keeping up

I must say that participating in the NaBloWriMo this month has brought to the surface a few areas in my life where I am falling a little behind. If we were to list out all of the things that fall into the category of “keeping up” what would they be? Mine would probably be paying bills, laundry, and blogging, just to name a few. I’m sure I am not alone in this. We are probably all too some degree trying to keep up. Many of these require some basic organization (easier said than done I find).

There is also another element of “keeping up” that I didn’t realize I was “falling behind” in, which is proper or current word usage. Thank goodness for my college age daughter and friends (whom I adore) to fill me in on this little matter. Yes, apparently this 40 something lady uses some goofy words. It happened yesterday, as my hubby and I took a day trip up to see her in Santa Barbara (homemade brownies in tow no less). When one of these “words” came out my daughter and friends would begin laughing. Now, I do try to take things lightly and like to joke around, but this wasn’t a joke. It was my choice of words that seemed to give them a giggle. They told me it “was cute”, but honestly now I’m paranoid. Perhaps instead of purchasing another cookbook I should look into buying a thesaurus, this might be a good idea.

So today to give myself a little encouragement, that yes in fact I can actually keep up in other areas. I decided to give the dog a bath, vacuum and dust in record time. I pulled out of the freezer some pumpkin puree that I had made a while back for a quick dinner of some simple roasted chicken and pumpkin risotto. So you see, a little planning ahead on roasting those pie pumpkins made a quick and easy dinner option.



My gracious… if this doesn’t sound like keeping up I don’t know what does.


Enjoy!
Shannon


Pumpkin Puree
4 small pie pumpkins

Cut the pumpkins in half carefully with a heavy sharp knife.  Scoop out the seeds and pulp (reserve seeds for another use).
Place pumpkin halves face down on a jelly roll pan and cover with foil.  Stick in a preheated 375°F oven and roast for about an hour until tender.  Place the pan on a rack until cool enough to handle.  Then scoop out the flesh and put in a food processor.  Puree until smooth.  Place in airtight containers or freezer bags.  The puree should be fine in the freezer for up to a year.

makes about 6 cups