Pumpkin delivery system

A new house favorite is this pumpkin coffee cake. Here's the recipe:

1/2 cup butter, softened

3 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup sour cream

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 15oz can of pumpkin (or 2 cups fresh pumpkin)

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 eggs

1/2 cup evaporated milk

Topping:

1/3 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup walnuts

1. Grease or spray the bottom of a 9X13 pan

2. Mix together the first 8 ingredients

3. Spread 1/2 the mixture in the pan

4. Mix together the next 8 ingredients

5. Pour the pumpkin mixture over the batter

6. Dab the rest of the batter evenly as possible over the pumpkin layer

7. Sprinkle the topping on top

8. Bake at 325F for 1 hour (until toothpick comes out clean), let cool & enjoy!

We started the big bedroom makeover in March, but when summer hit it was put on hold for outdoor doings. Now that the rainy season has arrived, we worked a bit more on the drapery.

And below we have Magnus, in stealth mode under the kindling papers. He is very helpful when it comes to getting the fire lit. On a less thrilled note, the much anticipated Uncle David's Dakota Dessert Squash has proven to be rather unsuitable for long-term storage. They grew well, they taste great, but they are going bad faster than we can eat them. We're starting to plan the 2010 garden, and we'll be skipping any buttercup squash varieties this time around. We also didn't care for the Kentucky Wonder green beans. They grew like crazy, but the flavor & texture just isn't as good as the Blue Lake variety we usually grow.