These were tastier than expected. The pumpkin was subtle but enjoyable. However, my favorite was the caramel apple.
Pumpkin Spice Chai Tea sampled at Cost Plus
The best pumpkin tea I’ve tried so far.
Pumpkin Pretzels found at Cost Plus
I was super excited when I saw these because I love chocolate covered pretzels. They were amazing! The only problem with these is that they too easily melt in this 108 degree weather we’re having.
Pumpkin Seen
Pumpkin Pie Cupcake Kit found at Cost Plus
These are so cute but I think they take more icing decorating skill than I possess.
On the Pumpkin Hunt For
My friend posted this picture on my Facebook wall and I think it generated more comments than anything I’ve ever posted before. There seems to be lots of excitement about these.
Get your free (yep, I said FREE!!) pumpkin carving templates here! It’s never too early to start compiling a collection of templates so we can be geared up in time for Halloween. Pumpkin carving begins at different times for different people around the country…the colder the climate the earlier you can begin. Sadly, here at my home in Southern California, we must painstakingly wait until the week before Halloween or we will be left with nothing but a shriveled, moldy mess… so sad. But you better believe that when we do carve, we will be carving fools and with these templates, my porch is going to be a sight to see! I love the pumpkin template. A pumpkin carved into a pumpkin sounds like a philosophy question of some sort. Pictures will be posted!
(Thanks HGTV, I heart you and your constant barrage of home remodels for slightly unbalanced people that have the ability to entertain while simultaneously annoy me. You rock!)
This is the saddest pumpkin story I’ve ever heard. A 93 year-old woman woke up Friday morning to find a half–dozen of her pumpkins destroyed by vandals. They took large lawn umbrellas and stabbed them into her nearly 400 pound pumpkin she planned on entering in a local pumpkin growing contest
The karma on those rotten pumpkin vandals will be nasty. Not only did they destroy a beautiful pumpkin (the worst crime to be committed according to pumpkinpassion.com), but you dashed all hope and joy from a 93 (yeah NINTEY THREE) year old woman and the CHILDREN she was going to donate the pumpkin to. There is a special level of hell for people who do things like that.
Through all of this disappointment, this wonderful woman is not stuck on the injustice of this whole ordeal . . .no, she is donating all of the pumpkin seeds to members of the community “so everybody can have a pumpkin”. Well played. May we all learn from her kindness.
It’s time! The first officialish day of Pumpkin Eatin’ Season. Can you believe it’s here already? I will celebrate by writing pumpkin posts and by waiting longingly for pumpkin spice lattes to go on sale this Tuesday.
This is seriously going to be the best season! When you have a baby to dress in pumpkin outfits and pose in pumpkin patches there’s no way this season can be anything but the best!
What pumpkin treats and activities are you excited about?
It’s been difficult getting back into the swing of blogging again. I had so many great ideas for the 2011 Pumpkin Eatin’ Season. To start the season off I was all set to participate in NaBloPoMo’s blogging every day marathon for the month of September. My first and only post went up on September 1st but the next day, my grandmother died.
The first few weeks of September went by in a blur of activity. We made the unexpected trip to Idaho for the funeral and then there was the cleaning out of her apartment. After the chaos is when the blahs set deeply in my bones. Writing about pumpkin in the face of all that’s been going on seemed like a sacrilege. My thoughts were too melancholy for Pumpkin Passion. Eventhough I wasn’t blogging, my life has been revolving around pumpkins since July for good reasons that are better left to a future blog post.
My grandmother was the ruling matriarch of our family. As a kid, I thought she was the most glamorous adventurer to walk the planet. She left the small mormon town in Idaho where our family had lived for generations around the time that I was born. I knew her as the “Granny” that would come for visits in her fur coat and take us all out for nice dinners at the town’s most fancy restaurant. She traveled to places that this mormon kid could barely believe were real: New Orleans, Seattle, Hawaii, Ireland, and England. She was my real life celebrity.
Eventually, we moved out of Idaho and in with her while I was in high school. Moving from Idaho to Orange County, California, was a complete culture shock. She kept me sane.
From her I received my strong-as-steel independence (“God helps those that help themselves”), my wanderlust, and my love of crafting. She taught me how to sew and how to embroider. When we were cleaning out her apartment I took pictures of all the quilts, wall hangings, and embroidery that she’d been working on for years. She’d given away several pieces over the years but she still had over a 100 pieces jammed in every closet. I photographed all of her work but I thought I’d share these two with Pumpkin Passion.
I’m still sad but the blahhhs are subsiding a little.
Pumpkin Eatin’ Season officially begins today! Over the past few non pumpkin eatin’ months, the Pumpkin Passion blog has gotten a little dusty but we’re ready to make 2011 the best pumpkin season yet. What new treats will we discover?
If you just can’t wait for a pumpkin fix head over to Facebook and join the Pumpkin Passion page or how about a pumpkin video?
We took a short trip to Seattle about a month ago and it was a life changing experience. I completely fell in love with that town. We had so much fun: the food was incredible; the people were so nice; and the scenery can’t be topped.
I have a friend who is equally in love with Seattle and visits frequently. She gave us some restaurant suggestions that proved phenomenal. One of the places was Thai Ginger. I was wary of having Thai in Washington because I’m fairly certain that the best Thai food on the continent can be found in Los Angeles. Why go elsewhere?
We ended up near Thai Ginger and decided to try it. I had a pumpkin curry that was grand! It was one of their specials. Actually, a shrimp pumpkin curry was one of their specials but they made me one with chicken. It was the perfect amount of spice and the pumpkin was cooked just right.
Not only was the food good in Seattle but the coffee went above and beyond. The connection between Seattle and coffee is seriously no joke. I had no idea coffee could even taste that good. Hands down, the best cup of coffee I have ever had was in Tacoma at the Babblin’ Babs Bistro. The owner mentioned that they get their coffee from a local roaster 2 to 3 times a week. It is super fresh. They had no pumpkin but their menu is ever-changing and I’m sure pumpkins make an appearance but I simply had to give them a shout out!
We did have some good tea also. Tully’s Coffee has a Pumpkin Spice Tea Latte, which was good and unique. They are located near Pike Place Farmer’s Market where we also purchased three little pumpkins: one was made by a local crafts person, one was purchased at a store that only sells windup toys, and one was from a toy store and is made out of wood but didn’t make it into the pictures.
Someday we will be back and hopefully it will be for a more permanent stay.
