors roasted them with a little olive oil and a pinch of salt & pepper...yummmy nom nom nom


I got the pumpkin flesh and raided Sainsbury for some other ingredients...


And before long pumpkin chutney was simmering...now if ever there was a witches broth this has got to be it...


Meanwhile the boys cooked up some creative skills...


And the chutney was poured into jars...


And as dusk began to fall we found were nearly ready for all those eager trick or treaters...

 

Then a last minute urge to make pumpkin pie over took me,  thank heavens for internet recipes, another pumpkin was quickly hollowed out...


After all there's only one thing better than two lanterns....


Happy Halloween everyone!








Saturday 20 October 2012

Recipe time...

This has been a bit of a bumper year for pumpkins and squash...

Remember this?

So we had plenty to harvest  today...


Now all I need are some really good recipes ....  Anyone know any?



Slugs and snails...but no puppy dogs tails

There's something a bit special about gardening on an autumn day, the colours are glorious....


And if you look carefully you find all sorts of wildlife...

 




 

Sadly not all of the wildlife in my garden is actually welcome in my garden....some of it requires a special weapon to dispose of it...


I really try to see the beauty in all of nature.....there are some really interesting patterns in some shells...

 

But frankly....when there is this many of them...

 

And they start laying eggs...


Well then they deserve nothing more than to be collected up and thrown away...


Wave bye bye now...


The garden will be a much safer place now.
As long as nobodies mother comes looking for him...


Oh dear...





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