I want to start by saying that I *recommend* you use fresh pumpkin. I know, I know… I can hear you now. “My snarky relatives are coming, there are a million things to cook, and who has time to process pumpkin for pie? This this isn’t the Plymouth Plantation ya know!”

If you have no time, then canned pumpkin is fine, but really processing pumpkin is easy. So easy you don’t even need pumpkin! Any hard orange- fleshed squash will do, including the readily available butternut. Jack-O-lantern pumpkins will work, but Sugar pumpkins especially grown for baking are optimal. And get this—no peeling or boiling required.

How to Process Fresh Pumpkin

Stab the pumpkin or squash a few times(pretend it’s your snarkiest relative and relieve some pent up frustration), and throw it on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 until a knife inserted goes in easily. Let cool. Cut pumpkin or squash in half, and carefully scoop and discard seeds. Scoop out the flesh away from the skin and pop it in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. You now have the most beautiful, bright orange pumpkin you’ve ever seen in your life.

If you used regular Jack-O-Lantern pumpkins you may want to put the pumpkin in a fine strainer set in a bowl for a few hours. Jack pumpkins have high water content. Squash or baking pumpkins don’t usually require this step. You are now ready to bake a pie. If you skipped this step and opened a can of Libby’s I won’t be mad, but I will insist you are missing out on a real treat. Fresh pumpkin is better than canned. Trust me.

Honey Pumpkin Pie

I don’t bake too often with honey. The added liquid content can throw off a recipe. The flavor isn’t compatible with everything (though it’ works for quick breads absolutely marvelously). But honey and pumpkin are literally made for each other. The first time I made honey pumpkin pie I swore I would never go back and I haven’t. My whole family raves. So does anybody else who tastes it.

This Honey Pumpkin Pie recipe makes two large pies.

Ingredients
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 6 eggs, slightly beaten
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (or spice to taste)
• 1.5 cups honey
• 2 deep dish pie shells
• 3.5 cups pumpkin or 1 29 oz. can of pumpkin puree.

Preparation
In large bowl mix all ingredients except pie shells until smooth. Pour into shells. Bake at 400F for 15 mins. Turn oven to 350 and bake for about 30 more minutes until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Be sure to cover with tinfoil tent if pie browns too quickly.

Serve with Honey Whipped Cream, if desired. (To make honey whipped cream just whip up heavy cream and carefully fold in a few tablespoons room temp honey and a small splash of vanilla or almond extract—I prefer the latter).

I leave you with a picture. I don’t have a picture of pie, but I do have a cute picture with a pumpkin in it. Two if you count the adorable child.

©2010 Good Karma. All Rights Reserved.

Thanksgiving happens to be my favorite holiday of the year. People expect less of me than they do on Christmas. Cooking is one of my hobbies. I adore Turkey. And I have a lot to be thankful for.

We tend to list the big things we are thankful for each year. But it goes without saying that I am grateful for my family, friends, career, house, pets…etc…etc…

What are some of the small things you feel thankful for? I’ll go first.

Farm fresh brown eggs.

Coffee in the morning.

Slip on shoes.

A child’s sense of humor.

That my favorite authors existed.

The hutch my husband built me.

Making apple butter.

The smell of my favorite spices.

Family jokes.

There’s just a few. It’s fun to sit down and take a moment to think of the small things we so easily overlook that have contributed to our joy and content.

Happy thanksgiving.  

©2010 Good Karma. All Rights Reserved.

New Giveaway on Oct. 30th

©2010 Good Karma. All Rights Reserved.

Vote for Bear!

To recap, Spoonful of Stories is a great project designed to get free books into the hands of young kids. Millions of quality children’s books are printed in itty-bitty kid-sized copies and put in specially marked Cheerios boxes! Talk about the best cereal prize ever!Books to read!

Bear’s New Friend is behind and Bear needs your help. VOTE. And you can vote daily too.
Here’s How To Vote

1. Click on this link.

2. Click on the “MORE BOOKS” link at the bottom of the page.

3.  Vote for Bear’s New Friend.

4. Remember to visit the site daily to vote again!

I thank you all for your support! And I apologize for the shameful begging.

©2010 Good Karma. All Rights Reserved.

Great news! Sleepyhead was chosen to be a Spoonful of Stories book.  This is exciting because it means that my book is getting right where every children’s author dreams their books will end up–the hands of kids.

Spoonful of Stories is a literacy project that is a joint effort of Cheerios and First Book (children’s literacy charity). This time the news gets even better though– every book will have the story printed in both English and Spanish!

If you’d like to learn more about this great project or just discuss literature in general, the awesome Mom It Forward blog is hosting a Twitter chat tomorrow and I’m a panel member! Hope to see ya there. Here’s some info.

What: Cheerios is sponsoring this week’s #gno Twitter party (Click here to learn about #gno!)

When: Tuesday, October 13, 9-11 p.m. EST

Where: Check back to access our custom Tweetgrid link this Monday. (Use hashtags #gno and #cheerios.)

Topic: Children’s literature

Who: @banteringblonde @cheeriosbrand @childhood @derek_author @keeperofthecheerios @LeighannMMM @oohamanda, @robinglasser @karmawilson

Party Favors: Click here to check out this week’s giveaway sponsored by Cheerios.

RSVP: Please leave your Twitter ID in the comments to follow and be followed (on Twitter, of course!) by other #gno gals. The best format is as follows: http://twitter.com/jylmomIF.

©2010 Good Karma. All Rights Reserved.

K….

©2010 Good Karma. All Rights Reserved.

I was kinda, sorta nervous.

But I think it went well. When I was done and the kids were leaving they said things like, “YOU ROCK” and gave me fist bumps and high fives. And I got to sign a cast (get well soon Trevor)!  I also read the first chapter of my novel to a group of advanced fifth graders. One really sweet girl said, “Drop everything else and finish that so I can read it!” So I guess I have to finish it.

Just a little good news update. Hope everybody is having a great spring. I’m loving the sun and sky and warm breezes….and the melting snow/ice.  The mud? Not so much.

Karma

©2010 Good Karma. All Rights Reserved.

For all you moms with tween girls…maybe you can relate.

Chrissy

She’s not cute anymore.

Not pretty.  Not adorable.

She’s not toothless.

She’s not thigh-high, tugging my shirt.

She’s not begging for Barbies.

She’s not following her brothers around,

trying to get their attention.

She’s not reading Magic Schoolhouse

or watching Blues Clues.

But damn she’s beautiful.

When did that happen?

©2010 Good Karma. All Rights Reserved.

The master of show, and never tell.

Shel.

Wrote pint-sized sarcasm oh-so-well.

Shel.

Didn’t care that children often rebel.

Shel.

At visual humor, oh how he excelled.

Shel.

Putting kids everywhere under his spell.

Shel.

Sure to inspire, sure to compel.

Shel.

Went up and not down when he fell.

Shel.

KW….

©2010 Good Karma. All Rights Reserved.

Oh joy!

I’ve spent the last week in a semi-panic.  Would I look like some kind of female version of Clement Moore’s Santa–with a nose like a “cherry” and a belly like a “bowlful of jelly”? Cute enough on St. Nick, not so appealing on a middle-aged author. What would I wear? Would my hair behave? It never has up to this point. How would my voice sound with this awful cold? Would I even have a voice?  Would it be horribly rainy and drizzly (the film crew wanted to film out doors in a “bearsy” environment).

But lo-and-behold I survived.  In fact, it was fun. I opted to dress country/casual (avoiding frumpy/hick I hope). And when I woke up today my cold had departed and taken the drips and the drizzles with it.  The day was only partly cloudy and felt downright “balmy” (for Montana–for Arizona it would be an extreme cold snap).

The crew (Larry, Dave and Scott) were absolutely charming, funny, and sweet–and made me feel very at ease. We joked around a LOT. I mean, when the film guy gets deer “poo” on his knees while setting up the camera you can either laugh or, well–I don’t know, if you can’t laugh at that you probably wouldn’t get along with me.

Larry, me, my husband (Scott), Scott (from Scholastic) and Dave

It’s not the most scenic time of year right now, and the woods were a little “dead” looking–but since the book they featured was Bear Feels Scared it worked out well, since it’s set in the fall and isn’t full of greenery anyway. My husband and one of my sons came–and we joked that we were all loggers because we had to clear deadfalls so the ground didn’t look so cluttered. All in all a fun day.

One of the funniest parts of the day was when I had to peek around trees with my hand on my head like I was looking for bear. I felt like I was in a Captain Morgan’s commercial!  Oh, and true to form I almost fell flat on my face a few times while “strolling” through the woods. They wanted me to look natural, and I was trying not to look at my feet. Ha ha!

Me looking soooo photogenic

©2010 Good Karma. All Rights Reserved.