I baked my little heart out and gave my oven a major workout today. I baked a pineapple-apricot cake, two batches of chocolate-and-cashew cookies, a pumpkin roll with cream cheese filling, and a vegetarian pie with lots of fresh vegetables. The pie was for our dinner, and the rest I’m taking to Debbie’s baby shower tomorrow afternoon. I told Helena that I’d make a cake, but I got inspired going through the cookbook and went a bit overboard. I’m sure my family won’t complain, though, if I end up having to bring home leftovers.

Oh yeah, and I also roasted a pumpkin. I got about four cups of pumpkin purée, some of which I used to make the pumpkin roll and the rest of which I popped into the freezer to save for making pumpkin pies next week. I bought four pumpkins this year, and have one left to roast and freeze. I should have plenty for three or four pies and another pumpkin roll or two for Thanksgiving, and a bit left over to make pumpkin pancakes and the like with throughout the year. I’m thinking I might try to make some pumpkin butter (think apple butter only tastier!), too, if I have enough to spare. One of the things I really miss from the States is being able to buy canned pumpkin year-round. While it’s true that fresh pumpkin gives a better flavor, it’s not so widely available here and I don’t have enough freezer space to store more than a few cups. And last year we didn’t get any pumpkins at all up here, so I was reduced to making my Thanksgiving pies from sweet potatoes (not such a sacrifice, all things considered, but still …).

After all that hard work, I’m ready now to make a cup of tea, put up my feet, and settle in for a cozy night in front of the TV.