Last week was extremely busy for me; I had places to go almost every day. I stayed home on Friday because I had special visitors. Vivian (8) and Elijah (3) came to spend the night with Grammie. Vivian has stayed with me before, but Elijah had never done so.
My son, Jonathan, turned 40 on Saturday; my daughter-in-law, Heather, had purchased show tickets for Friday evening as a special treat for him. She brought the children on Friday shortly after noon. The original plan was for me to meet them in downtown Indianapolis on Saturday morning for an outing. In the meantime, a friend from church passed away last Monday, which was quite unexpected. When it was announced that Sherry’s viewing and funeral were to be held midday on Saturday, I felt very torn as to what I should do.
Even after all the times I have seen the Lord’s hand performing in my circumstances, I still marvel at how He works things out. The last time I had spoken with Sherry, she asked me where she could purchase a copy of my book. She wanted to buy one for her daughter, Sarah, who lives in upstate New York. I informed her that she could get one directly from me; all she needed to do was let me know when to bring it. When I found out Sherry was gone, I decided to make sure that Sarah received her book anyway.
After hearing the weather report, Heather and Jonathan decided to forego the Saturday outing. They would meet me at the mall in Greenwood instead. My journey there took me past my church, so I was able to stop and pay my respects to Sherry’s family. Vivian and Elijah behaved very well as they waited for me to go through the visitation line. I was able to give Sarah the book, explaining that her mom had planned to purchase it as a Christmas gift for her.
Now back to my grandchildren: In my bathroom is a container of hand soap that is apple-cinnamon scented. I was helping Elijah wash his hands, and I squirted some into his palm, informing him that we would use the “apple soap.” The next time we washed his hands, Elijah explained to me that he didn’t want apple soap, he wanted “people soap,” pointing at the antibacterial soap container that is also sitting on my bathroom sink. I was a bit confused until I realized that he thought “apple soap” was used to clean apples! Vivian and I had quite a chuckle over that one!
Saturday morning it was time for cooking with Grammie! We decided on pumpkin scones, which were relatively easy to make. I was rapidly taken back to the days when my own children squabbled about who was going to help with each task. Vivian was not too keen on sharing kitchen time with her younger brother, but she grudgingly allowed him to take a few turns at mixing. As he stirred the pumpkin/milk combination into the flour mixture, he declared he was using his superpowers. Finally, our task was completed, the scones went into the oven, and all we had left to do was eat them for breakfast. They were scrumptious!
Along with the scone recipe, there are others that include pumpkin.
Pumpkin Scones
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, cut into chunks
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Cinnamon sugar
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Add 1/2 cup butter and, with a pastry blender or your fingers, cut or rub in until pea-size crumbs form.
In a small bowl, whisk pumpkin and 1/2 cup milk until well blended. Add to flour mixture and stir just until dough is evenly moistened.
Scrape onto a lightly floured board, turn over to coat, and gently knead just until dough comes together, 5 or 6 turns. Pat dough into a 6-inch round, 1-1/2 inches thick; cut into 6 equal wedges.
Separate wedges and place on a lightly buttered 12- by 15-inch baking sheet. In a small bowl, beat egg yolk and 1 tablespoon milk to blend; brush lightly over tops of scones (discard any remaining egg wash). Sprinkle cinnamon sugar evenly over scones.
Bake in a 375-degree oven until scones are golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a rack; serve warm or cool.
Pumpkin-Cider Soup
5 tablespoons butter
2 cups coarsely chopped sweet onions
4 cups chopped celery
6 cups (1-inch cubes) pumpkin, Hubbard, or butternut squash
2 small tart cooking apples, peeled, cored and chopped
5 cups homemade chicken stock or low-sodium canned chicken broth
1 cup cider
2 or 3 fresh sage leaves
1 cup heavy (whipping) cream
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Minced fresh flat-leaf parsley for garnish
Chopped fresh chives for garnish
In stockpot or large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add onions and celery, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until soft but not browned. Add pumpkin or squash, apples, stock or broth, cider, and sage, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 to 40 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes. Remove sage leaves.
Working in batches, transfer soup to a food processor or blender; purée until smooth. (Or purée in the pot with an immersion blender.) Return soup to pot, stir in cream; cook until heated through. Season to taste with salt and pepper. To serve, ladle soup into shallow bowls and sprinkle with the parsley and chives.
Dinner-In-A-Pumpkin
1 small pumpkin, (about 5 pounds)
3/4 pound ground beef (may use ground turkey)
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon flour
3/4 cup beef broth (use chicken broth if using ground turkey)
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon oregano
1 cup mixed frozen veggies
2 cups cooked wild rice/brown rice blend (unseasoned)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice pumpkin open,
reserving the top. Scoop out seeds and “guts”. Wash inside and out, set aside.
Brown meat; drain any grease.
Add back to pot; add olive oil; place over medium heat.
Sprinkle in flour; cook for about 3 minutes. Stir in broth.
Add ginger, oregano, veggies, and wild rice. Stir to combine.
Place pumpkin on a sturdy baking sheet; pour hot mixture into it. Replace top and bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour, until pumpkin begins to soften.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings.