Pumpkins and squashes

I was in the store the other day and in addition to my reasonably-priced pumpkin, I noticed so many decorative squashes. They are beautiful when used to decorate. All you have to do is get out a basket or pretty bowl and fill it up. That's my tip of the day.

Pumpkin faces

The other day I saw some pumpkins being in a decorative display and the faces appeared to be applied to the pumpkin, using glue or stickers. I really, really loved the idea. When I bought this pumpkin for just $4.00 I decided it would be my "mood pumpkin." If I was in a good mood, I could stick on a happy pumpkin face and if I was in a bad mood, a face like the one above.


This pumpkin was inspired by the painting by Edvard Munch, entitled "The Scream." I thought it expressed my mood quite well this past weekend as I was working really hard on a deadline. 


After I decorated the pumpkin, using double-sided tape and black construction paper, I decided I really liked his face. It doesn't depress me at all. I also think my pumpkin is very fitting for Halloween. It is my joke. Instead of the pumpkin being scary to people, people are scary to my pumpkin. Silly, for sure, but funny to me.

This is the normal pumpkin face. I also thought is could be easily made using black sticky-backed craft foam. Construction paper won't last in the rain but the foam should be fine.

This pumpkin looks very smug. I don't think this one reflects my mood but I like his arrogance.

I tried to make a sweet one but I don't know if I like this face. Turn the smile upside down and you would have one sad pumpkin.


You get the idea. I like this so much better than carving pumpkins. It is much less messy -- won't light up, though.

An extra rich chocolate birthday cake

Every year, in October, I ask my mom what kind of cake she wants for her birthday and she always says, "You know I love chocolate." This year was no exception. She wanted a yellow cake with chocolate frosting. (You can check out my 2009 cake on my old blog posts.)

Sunday was her birthday and we enjoyed hosting a dinner in her honor. The highlight of the day was my mom, but the cake was very popular, too. 

You will notice that I was in a pretty big hurry while decorating the cake because I forgot to dot my i or cross my t. Kind of funny because no one noticed until the photo was taken!

I usually make the cocoa frosting on the back of the Hershey's Cocoa can, so when I looked on the can's back I noticed the old familiar recipe had changed a bit. It threw me for a minute but I decided to try it and see if it was as good as the old recipe. Actually, it was much better. More chocolatety, more yummy.

OK, I didn't exactly follow their recipe. I adjusted the ingredients and the amounts, as usual. (I don't think I am the only one who does that!) So this is my recipe based on the recipe on the back of the Hershey's can. My family said it was the best one I have ever used. I used my old standby yellow-cake recipe. 

Here is my adjusted Frosting recipe:

Extra-rich Cocoa Frosting

1-1/2 sticks butter, melted

1 cup cocoa, tightly packed

4-1/2 cups Confectioner's sugar, loosely packed

2/3 cup heavy whipping cream (more if needed to make frosting creamy)

1-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter in the microwave on low. Mix butter, cocoa and vanilla extract together on low speed. Add sugar and cream alternately until well blended. (It may be necessary to add more cream to the recipe depending on humidity). Turn mixer on medium high and mix until mixture is creamy and is of spreading consistency.

Makes enough frosting to heavily frost a two-layer cake and lightly frost a three-layer cake.

Hotel beach pictures around the world

Montana beach_ hotel
Jumeirah beach hotel
hotel palm beach
Asterias beach hotel
dome beach hotel
Palmera beach hotel pool
jumeirah hotel exterior
Eden beach hotel

Elias beacg hotel country club

Hotel beach pictures around the world

Montana beach_ hotel
Jumeirah beach hotel
hotel palm beach
Asterias beach hotel
dome beach hotel
Palmera beach hotel pool
jumeirah hotel exterior
Eden beach hotel

Elias beacg hotel country club

Hotel lobby pictures and designs

Hotel Lobby pictures and best designs hotels around the world give your comments...
yellow hotel lobby
beautiful hotel lobby
wide area hotel lobby
light color hotel lobby
classical hotel lobby

old hotel lobby

Hotel lobby pictures and designs

Hotel Lobby pictures and best designs hotels around the world give your comments...
yellow hotel lobby
beautiful hotel lobby
wide area hotel lobby
light color hotel lobby
classical hotel lobby

old hotel lobby

Turnip Green Supper

This week we decided to have a "turnip green supper" just because we have fresh turnip greens. I think that is a really good reason to celebrate and I will admit we don't need much of a reason. We had grilled pork loin, turnip greens, fresh squash casserole, baked potato fries and a tossed salad.

My sister made the corn bread that was the consistency of cake -- very delicious. She also made the squash casserole made from squash she picked earlier this week. It was perfect.

Some people don't like preparing fresh greens and I know it is harder than some vegetables because of  the cleaning process. These went through at least six washings. The goal is to wash them in clear water until the water is clear, no matter how many washings it takes. They then need to be packed in large plastic bags and refrigerated until time for cooking.

It takes about twice the amount of greens that will fit in a pan (like the one below) to make enough to feed six to ten adults -- and it cooks down to about a third of the original amount. I like to make more than I need because it warms up well and can be frozen.

I little the taste of turnip greens cooked with just a little water, salt and pepper and cooked until they are tender, about 20 minutes. At this time of year, turnip greens are very tasty but they can have a bitter taste that some can't stand. To help with the bitter taste, some people add sugar. Of course, adding bacon can add flavor and can help take away bitterness. We added a little olive oil to this batch but I don't think it is necessary for young and tender turnip greens.

It was a great meal and I think turnip greens are a good thing to celebrate.

Winners and deadlines

The winners are Joanie and Rhonda. The recipe cards are small things but sometimes it's the small things that make tasks enjoyable. Right?

Sorry I have been lax in posting this week but I am working on an important deadline and I have to take a "blogaday." I promise I will come up with some very interesting things -- like an end of the season "turnip green dinner," and one of the most interesting tools for keeping up with recipes I have found.

Recipe card giveaway

The other day I picked up some recipe cards for myself and I picked up a few to give away. I think this is the best time of the year to swap great recipes and these cards can make it easier. After all, sharing is a nice thing to do and I would love to help. If you would like to share a recipe with me, I would love it. Just email it to me at deberah@newnan.com.

I have two sets to give away to two lucky winners. Enter by leaving a comment below by midnight October 20 and I will announce the winner on my blog on October 21st.

It's the season for greens

My husband surprised me with what's in the bucket above this weekend. No, it is not a bucket of flowers. That would have been nice, but this was nice, too. It is a bucket of collard greens. I think they are very pretty arranged like a big cabbage flower.

Our collards are not quite ready to harvest, even though they are doing well, but my sister read if you pick the outside leaves of the collards, the inside leaves will grow larger, giving you a higher yield. She made the suggestion we pick some of the outer leaves and my husband loved it. We washed them and stuck them in a bucket of water so they would stay fresh until we put them in baggies to save them for later.

I was thinking as we washed and put them away that it was best, and most economical to eat things while they are in season and greens are in season right now. It's time to enjoy the most nutritious vegetables the garden can provide. The wonderful thing about greens is that they have two growing seasons each year. Greens are also one of the best southern vegetables. Very tasty.

Freezing herbs

Yesterday I realized I hadn't preserved any of my fresh herbs. I have used them through the summer, but I knew I was quickly running out of time if I wanted to have any fresh herbs after frost. Everything but the rosemary dies way back after this.

I decided to freeze the herbs rather than dry them. I was a little short on time and I kind of like the way they taste when I use them while they are green. I also think it adds a few more vitamins. You usually have to use larger amounts of the fresh or frozen ones.

My favorite herb is basil and I really love it. I have even purchased fresh plants in the grocery store when it wasn't in season. Basil won't come back year after year like many of the other herbs so it is very important to store in between seasons.

Oregano. This is one that will come back year after year and it is really good fresh. It freezes well, too.

I don't use too much sage, but this will be used for my Thanksgiving dinner.

Thyme is something that comes back year after year, too. I don't really use too much of it but I think it is lovely and fragrant in the garden. I occasionally use the rosemary, in the bag behind the thyme, but rosemary is kind of strong and I have to watch how much I use, especially for my husband.

One thing I am going to try freezing is stevia. I will then use it in tea and smoothies. I have a big bag of it so I am hoping this will be a good way to preserve it.

Now I just need to label each bag and I will put all the the bags in a larger bag or container and freeze it until I need it. I have heard some people like to freeze herbs in ice cube trays of water and use them in soups and stews. That would be good for that purpose but I often use mine in stir fries and sauces so I am not sure I would like that method as well.

Fall colors

I think fall has finally arrived in Georgia this week. The leaves haven't turned dramatically yet and that is what marks fall for me. I knew it was here as soon as I saw these wild flowers that I think are Black eyed Susans or Rudbeckias, but my sister says they are Jerusalem artichokes. She is usually right.

Days like this are crisp, still warm enough and clear as a bell. These photos were taken just before dusk so the colors are crisp. You see all the vibrant detail and all this is taken from nature's palette. The flowers were spread by the wind and the birds -- a true gift.

They are growing next to the lake with the tips of the trees showing fall color on the opposite bank. There is almost no breeze because the water is almost still -- the perfect time before darkness falls.

They are very hardy but look fragile with the trees and other plants mirrored behind them. Enjoy your fall. It doesn't last long.