This time of year I like to make my homemade Pumpkin Nut Bread. It is pretty easy to make, and it freezes well. The flavor is so good, there is plenty of cinnamon and ground cloves in the recipe, everyone loves it. I had to figure out how to use the fresh puree...it seems that all the recipes use commerically canned puree. I make pie custard with the fresh puree for custard cups or pie. I found that my recipes do not need the water that is usually in the ingredient list.

But....first I have to process the pie pumpkins I grew during the summer. I cut the pumpkins in half, clean out the seeds/strings, bake cut side down on a cookie sheet for about 40 minutes, until tender. I allow the cooked pumpkin to cool, then I scoop out the pumpkin and puree in my food processor. Freeze the puree for baking, or use right away.

Vintage Homemaker

I like the vintage prints of people caught in their everyday lives. My mom did not teach me very much about how to cook or make pies. The other day, I made hubby a homemade apple pie, with my own home canned apple pie filling...he is in heaven. I use a pie crust recipe from Susan Branch. I cut the recipe out of a Country Home magazine long ago. It is not anything special...I think the real trick is chilling everything for the pie crust for an hour or two. When making crust, keep it cold...and take it easy with the dough. Overworking the crust makes it rubbery and tough. A light hand will keep it nice and flaky.

I used to be a terrible pie crust maker, it would stick to anything. I could not roll it out. I was so frustrated that I would just put it in the pie pan and press it with my fingers. I learned with practice, and watching Martha Stewart make pie crusts. A nice flat dough scraper is essential, it helps so much to getting the dough lifted and ready to go into the pie pan.