Oh do you know the pumpkin grandma?

Last Saturday, I decided to make use of the pumpkins I purchased for carving, then never got around to carving.

So this is what I did:

Cut.

Clean.

Bake.Baked!Scrape ... into a food processor.Process.Wonder if it's supposed to look like applesauce. Check the recipe ... Yes, it's supposed to look like applesauce.End up with a HUGE bowl of pumpkin puree.An amount equal to this many cans!Bag it ... and line up for the pumpkin can-can, Rockette style.

"Take us to your leader!"Use one bag to make one of these. Yum!Use the innards to make these: Sweet-n-Salty Pumpkin Seeds.There you have it! That's how I spent 90 percent of my day last Saturday. But it was worth it.

Thing is, that was two pumpkins. I have three more pumpkins to go!

Today's question:

What's your favorite thing to make with pumpkin? Feel free to share the recipe.

Hungry heart

I mentioned earlier this week Bubby's momentary thrill upon hearing his tummy growl. "Did you hear that, Gramma?" he said to me. "The baby in my tummy went RAAAAR!" Such a sweet sound of confusion coming from my grandson who thought there was a baby in his tummy, not realizing he was just hungry.

Bubby's empty stomach was a source of amusement, not pain. Other than crying as an infant when he was hungry or simply stating "I want something," as he often does now when he wants to snack, I think it was the first time Bubby was aware of his stomach growling.

I distinctly recall the first time I knew what it felt like to be so hungry it hurt. It was the early '70s and my family was packed in the station wagon, driving from Minnesota to Florida. We were on our way to Disneyworld, the one and only time all seven kids and both parents went on a true family vacation. Across several state lines. To a place every kid dreams of going. Just like normal families do.

My dad was -- still is -- a "drive straight through" kind of traveler. So with all seven of us kids making the most of the limited space allotted each, our pale green station wagon with seating for nine ticked off the miles. "Delta Dawn" and "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" played on the AM radio, and visions of Mickey Mouse, Haunted Mansion and Cinderella's castle danced in our heads as we headed south, paying no heed to the national gas shortage.

Restaurant stops were few and far between, due equally to the desire to knock out miles as well as my parents dreading the logistics of seating nine -- and paying for nine -- in a dining establishment. At one point, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, I recall waking from having dozed off in the backseat. My arm on which I'd slept was drenched in drool, my stomach clenched and uncomfortable. When I complained about the sensation and voiced worries that I was going to throw up, my sister snarled that it's nothing, that I was just hungry, to be quiet.

So I was quiet. And waited. And marveled that this, my aching gut, was what all those hungry kids in Africa must feel and why they'd be happy to have the food my siblings and I often picked at instead of eating.

Eventually a restaurant appeared on the horizon and all was soon right with the world in general and my growling stomach in particular.

I was blessed to not know true hunger, to not feel such pangs and worse on a regular basis. I was fortunate that the discomfort of not having enough food was so rare that I can recall one specific incident, not a childhood marked by it. I was lucky that the lack of food was due to traveling -- going to Disneyworld, for heaven's sake -- not poverty.

The same goes for Bubby. He's fortunate that the only reason the baby in his tummy "raaaared" was because he had refused to eat what he'd been given for lunch. A lunch that included many options from which to choose, many morsels to fill his tiny tummy. He had made a conscious choice to not partake.

Not all children are as lucky as Bubby is. Or I was. Not all children giggle at the noises from their tummies; many cry as their tummies gurgle and groan.

Thoughts of those gurgles and groans make my heart hurt.

Today's question:

With the holidays -- and requests for holiday donations -- bearing down upon us, what charities do you typically help out this time of year?

Thursdays with Grandma

Tuesdays and Morries ain't got nothing on this team of Grandma and Bubby. Yesterday's highlight: Decorating and eating Halloween cookies (with a little lot of help from Mom Megan)!

Is there anything sweeter? (Or scarier ... especially once the sugar high hit and Bubby ran around shouting "Puddle! Puddle!" over and over for reasons yet unknown.)

Today's question:

What's your favorite Halloween candy and when did you last have it? (C'mon, be honest ... who among us has not already dipped into this year's trick-or-treat stash?)

Grandma's assistant baker

Not only was Bubby's visit to Grandma's the first time he rode on a plane without Mom or Dad and the first time he slept in the big boy guest room all by himself, it was his very first time to bake cookies -- chocolate-chip cookies! -- with Grandma.

 

Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm! Finger-lickin' good!

Today's question:

Chocolate-chip cookies are my signature baked good. What is yours? (If anyone wants the recipe from another commenter, say so in the comments and I'll conduct a recipe swap through e-mail. OR ... you're welcome to include your recipe with your comment to begin with!)

Waste not, want not

Because of a recent trip to the grocery store followed by a patio party in which lots of people left lots of stuff, today I have the following fresh produce in my house:

• black grapes

• red plums

• cantaloupe

• watermelon

• lemons

• limes

• tomatoes

• cucumbers

• onions -- red and white

• zucchini

• summer squash

• leaf lettuce

• carrots

• celery

• bananas

• green peppers

• green onions

• cilantro

• mint

Ugh! All that for just me and Jim!

With Jim not being much of a fruit or veggie eater, looks like I'll be making a visit to Crunchy Betty to come up with ways to use some of the goods on my face and body -- not just in it -- before it all goes to waste.

Today's question:

What fresh produce do you have in your house right now?

Just added to the Recipe Box: Chocolate Zucchini Bread

True to her wacky ways, Andrea didn't want a cake for her birthday celebration, she wanted zucchini bread. Here is the recipe for the Chocolate Zucchini Bread over which we'll sing "Happy Birthday" when we get together this afternoon. Enjoy!

MLB, NBA, PGA ... or MLE?

I just gotta say, Bubby is a pretty talented kid. At two years old, he already shows an affinity for sports. He's got a bright future ahead of him, with Dad and Mom figuring the pros will soon be checking him out; recruiters covet left-handers, be it baseball, basketball, golf, and a left-hander my Bubby is.

I say forget the MLB, NBA and PGA, though, because from the looks of things, Bubby just may be in line to be a champion of the MLE. That's Major League Eating, and it's for real.

The MLE recently staged another championship event, with Sunday's Coney Island Fourth of July hot dog eating contest. (That's a link to ESPN, folks. See ... it's a real sport!) Stars of the MLE were there, as was the infamous MLE-resistant renegade: six-time hot-dog eating champ Takeru Kobayashi.

This grandma thinks Kobayashi and all the other championship gobblers better watch their backs as Bubby's gearing up for come pretty serious action. Although Bubby certainly won't be in line to win the title of championship hot-dog eater -- it's hard to practice for that event when Mom (and Grandma!) demand the dogs be sliced and diced before ingesting to prevent choking -- there are a few categories in which Bubby's already hitting it hard.

For starters, Bubby has quite an advantage in the popsicle category, with recent hours under his belt in both the Homemade Popsicle category ...

as well as the Slow-Melt Popsicle category ...

He's becoming quite proficient in the Birthday Cake category, too, with two years of winning rounds to his name ...

Also in the Baked Goods division is the Krispy Kreme Donut category, of which Bubby had his first taste on Grandma's birthday (did you all know Krispy Kreme gives you a FREE dozen donuts on your birthday?) ...

One of Bubby's newest competitive categories is the Bacon & Eggs division. This one he practices with Grandma's version of bacon and eggs, recipe courtesy of Grilled Grandma Judy:

Speaking of sweets, the Sweets category is Bubby's favorite, with the Longest Time Spent With A Pop-Ring Sucker award easily snatched up by Bubby during his recent Splash Pad birthday party:

There's always the chance, of course, that some other food champ will out eat Bubby. But there's one category Bubby definitely dominates, one which no other MLE member can ever take away from him. That would be, without a doubt, the category of Most Adorable Eater Ever!

Today's question:

If you were to be named a Championship Eater, what food would you be the champion of?

My answer: Guacamole! I can eat it anytime, anywhere, any amount. I love guacamole!