The hidden (well, not really...but we tried) object is an upright freezer. There is no room for it in our kitchen and we don't have a garage. This freezer doubles as a table and holds food to feed our hungry boys. It allows us to buy a lot of low cost meat at one time and to freeze baked goodies, especially during busy ministry times like Christmas.
As I said before I love fall and especially at this time of year I am extra homesick for the sights and sounds of autumn, including bright orange pumpkins to decorate with and sweet pumpkin desserts. I did see one pumpkin at a flower shop the other day, but it was rather small and way overpriced. I enjoy decorating with the mini decorative pumpkins sold here though.
I made some yummy pumpkin bread using my simple Betty Crocker zucchini bread recipe. I added chocolate chips and sprinkled the top of the muffins with a handful of expensive pumpkin seeds that I bought (but they were worth it). A great DO AHEAD tip that I discovered is to put the pumpkin bread batter in a glass jar in the fridge. It keeps for several days and then I can quickly and easily make hot muffins when a friend stops by.
Japanese pumpkins, known as winter squash, are prevalent this time of year. When we lived up north in Hokkaido, we would often have friends give us these small green gourds from their family's farm.
Winter squash tastes like pumpkin and it is easy to prepare. I bought this one already cut in half (they are hard to cut) and baked it in the oven on a tray on a low temperature until it was soft enough to cut the stringy part out and peel the rind. I mixed the chunks of cooked pumpkin with my hand mixer until it was smooth. This is a great substitute for the canned pumpkin that isn't available here. Also, the cooked and mashed pumpkin can be kept in the fridge for several days or frozen for later.
I made some yummy pumpkin bread using my simple Betty Crocker zucchini bread recipe. I added chocolate chips and sprinkled the top of the muffins with a handful of expensive pumpkin seeds that I bought (but they were worth it). A great DO AHEAD tip that I discovered is to put the pumpkin bread batter in a glass jar in the fridge. It keeps for several days and then I can quickly and easily make hot muffins when a friend stops by.
