Silent But Busy

Although these pages have been silent, Camp Ramshackle kept a steady buzz of activity. The small, the fantastic (for the young ones doing the creating), the mundane. This weekend, I dealt with a Halloween fairytale pumpkin. I bought it from my youngest son's preschool fundraiser with the intent of eventually baking it. Two weeks ago, I stuck the whole thing in the oven after cutting the top & removing the seeds for roasting.

I've never baked an entire pumpkin by shoving it in the oven like an uncarved jack-o-lantern before. Usually, I use smaller pumpkins and cut them in halves or smaller. But the method worked well although it took hours to cook. After it cooled, I pulled off the skin and stored it.

This weekend, I pureed the bejezus out of a mountain of pumpkin and scoured recipes.

I made a variation of Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pie Bread, which received a thumbs up rating from Eric and my oldest son. I am recuperating from a noxious cold that stole my taste buds, so I couldn't tell, although it baked beautifully. I used a conventional oven (the linked recipe is for a bread machine) and baked it for 55 minutes. All worked well. I will make again and again and again until the pumpkin supply runs out or everyone in the house screams "NO MORE".

And another loaf of the fantastic Flying Apron Bakery house bread. I was happy to see Jennifer Katzinger has a new cookbook. Evidently, it's been out since August, but I've been living under a rock since then. Two loaves of bread did nothing to my mountain of pumpkin puree (as expected), so I froze them in 1/3 cup measured scoops, since my favorite recipe with pumpkin (see above) uses 1/3 cup portions.

The delicious carrots keep growing.

As do my boys, both very interested in sculptures small...

...and large. Built quite spontaneously by my youngest son. I love his design and style. He has been building sculptures since he could move. Watching his work change as he grows older is such a treat. I make an effort to photograph them, although it is hard to keep up.

And I have been sewing shelters. This one is for a silent auction at my youngest son's preschool. Eric has been tackling some much-appreciated work around the house too. I plan to share some projects of home improvement in the upcoming days...not weeks.