Hello, October...

Hello October... you arrived faster than expected. No matter, we've been looking forward to you!

#AllThingsPumpkin #SoonToBeHalloween

Turkey Day Eats

I have been hemming and hawing over cooking a turkey; It is so much work and prep time... but on last minute impulse, ended up placing an order for a small Diestel Organic turkey. Regardless of what we do for Turkey day, it is nice to have turkey leftovers that we can enjoy for the week. Then we'll be turkeyed out til next year!

Last year I cooked my very first turkey following the recipe posted by NomNomPaleo, one of my favorite Paleo foodie bloggers. I might be biased, but it was definitely up there in taste. So, this year, I plan to do it again, NomNomPaleo's Butterflied (Spatchcocked) Bird.

(photo from NomNomPaleo's website)

And for a new recipe to try, I am looking forward to cooking one experimental dish.. and this is it --> Slow Cooker Pumpkin Spiced Apples. Planning on modifying the recipe by reducing the sugar and switching it from brown sugar to coconut sugar.

(photo from http://www.maebells.com/slow-cooker-pumpkin-spiced-apples/)

And that's it! Keeping it simple but hopefully high quality of fresh and healthy-ish!

Update : May need to add another dish to try too... this one --> Crispy Sweet Potato Roast

(image from smittenkitchen.com)

Pumpkin Patch Fun!

The Corn maze.

Old school tractors.

Petting farm animals.

Whoops. Little Billy goat with the bandana scared Liam with a nip.

Antique truck.

Mo' tractors.

Kiddies try to climb everything, such as pumpkins and giant measuring sticks.

Awaiting for their turn at the pony ride.

First impression didn't go so well.

Em's liking her pony ride.

Liam's not so sure.

And finally warming up to this.

He much prefers hay barrels, solid ground, or old school truck beds.

Definitely prefers the hay!



On top of the hay barrel!

Now how do I get down?? Help!

Train ride.

Mo' old school truckbed.

Fun pumpkin patch day with the kiddies.. and all tired out... except for lil' boy!

Good night!

More Pumpkiny Fun... Pig Races @ the Pumpkin Patch

Best part about October, pumpkin patches and a holiday that is about silliness and fun! Pig Races!

Officially Pumpkin Season!

We've harvested the pumpkins from our pumpkin plant, perfect timing for PUMPKIN SEASON!! We harvested 9 decent sized mini-pumpkins (1 not pictured since the kiddies are playing with it) and 1 dwarf-sized mini-pumpkin. Pumpkin season is my favorite time of the year.. for many reasons, with the obvious being all the pumpkin foods.

Trader Joes loves me as I do them! They know me well and give me updates on the latest and newest pumpkin arrivals. Last year, they had ~25 pumpkin items on the shelf. This year, so I've been told, they expect ~45 pumpkin items. I must admit that I try almost all the pumpkin products (Paleo eating is on hold for the next few months). Also from last year's experience with my favorite items being sold out, I want to make sure not to miss out on the good stuff. So yes. I've been keeping tabs on the pumpkin stock. =P I highly recommend the Pumpkin Spice Rooibos Tea and the Pumpkin Biscotti, both not pictured below! However, this link here did a great summary of the current pumpkin items at Trader Joes (though he did miss a few items.. pumpkin ravioli, pumpkin butter, pumpkin cream cheese muffins, pumpkin bagels, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin soup, pumpkin waffles, etc.)

And, of course, to start off the pumpkin season right, I made the kiddies their first batch of pumpkin pie muffins (modified to be eggless by using Ener-G Egg-Replacer so Liam can partake in the pumpkin goodies.)

Both kiddies gobbled up 'em pumpkin muffins and then off to play!

Happy kids + pumpkin comfort foods = happy mom. =)

My Little Man is ONE!

Yup. My Liam is one and a full-fledged little boy. =)