Last Pumpkin Standing

Tomorrow is December 1st, which means several things: 1) My rent is due. 2) It's the first night of Hanukkah and 3) It's the day when our favorite autumnal fruit (or is it a vegetable?) officially gets the heave-ho. Suddenly, we're too cool for pumpkin bisque, pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins and pumpkin pancakes. Citrus steps into the spotlight. You start tossing clementines in your kids' lunch bags and shoving halved grapefruits under the broiler. Before you know it you're serving pomegranate margaritas on New Year's.

I spotted these good-lookin' gourds at a farmstand in late October.

And invited this pretty pumpkin to come home with me to adorn my table throughout November.

And yet, as I pulled out the ornaments and twinkly lights yesterday, I knew it was time to retire my festive fall centerpiece. I admit, I had misgivings about slicing into this guy. I imagine it's the way farmers feel about raising a turkey or chicken before it becomes their family's dinner. Or maybe I'm just sappy and melodramatic.

But ultimately, it was the right thing to do. I made a popular Afghani dish called Pumpkin Kadu Bouranee, which is a really delicious vegetarian meal. It's basically stir-fried pumpkin mixed with a sweet tomato and ginger sauce and a dollop of yogurt or sour cream on top. I served it over basmati rice with cinnamon and toasted almonds and some whole wheat naan on the side. 

Pip, pip dear pumpkin. You had one helluva season.

Autumn in the Northeast: Fun with Food

Know when I realized I was getting old? When I discovered that I get more excited about shopping for housewares than shoes or handbags. It was right around the time I started throwing dinner parties for couples and stopped chatting up strangers in bars. I began swapping recipes with friends instead of party clothes. These days, I spend leisure time reading cookbooks and actually enjoy trips to the grocery store. And now, I find myself pulling off the side of the road to take pictures of fruits and vegetables. Good Lord, what's become of my youth?

Nice stems, huh?

I am drawn like a moth to a flame.

Good gourd--these are awesome!

Caption Contest! (I can't think of anything pithy to write here. You give it a whirl! There is no prize involved. Only glory. And by glory, I mean I'll give you a shout-out in the comments section.)

I can hardly shelve my excitement.

An apple a day keeps the bigger pant size away.

Buckets of fun.

Everything my brother said was true. I really am corny.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Did you guys catch Martha Stewart on Oprah last week? That girl cracks me up. Near the end of the show, after making the most delicious grilled cheese sandwiches known to man, she gifted O with a huge gift basket filled with crafting products, homemade apricot preserves and a tiny jar of honey extracted from her own bees. It's like she wants SNL to do another skit about her.

 

Despite sometimes feeling like Martha is from another planet, one where women grow seven types of lettuce in their backyards and handcraft their wedding gowns out of doilies, most of the recipes from her magazine, website and cookbooks are actually pretty down-to-earth and utterly do-able. Take these pumpkin whoopie pies, for example. Just the fact that she says whoopie makes Martha feel more like a citizen of Earth.

 

All of fall's favorites represented--cinnamon, allspice and ginger. 

Pumpkin, brown sugar and vanilla...it's starting to smell good in here!

 

Drop cookie dough in even amounts since they'll be pressed into little sandwiches later. 

I didn't have any official pastry bags around, so I just used a ziploc and cut a hole in the end to fill the cookies. It was a mistake. My arm is still sticky two days later.

These are perfect for any Halloween gathering, fall feast, or as I can attest...breakfast. Is that wrong?

Continuing Halloween Week, tomorrow I'll show you how I've decked out my apartment for the holiday. It's super scary...and not just because of the growing mound of clothes beside my bed.