Pumpkins....

This time of year is my favorite besides spring. I love the fall colors and pumpkins! This last weekend was our fall harvest for church and we have a pumpkin carving contest every year.

I don't want to spent $4.50 each on pumpkins and let them rot on the front step afterwards. Or all that growing time letting them rot either. This year we bought them Ash put YW on hers for Young Women and Yguy did a ghost.

Since the event was Saturday night I didn't dig into them until Monday morning. Here they are, one I already started cutting up but Yguy helped hold it up to show you the carving.

Here are some of them after canning them. We were able to can 8 1/2 qts of pumpkin. One jar didn't seal so we just opened it and used it. I baked mine first to cook it since I was going to freeze it but I decided I wanted to can it instead.

Cooking it first worked though put you don't have to. I cubed it and piled it into jars put 1/8 of a tsp salt in each jar topped off with boiling water. And canned at 11 pounds pressure for 90 minutes. Of course follow all the canning rules hot jars, lids, etc. And use the pressure for your altitude we are below sea level or about right at it, but definatly not above.

No we didn't make the orange cat with it but this is Arnold looking in the front door. He is very much a momma's boy he will come running from anywhere to see his momma, me. He has been like that since he was a tiny kitten. Peek a Boo is the one in the back ground he is about 5 months old.

We did use it though to make this pumpkin cake. It is very good kinda like carrot cake....

And we made pumpkin pancakes yesterday morning.

Pumpkin Spice Cake

1/2 shortening

1 1/4 cup sugar

2 eggs beaten

2 1/4 c sifted cake flour (I used regular all purpose it worked fine)

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp soda

1 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 cup pumpkin

3/4 c milk

1/2 c chopped nuts

cream shortening, then add sugar gradually and continue creaming until it is light and fluffy. Blend in eggs. Sift together dry ingredients. Combine the pumpkin and milk. Add dry ingredients alternately with pumpkin mixture to the egg mixture. Beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Stir in chopped nuts. Bake the batter in 2 greased 9 inch layer pans at 350 for about 30 minutes.

Frost it with your favorite butter cream icing.

This is the directions from the recipe. But honestly I just started dumping stuff in my Kitchen Aid and it came out beautifully. Also I had some homemade buttercream icing leftover from what I made for the fall harvest cookie decorating. ( I made Lots!) It was bright orange but it was really sweet I think a cream cheese icing would work best. I think if you whip together cream cheese, powdered sugar, a little vanilla, and maybe a dash of milk it would work, and go with the cake much better.

Have a Blessed Day!