Whether your week has been good or bad so far I think I can make it better. About two weeks ago Quirk Books sent me a copy of Shauna Sever’s new cookbook – Pure Vanilla. A book about baking with vanilla, obviously. I was also able to get a copy to give away to one of you guys!
The book is seriously awesome. Not just because it has so many delicious looking photos but also because of Shauna’s amusing introductions to each recipe.
Witches, goblins, and elves are not what makes Halloween exciting. For me, it’s the pumpkin harvest. For about six years now I’ve been trying to grow a pumpkin in my backyard. I’ve tried fertilizers, all types of seeds, and different soils but nothing ever seems to work. The furthest I’ve ever gotten is a vibrant yellow flower that eventually shrivels and dies. It’s upsetting when you put so much work into something and then it fails, but year after I year I keep on trying to grow a pumpkin.
That’s why when I see pumpkin growing competitions around Halloween I stare in awe at the television, wondering how the farmer grew such a heavy, beautiful pumpkin. What I find even more fascinating is how carvers can take these orange wonders and create three dimensional sculptures from them. So long jack-o-lanterns, meet puss in boots with life-like whiskers.
