How to Bake a Whole Sugar Pumpkin to Process and Freeze

While Farmerboy was shopping for his Halloween pumpkins to carve, he brought home three sugar (or commonly tagged "pumpkin pie") pumpkins.  Why?  Who knows... Apparently, he felt that his mother would like to take on the challenge of making her own pumpkin puree from scratch.  UGH!!  My mind was filled with the idea of cutting the tough rinds, scraping out the seeds, cubing and cooking the remaining pumpkin.  The end result would probably be me with a soupy mess!  :(   

I was telling my Mom about my troubles one afternoon, when she mentioned having seen a program on TV that processed the pumpkins by baking them whole.  What?  I am not going to lie here... My mind was filled with exploding pumpkins and seedy guts hanging all over my oven.  I could tell later that evening that Mr. Hollow's thinking wasn't much different.  But, after a little research that surprisingly brought few results, my mind was made up to take a stab at this short cut.   Armed with very little knowledge (and after waiting for Mr. Hollow to leave for work), the little pumpkins went into the oven.  This is how I prepared and baked them:

All three pumpkins were washed and dried.  They were rubbed all over with a paper towel-- moistened in olive oil.  I took a pointed steak knife and pierced the rind all over (was hoping this would deter any explosions!).  They were then set directly on the oven rack with a cookie sheet on the rack immediately below them to catch any run off.  Next, I turned the oven on 400 degrees and let them bake for about an hour.  They were checked by pushing a knife through the pumpkin and into the flesh.  The rind and flesh were soft, so I knew that they were finished baking. The picture below is how they looked after removal from the oven.

 As you can see from the skin of the pumpkins in the photo below, I let them sit and cool for an hour.  They started to deflate and the rinds began to buckle.  Each pumpkin cut easily into quarters as if slicing through butter!  I used a wooden spoon to gently remove the seeds and loose stringy flesh.  Then, the same spoon slid the golden flesh effortlessly from the rind.  Due to the long cooling off period, some of the rinds could even be peeled by hand from the flesh.  How easy is that?

My Braun hand held processor turned the pumpkin flesh into a smooth puree.  Three pumpkins yielded 5 containers of pumpkin puree at 2 cups each.  Four of the containers are now in the deep freeze.  Not a bad haul for an afternoon of experimenting! :)

The next test was to make a pie.  I noticed that the pumpkin did seem a little runnier in the mixing stage... And the pie did bake a little longer than my pies made with canned pumpkin... But I am happy to say that it tasted absolutely perfect!

Did I ever tell you that my all time favorite dessert is Pumpkin Pie?    I don't even need Cool Whip to enjoy it! :)



I do not know if planting, harvesting and processing pumpkins on a larger scale is in my future, but the idea is certainly more tempting with this method! :)

Thrifty Find ~ Singer 99k Sewing Machine

Monday was a great day to take off for the local thrift store to drop off a few boxes and bags of goods that needed to find a new home.  It always makes me feel better to lighten the load! :)  I browsed around the store to check out the wool sweaters and was thrilled to find one with some gorgeous pastel stripes.  Then, I happened upon some dress slacks for work... Double Score!!  How much more could a girl ask for?  So, my next stop was the check out counter.  One of the ladies standing in the vicinity suggested that I lay down my items and take a look up front.  My eye spied some farm toys in the distance, so I made a beeline to them and noticed that they were not vintage... :(   Feeling as though my luck filled hunt was over, I headed back down the isle to the counter.  One parting glance to the front ledge of the store stopped me in my tracks ... a Singer 99k with its original carrier sat gleaming in the light of the window.  SWEET!

Now I will be candidly honest and admit that I have repeatedly told Mr. Hollow during our travels that collecting sewing machines was not for me due to size and space.  (As if that ever stopped me with my other collections! ;) )  We have seen a few heavily used Singer models here and there, and they never really spoke to me. ( Restoration on mechanical items isn't a big desire of mine or more importantly to Mr. Hollow.)  But I can honestly say, this nearly mint machine took my breath away. *sigh*

My camera does not do it justice.  Although this model isn't as desired as the freestanding featherweight predecessors, the 99k is still an example of fine craftsmanship that has the ability to last through the test of time.  Don't you just love the work light mounted on the back?  Whoever had owned this 99k obviously cherished it, since its gleaming black paint and ornate design have only a few minor blemishes.  Truly an amazing fact... Since after checking out the serial number,  I found out this machine was shipped new from Kilbowie, Scotland on September 11, 1954.   

These Singers are such a stark contrast to the plastic that has taken over many of the modern day counterparts.  Not that there aren't great machines out there... Don't get me wrong... But as with my Kenmores, I do tend to favor the metal bodied machines.  Maybe, it is my fear of breaking things! ;) 

The Singer 99k tilts on metal posts that fit into round slots at the back of the base.  When I got home, I looked under the machine and found some extra Singer needles, a pile of bobbins, the original tube of oil, original manual, and a slew of feet that offer more options than I could ever dream of!

Now seriously... How can you go wrong buying any working sewing machine for $18.00?

Happy Halloween!!

The bewitching hour is growing near!!  Farmerboy and his Farmer girl (No kidding here folks... Although she dabbles more in raising cattle than tilling the soil!) are busy carving pumpkins to ward off the evil spirits.

Here is Farmerboy making sure that no seeds were missed.  Personally, I would have told him to mind his own pumpkin! LOL  But his girlfriend isn't to fond of the cleaning process anyways. ;)

This is why he was so interested in the seeds.  Just his way of giving Mom a job to bake later! ;)

I think they both did a fantastic job.  They will be perfect on the front room table tonight!

Have a Safe and Happy Halloween!!

Black Cats, Fall Mix and Etsy

Halloween is getting a little more festive at the Hollow thanks to the great Etsy Stores of Harvest Moon Prims and Olde Annie Primitives.  I have made a vow to not only sell through this great site but take advantage of the opportunity to buy wonderful handcrafted items from my fellow Artisans.  Here are a few of my most recent purchases: 

The first spooky bag contains three black cats with backs arched, tails up, and all grunged with the scent of the season.  They are from Annie at Olde Annie Primitives .  Her enchanting store has a wide variety of primitive bowl fillers, candle mats, tree skirts, centerpieces and sooo much more.  (Check out her tiger striped and multi colored kitties... too cute!)  My new scaredy cats are a great addition to my fall decor and fit in perfectly with my plan to collect black cats (in honor of my cat Mew). ;)    The quality of these handcrafted bowl fillers are nothing short of perfection.  Annie definitely strives to have return customers!  I can only guess that some of her inspiration for these darling kittys came from her own black cat Harley.  So if you have the time, check out Harley's page and Annie's primitive creations at her wonderful blog here.  If you love prims like me, you will not be disappointed! :)

My second purchase was from Marilyn at  Harvest Moon Prims.   As you can see, those cats will be displayed proudly with some of Marilyn's scented pudka pods, hips and acorn melts.  (I wish this blog had smellavision... Mmmmm...)   The mix has such a wonderful depth of color that complements my new cats purrfectly! ;)  Oh... and Marilyn does not only sell some fantastic fall mix filler, she also has sewn prim creations, soap, melts, grubby candles... too much to list here! ;)  I will definitely be going back for some more items in the future.  If your interested in visiting Marilyn at her blog,  she can be found here.  :)

Now my wooden bowl is filled and in its place of honor.  The smells of fall are drifting throughout my front room.  As you can see, I added some cinnamon sticks to match the spicy brown rub on my cats.  It is such a wonderful display.   My next addition to this area will be a fall inspired wool mat... Creating it will give me something to stitch on during these chilly October nights! :)

The Wonderful Month of October! :)

I LOVE the month of October and the gorgeous hues of fall.  It is amazing how the green leaves transform into beautiful crimsons, rusts, and golds.  I anxiously look out the window each morning to see if the dark shades have brightened to a fiery blaze overnight .  If only it could last a few months longer... *sigh*  

Hay Days and Apple Processing Time!

Apple harvest time is here again... Thanks to Mr. Hollow! :)

Hubby's yearly travels takes him to Hay Days in North Branch, Minnesota.  (It is a Huge snowmobile swap meet.)  He goes with his brother every September and always arrives home with new treasures.  Past purchases have involved sled tracks and parts, truck rims and tires, chainsaw parts... You name it and they have it there for the guys.  Well this year on his way home, he decided to stop by the town of Gayes Mills and bring a few things back for yours truly...  2 Bushels of Apples! :)

Aren't they lovely?
  

As if the apples were not enough, he purchased some fresh cider donuts, and a gallon of apple cider to be heated and spiced up!  Mmmmm...

This past week has been busy with peeling and slicing, which has been a breeze thanks to my handy dandy apple peeler/slicer from the Pampered Chef.  What a time saver!

For a huge money saving versus grocery store prices, I decided to flash freeze and pack 21 quarts of apple slices this year, along with 3 quarts of halved apples, 12 quarts of applesauce, 3 large pies, a caramel apple pie  and 2 dozen pies in a jar.  (Pies in a jar can be read about in an earlier post here. )  That still left plenty of apples for slicing and pouring caramel over... Yum!

Mr. Hollow and I might still do some travelling near the orchards before the season is over and will definitely pop in to enjoy the smells and sites of the season, but I am relieved to have the processing of the apples is over for the year. :) 

The 127 Yard Sale Finds of 2012 ~ Vintage Feedsack Cloth

Here is part one of my haul on this year's 127 Yard Sale.  It is now over 600 miles of great buys.  The weather was beautiful and not as balmy as years past.  Unfortunately, some of our southern bargain hunters were met by rain showers.  We were lucky and missed the rain by the hour and were blessed with lower temps, due to the cloud cover!  :)

This post is dedicated to one of my Tennessee finds... Vintage feedsack cloth.  I stumbled across this on the beginning of our 3rd day of the sales.  Vendors were set up in storage sheds along the highway that were safe from the previous days showers.  Since they had lost a day to rain, everyone was making deals!

It was in one of these sheds that I found a clear zippered bag full of feedsack cloth remnants.  Yay!!  I love the idea of leftovers and the vast variety of patterns.  Aren't they just lovely?  *sigh*

I can spend hours researching the history to these pieces of cloth from days gone by... 

Here is a close up of the "Alice in Wonderland" print.  It is one of the "hard to find" designs.  I have only seen it once with a lavender background.  The flowers are just as whimsical on the green cloth.  :) 

Next to the bag of remnants, there were whole feedsacks.  Score!  As I was opening up sacks, the vendors started making deals.  They were keeping an eye on the dark rain clouds looming in the distance and were determined not  to lose another day of business.  So, we bundled all the material together, they threw out the price of $16.00, and I left thrilled with my finds! 

***A little note of gained knowledge... As I was finishing up my purchase, the woman was kind enough to point out that I had left behind two feedsacks.  Not wanting to insult her, I remained silent about those left behind, but it was running through my head that those remaining were old pillowcases.  Having a general knowledge of feedsack patterns, I felt confident leaving them behind.  Once we arrived home, I began researching the basic designs on these "pillowcases".  The vendor was correct about them being a vintage sack.

The remaining bags were Gold Medal Flour sacks.  They were designed to have a simple pattern around the opening, making them perfect for pillowcases. ;)   Even though they will not be gracing my growing collection, I am always excited to expand my knowledge of this fascinating phenomenon of our American agricultural history.  :)