All things Pumpkin

Hi, my name is Linda and I have a problem.... I can't stop baking... or cooking for that matter - especially anything that involves Pumpkins ;)

Way back in high school I discovered cooking, and baking - I won the Food Studies award from my high school and cooked my way through my time in Switzerland and France - my kids in Geneva had never eaten peanut butter cookies before I made them - bizarre, I know.  After I came back to Canada  and eventually had my own kitchen, I began reading food blogs and started collecting cookbooks (today however, they remain in a box, in someone's garage waiting for me).  I officially have 10 weeks until I finally get to live in my own place again and can cook for myself and my husband.   In the meantime, I'm doing my best to save money for the wedding, house and move to Ottawa and by doing so I end up gyming it up quite often and either reading borrowed books (yay for friends and base libraries) or watching TV (you've got to love recession TV, it's so much better during a downswing in the market!).  My TV of choice these days???  The Food Network.  Now living in barracks makes it rather difficult to cook for myself - however, I do have these wonderful in-laws that invite me over on the weekends.  My repayment for the lovely hospitality??  Cooking dinner, and snacks, and dessert as often as they'll let me.

Now for the rundown:

• The weekend before last it was the Pumpkin Spice Bars and pumpkin spice overnight oats.   
• Last weekend I went all out, No-Butter Chicken,  Spaghetti Squash, Wedding Bliss Soft Ginger Cookies, and Pumpkin Pie Brownie Cupcakes - the last two from Angela at Oh She Glows (her granola bars are really that good!).
•  Yesterday's meal inspiration was courtesy of Emily over at The Front Burner Blog  and Angela - Butternut Squash and Black Bean Chilli in Pumpkin Bowls and Cornbread Muffins.  The chilli was amazing, the bowls were awesome, but to be honest the cornbread muffins could have used more flavour - next time I'll add a lot more green chillies!  (

  Jalapeños 

  were tough to find).  In preparation for tomorrow's Thanksgiving feast at the Aunt & Uncle in-law's I (with the help of the fabulous sister-in-law) whipped up a couple of lemon meringue pies.  
• Tomorrow I might do up another round of chilli - I've taken to bringing some leftovers up to the base with me - not eating at the mess does wonders to lift the spirits.

Although I am by no means Vegan (being from Alberta and having cattle ranching in my blood I love me a good steak) Angela and Emily both write a vegan geared blog -  their recipes are awesome and it truly is nice to be full from a meal without meat and help out the environment a bit.  When I finally do have a kitchen full-time I might go crazy with the freedom to create, but for now I'll have to settle for being a weekend kitchen warrior.

Source : Angela @ Oh She Glows