The Great Pumpkin

O pumpkin seed! O pumpkin seed! Your crunchy shell delights us!

This time of year has to be my absolute favorite! Wait .. I haven't already said that another time of year, have I? No, this is definitely my favorite. The one time that I can buy cheap pumpkins at the grocery store. Big, beautiful orange creatures, just waiting to be turned into pies! It's glorious!

This year I've purchased two pumpkins - yes, two! - for the purpose of pies. I plan to take a couple to Louisiana next weekend, and a couple to my new life group on Monday. But the real fun was tonight, successfully roasting the seeds! Crunchy and yummy! They came out of the oven and I was transferring them to a bowl when Nathaniel came into the kitchen. I asked him to try one (as I was popping a couple into my mouth). He crumpled his face and said no one in the house would eat THOSE. So I ate a few more and let it go.

Now I sit at my laptop, bowl in hand, when Than comes running in to grab a handful of seeds. So this is how I get him to eat? Pretend I don't want him to have any and it's all mine? Whatever works.

Soon the house will be filled with the smell of baking pumpkin pies. Today it was the smell of pumpkin, but the pies smell better. We'll have pies for dessert, but we'll have leftover pie at breakfast. Since I make them with milk and not cream, and the sugar content's fairly low, pumpkin pie is a healthy breakfast, full of beta-carotene, potassium, magnesium and iron. Combined with the milk and eggs, I think it's a perfect breakfast food. I get no disagreement from the children. Chris is a little unhappy at the thought of his favorite dessert disappearing at breakfast, but he gets over it.

Mmmmmmm ... Until I write again ...

Flea