Pictures from the 2011 competition season
Pictures from KAR regionals
June 6th – KAR regionals in Pomona
Great Balls of Fire (tap) and Cool Rider (jazz)
March 18 – KAR regionals in Ontario
Great Balls of Fire (tap)
2009 season – Chantilly Lace (tap)
May regionals in Ontario
Pumpkin recipes
Halloween has come and gone. If you’re jack-o-lanterns have not fallen victim and become smashed pumpkins in the street, then you’ve got to decide what to do: keep ‘em, toss ‘em, or compost ‘em. We had a couple of GIANT monsters this year; since our composter is full, then it looks like we’ll be eating a whole lot of pumpkin soup and pumpkin pie in the months to come 
What do you do with those leftover Halloween doorstep sentinels? I like to bake our jack-o-lanterns until they are nice and soft (an hour or more at 375-400 degrees), peel away the shell, then bag up the flesh in Ziploc freezer bags and keep it through the winter for soup, breads, and desserts. One of my favorite recipes is for Fall Harvest Soup (see below, several posts down). It’s great any time you make it, but adds a really beautiful touch to your Thanksgiving table if you serve it in the pumpkin shell.
Some other pumpkin creations:
Pumpkin pancakes
Pumpkin muffins and pumpkin bread (see below for a recipe)
Pumpkin beignets (see below)
Pumpkin cheesecake
Pumpkin cookies – tons of varieties
Pumpkin bars
Try Pumpkin Nook or Pumpkin Recipes for more ideas.
My neighbor Mariann’s amazing pumpkin pie
I’m not much of a pumpkin pie eater, but I swear, I’m trying. The past 2 years I’ve gotten used to pumpkin cheesecake. This year I think I just might have worked myself up to trying pumpkin pie (it all stems from a traumatic preschool memory where I ate pumpkin pie and threw up. Lovely, huh?) 
I don’t have specific directions, just ingredients. Oven temp? Cook time? Your guess is as good as mine. PS – This makes 7-10 pies. Hope you’re hungry!
Pie filling:
8 c pumpkin
3 c sugar
8 eggs
4 cans milk (condensed, I assume)
4 tsp cinnamon
3 tsp ginger
1 tsp nutmeg
Pie crust:
1 tsp salt
5 c flour
1 1/2 (?) Crisco
1 egg
1/2 – 3/4 c water
1 tbsp vinegar
Pumpkin beignets
I make apple beignets several times a year. They are always a huge hit and each time I make them it surprises me how quick and easy they are. I stumbled upon this recipe and can’t wait to try it.
from http://tickledred.wordpress.com/2010/10/26/pumpkin-beignets/
Pumpkin Beignets Adapted from Chef Jamie Shannon’s recipe for Beignets
Serves 4-6
Beignet Batter
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon Chicago Spiced Sugar mix (or substitute with the following spices)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon all spice
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
1 cup milk
1 medium egg, beaten
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 quarts vegetable oil for frying
1/3 cup powdered sugar
caramel sauce
Combine and sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and spices in a large bowl.
Combine the milk, egg, pumpkin and vanilla in a small bowl.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.
Combine thoroughly. Is it just me or does mixing batter make you hum as well?
Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot (you don’t need a deep fryer) over medium high heat until approx. 325 degrees. Use a thermometer to gauge the temperature, or if you don’t have one sprinkle a tiny bit of flour into the oil. If it sizzles instantaneously you’re pretty much ready.
You will need two teaspoons. One to lift a spoonful of batter, the other to push the batter into the hot oil. Part of the reason I love beignets is because they are so easy to make. They don’t have to be perfectly symmetrical and I adore the diversity that takes shape when those little beauties hit the oil.
Try not to fry more than 8 or 10 beignets at a time. Crowding them will lower the temperature of the oil and cause your beignets to be soggy. Make sure to adjust the heat of the oil while you cook to keep the temperature at 325 degrees, or at a constant slow rolling boil when you add in each batch.
Fry each batch for no more than 5-7 minutes, or until golden brown on both sides and cooked all the way through. Pull the first couple of beignets apart to see if they are cooked all the way through. This will give you a better feel of the golden color that you are looking for and the amount of time you need to leave them in the oil. Drain on a rack or paper towels.
Serve them fresh, hot and liberally dusted with powdered sugar. A little word of advice though. Make sure that you have set the table before you put the platter down, otherwise you can forget about getting a chance afterwards. These little lovelies will be gone before the napkins finds their way to the table never mind onto a lap.
Pumpkin bread / muffins
My friend Andrea made pumpkin muffins for us shortly after having Cole. I’m a huge fan of pumpkin bread and pumpkin muffins; these are the best I have EVER had. Here is the recipe:
Here is the pumpkin muffin recipe (actually, it’s pumpkin bread that I just poured into muffin tins). I think next time I will cut down on the vegetable oil (maybe 1/2 cup instead of 1 c.)…less oily that way! Anyhoo, enjoy!!
“This is an incredible bread. Its moistness comes from the addition of an unusual ingredient: coconut milk! Originally submitted to ThanksgivingRecipe.com.”
INGREDIENTS:
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups packed dark brown sugar
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 2 cups pumpkin puree
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup coconut milk
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2/3 cup flaked coconut
• 1 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 8×4 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl combine the flour, brown sugar, white sugar, pumpkin puree, oil, coconut milk, baking soda, salt, ground nutmeg and ground cinnamon. Mix until all of the flour is gone. Fold in the nuts and flaked coconut. Pour batter into the prepared pans.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cover loaves with foil tightly. Allow to steam for 10 minutes. Remove foil and turn out onto a cooling rack. Tent lightly with the foil and allow to cool completely.
Fall Harvest Soup
My very favorite use of pumpkins! If we have them, we use Cinderella pumpkins. They tend to be incredibly rich. But regular old jack-o-lanterns work very well. If you happen to have one laying around that has not yet been carved, follow the recipe and put the soup in the hollowed-out pumpkin shell for a beautiful presentation.
* 4-4 1/2 pounds pumpkin
* 1 onion (recipe says sliced, but I did mine diced)
* 1-inch piece fresh ginger (I also diced this in small pieces)
* 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
* 1 zucchini, sliced
* 4 ounces sliced mushrooms (I didn’t put these in)
* 14-ounce can chopped/diced tomatoes
* 3 ounces pasta shells
* 1 3/4 cup stock (I use vegetable “Better Than Bullion” available at all grocery stores)
* 4 tablespoons ricotta cheese (can omit this and it still tastes good)
*2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
* salt and ground pepper
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the top off the pumpkin with a large, sharp knife and scoop out and discard the pumpkin seeds.
Using a small, sharp knife and a sturdy tablespoon, cut and scrape out as much flesh from the pumpkin shell as possible, then chop the flesh into coarse chunks.
Bake the pumpkin shell with its lid on for 45 minutes-1 hour until the inside begins to soften.
Meanwhile, make the filling. Gently fry the onion, ginger and pumpkin flesh in the olive oil for about 10 minutes, stirring the mixture occasionally (I cooked a little longer so the pumpkin was nice and soft).
Add the sliced zucchini and mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes more, then stir in the tomatoes, pasta shells and stock. Season well, bring to a boil, then cover the pan and simmer gently for about 10 minutes.
Stir the ricotta cheese and basil into the pasta and spoon the mixture into the pumpkin. It may not be possible to fit all the filling into the pumpkin shell, so serve the rest separately, if necessary.
Serves 4 (at least)
What a birthday!
I’ve always written to the kids in their keepsake journals, but since I don’t have it handy, I guess blogging is our next best bet. Thank you, WordPress for Android!
Dear Cole,
Exactly 4 years ago, almost to the minute, our sweet baby boy joined our family. Isn’t it an odd coincidence we are sitting here, back in the place it all began?
Poor Liv was my test baby; I recently told her she was our experiment since I had absolutely no idea how to do this thing called parenting. You were a piece of cake, in every respect: an easy nurser, quiet and mellow, not at all colicky, you immediately fell into a day/night rhythm, and best of all, you spent your first few months sleeping on my chest every night. You still lay on me to sleep every so often and it reminds me of how much I enjoyed all our newborn moments together.
You’ve grown into an amazing boy. You manage to somehow make me pull my hair out and yet want to hug you and tell you how much I love you and how much joy you bring me.
You are in perpetual motion, constantly running, riding, climbing, jumping, digging, building, (destroying), and sword-fighting. My favorite is when you’re “brooming.” You have this way of upsetting me that makes me choke back laughter - it’s that little I-know-I’m-going-to-get-away-with-it-because-I’m-cute smirk. You have everyone wrapped around your little finger.
I can’t believe how quickly the past 4 years have flown by. I can’t keep you small, no matter how much I sometimes wish I could. I’m so proud to call you my son and I love you in ways no words can explain.
Happy 4th birthday, sweet baby boy. Next year we’ll aim for celebrating it with a party instead of an evening in the hospital
Love,
Mom
A once-every-5-years thing?
As much as I hate lightning and thunder, I have to admit the storm last week was pretty cool. Anything to change up the boringness of no seasons!
I was just cleaning out and consolidating old arts and crafts stuff and happened upon this article, dated Sept 21, 2005 (along with a giant dead spider who might just be the first case of death by glitter asphyxiation). Apparently Fullerton is on the 5-year plan for lightning strikes. (When I called Brian the Friday of the storm to tell him about the trees in Fullerton that got hit, he said he heard mention of a lightning strike and tree and was afraid to go home)
Looking forward to the next storm….2015 perhaps? As long as there are no heat waves preceding it, we’re cool.
