I was combing the farmers market a few weeks ago and spied some of the most beautiful pumpkins. One of the vendors commented on how much her husband loved a pie made out of these particular blue pumpkins, Jarrahadale (I just call them BLUE pumpkins :-).  So I bought a blue pumpkin and then a small regular pie pumpkin. 

The inside of the blue is a gorgeous orange.  After I cut open the pumpkin I just put it on a cookie sheet and baked about 30 min. in the oven to soften the meat.  I did the pie pumpkin the same way and then ran each “brand” of pumpkin through the food processor to make the mash.  I bagged them in 2 cup increments, which is usually what a pie calls for, and froze them for later. 

Then I had a FABULOUS idea!  How ’bout a PUMPKIN PIE PARTY where the guests each bring a pie made with different types of pumpkin.  This is what we did…..same crust, same pie plate, same recipe (oops, we used duck eggs and I bet no one else did!), DIFFERENT pumpkin. 

We had the blue pumpkin (the darkest brown in color), the regular orange pie pumpkin (light orange), the Libby’s canned pumpkin (far back) and then we threw in a frozen pie for real taste comparison (FYI-Marie Calendar’s).

We did some very serious tasting :-)  Whipped cream was NOT allowed until we had tasted the raw pumpkin pie.  We tagged each pie with a color tab and then put that same color tab on each plate on each piece.

Lots of discussion went into each taste……

And after all the tasting, cussing and discussing, we arrived at a majority answer to our question….

What IS the best pumpkin for the ultimate Pumpkin Pie??

Canned Libby’s won!  We all decided it might be because our generation is used to the canned product.  We thought that the Libby’s had the best texture and flavor of them all.  We did agree that if you didn’t taste them side by side, there might not be much difference.  Sadly, the frozen pie lacked flavor next to the others.  I secretly was hoping frozen might be a contender!

So, next time you’re looking to go all out homemade, save yourself some time and use the can AND the Libby’s recipe!

PS… NO, Libby’s has no idea who I am or where I live and did not pay me for this adventure  ;-)

OOPS, I meant to say that I like to garden and the ducks like to EAT the garden. I took care of that issue as quick as I could erect my redneck lattice fence.  It may not be fancy, but it was free and it keeps the little devils out!

This is the drill.  I am supposed to dig, weed, pull out all the good stuff and then feed them the leftovers.   Like clockwork they sit by the fence and make lots of noise until I send the greens to the other side. 

They gobble down carrot tops like there’s no tomorrow!

Then there were the potato plants that they could demolish by sticking their heads through the lattice.  By the time I dug potatoes the other day there wasn’t much left of the plant, but I sure got some nice potatoes!

And they got the rest of the plant.

I have SO much basil right now and haven’t had time to pick it, so the ducks are getting bunches.  I’m hoping I could  get basil flavored eggs this way

But the best thing right now are all the tomatoes that are getting ready to ripen that the ducks will NEVER be able to touch!  I’ve been waiting for this humongous green tomato to turn red.  Seems like all the tiny ones around it want to turn, but it won’t!!

I’m pretty sure the safest plant in the garden may be the jalapenos!

I have learned to gauge my work time by the ducks eating time.  About the time they are worn out from all that gorging on greens, I’m also done picking and weeding.  This is the scene when they are full and happy, especially Cher……

Whew! That’s a mouthful, but boy do I love this Nikon! I was at my dad’s farm recently and was picking mulberries. I experimented with berry pictures and WOW, some nice shots evolved. The great thing about this camera is you don’t have to be a great photographer, just shoot and holler and it does the work!

I had company while I picked……

This is STEALTH, my dad’s awesome black lab.

And then there’s PRINCESS, who is Stealth’s Shih Tzu Sidekick.  They make a comical pair!

Nowadays, almost every town has a local farmer’s market. If you haven’t visited yours, you must put it at the top of your “things to do” list. I hardly ever miss a Saturday morning market in Lawrence, Kansas. We left for TEXAS yesterday to help our baby move to grad school, but first we had to make her last run through the market. And for some reason it isn’t complete unless you take your dog….

And everybody else takes their dog….

And all the dogs meet each other…..

And the smart dogs take their owners…..

Directly to the booth that sells the homemade dog treats, in many tantalizing flavors, of course!

My good friend, Friday, happens to date farmer, Avery.  No matter, I would still think his greens are the best and purdiest at the market.

Then there are the beautiful flowers, everywhere!  Peonies are in season now and I think may be my fav!

There are always musicians about, usually playing some good bluegrass.

OMG, who can resist the homegrown tomatoes that can only be found this early in the season at the market!

Friends Joe and Jenny make fabulous Green Tea and Chai cakes and the best Granola bars you will ever taste.  All vegan, wheat and gluten free. 

Lately, I have heard their bars nicknamed “JenJoeLa”.  They are GGOOOOODDDD!!  Joe is also taking good care of the ducks while we are away, thanks Joe and Jenny!

Finally, if you think you’ve seen all there is to see, try going the next week because you never know who might appear with something that you need SO badly…….like WORM CASTING TEA.  I’ll leave you with that!

I have the most beautiful clematis that bloomed this week, it’s called HENRYI.

The bloom can be anywhere from 5″ to 8″ across.  By mid summer they should be huge.  So far it’s been a no brainer to grow.  

And notice it’s climbing nicely on my FREE, handmade branch trellis!  (see older post on how to make these)

I transplanted it from my daughters yard in March after a few years of neglect.  It survived without extra watering, amongst weeds and probably a random leftover beer thrown on it (daughter, boyfriend, roommate, college, get it :-).

And a dirty duck thrown in today for good measure!

This is what helps me sleep at night……..fencing around everything that is green and lives in my backyard!

I have fenced anything that can be chewed up, pulled up, pooped on or trampled on.  Boy are they confused!

They just stood there, dumbfounded, while I worked my magic wire snippers…….

But then Kacey comes along and decides that things are just too laid back and too quiet and thus begins THE WALK!

This would be my favorite springtime meal!  And it’s so quick and easy.  It takes just 10 minutes TOTAL time to cook.

                          Start with some fresh caught crappie……or anything else you might be catching.

               The ingredients are simple….. half flour, half corn meal and some salt and pepper in a baggie.

      Heat up some oil in your skillet, I use half olive oil and half canola.  For pure health, use olive oil

          Now, put a bunch of your fish fillets in the bag and coat them (see, your fingers never get dirty!).

                                                                      They should look like this.

Start frying!  I think they cook about 3 or 4 minutes on each side.  Make sure they cook long enough so you can easily turn them over with tongs without breaking into a million pieces.

And while the fish are turning a golden brown, put your fresh picked asparagus into a glass dish and microwave with just a bit ‘o water for about 3 minutes.

                                                                  OMG!  Can you hear them sizzle??

                                                  And look what you have in 8 SHORT MINUTES!

                          Add a pad of butter and a little garlic salt to your asparagus and WA-LAH……

          There’s a PERFECT meal!  Then I started to think, did that really just take 10 minutes???  WELL……

                                                     I guess I didn’t include the afternoon of fishing……..

Or a morning of asparagus picking with my good friend, Henry, and his mom, Maggie.  BUT, I sure had a lot of fun getting my ingredients the good ‘ole fashioned way! (I know my pic is a little large, but Henry is just SO darn cute I wanted to show him off!)

PS.  If you don’t have a pond or lake nearby, don’t fret, fresh/frozen white fish fillets from the grocery will do just fine!

                                                                                                                     ENJOY!

I just can’t get enough! LOVE making these trellises, maybe because they are free, or maybe because I am imagining them covered in morning glories. 

Start with a bunch of branches……

This is where the trellis is going.  I put up some T-posts to attach them.  I’ve already planted some morning glories so they should be up soon.

And it sure helps to have this nifty nail gun. Start from the bottom and add branches horizontally. Nail as you go.

                                                                    Ducks help get the job done. 

Here’s the finished product!  The whole thing is about 10 ft. long and 8 ft. tall.  In a few months I might not even know I have neighbors! 

I’m not complaining about my chain link fence ’cause it’s great to have a fenced yard, but maybe I can trellis around my whole yard, hmmmmmm??!!!!!!!

Remember earlier this week I asked you to guess what this funky looking thing might be?  BTW, good guess Kendall, http://www.lonelilly.com/ 

Drum roll PLEASE!!!……..

Do you recognize these mushrooms?  It’s a SHITAKE block!  How cool is that?  I got it at our Farmers Market last weekend for a whole $2.50.  We have some folks here that grow mushrooms and they have created these mushroom blocks.  All you do is submerge in water for a day, then set it in a damp, dark place.  I put mine in the backyard on the northwest side of a big tree.  I took some great pictures of the other mushrooms just to show you how spectacular they really are!

I should be able to get 2 or 3 growths on each log and then they fall apart.  The base is made of wood shavings so I assume it will just go to my garden compost pile. 

AND, as you can see, I have all my ducks in a row. . . . . .

This is the COOLEST thing ever!  I’m not going to give you any hints, but I will add another picture, maybe on Saturday, and then you’ll know.  Give me your best guesses in the comments and we’ll see who gets closest!