A Gypsy at Trunk R Treat

This year I was not planning on dressing up for Halloween. But after I saw a commercial for the horror flick, "Drag Me To Hell", I was inspired to dress up as the old gypsy woman with the discolored eye. My pet monkey rode on Muppet's back. I decided to show off my costume during our Trunk R Treat event held by my church every year. Needless to say, no one at the event recognized me. Ha!

Pumpkin Squash Festival

I have noticed that every year during October, the Martha Stewart magazines are always chock-full of articles and pictures of pumpkins available in every color imaginable. They make the reader excited about the fall when they describe to you all the clever ways that you can decorate your table top with these elaborate squashes. But if you are like me, whenever I go looking for these unique colored pumpkins, they are no where to be found. Everywhere I look, I only see orange pumpkins. That is, until I read about the Pumpkin Squash Festival in this article on the Centennial View.

This is what I discovered...













Pumpkins and squashes come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and there are hundreds of different kinds of squashes and they all have unique flavors and textures. They are great for carving, but they are even better for cooking. You can make pies, soups, and even glazed pumpkin or squash that are delicious and packed with vitamin C, A, fiber and carotenoids.

Of all the unique squashes I saw this year, I recently discovered the spaghetti squash. It has a mild , delicate flavor and when it is cooked, it looks like thin translucent strands of spaghetti. You can either eat it like its spaghetti (with cheese and marinara) or you can make hash browns with it. But either way, spaghetti squash is a dieter's dream--a four ounce serving only has 37 calories!





Bake: Cut the shell in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and fiber. Pierce the shell all over with a large fork or skewer and place in a baking dish cut side down. Fill with enough water to cover the bottom. Cook in oven at 375 degree
approximately 1 hour or until flesh is tender.

Spaghetti Squash Hash Browns

1 Medium Spaghetti Squash, cooked
1/3 cups all-purpose Flour
1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
4 Tablespoons Butter or Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Prepare and cook squash (see basic methods above). Mix squash strands with flour and cheese.

2. Heat 1 Tablespoon butter or oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Spoon 1/4 cup of squash mixture into skillet. Form a thick "hash brown" cake.

3. Cook until bottom is lightly browned. Cook until lightly browned.

Source: Spaghetti Squash.

Our Trip to Italy: Rome

OK, I promise that this is the last post about our vacation. But I have to tell you that I got some great shots of the colosseum and I just have to share them. Out of all the things we saw, seeing the colosseum was our biggest priority. It was quite a site!

I also captured the Spanish Steps...which to my disapointment, were littered with people.

Our Trip to Italy: Assisi

Assisi is the small beautiful medieval town that is best know for being the birthplace of St. Francis--the patron St. of animals and founder of the Franciscan order. This is also the town that Matt enjoyed most during our trip. After we toured the Basilica of San Francesco, a sacred site built in 1230, he was very pensive. Then he said to me, "If I were to be a Saint, I want to be the
Patron St. of Shenanigans."

Our Trip to Italy: Umbria

After we left Siena, we raced toward Umbria to find our bed and breakfast before it got too dark. But our bed and breakfast was really far and hidden in the hills. It was pitch black so we could not see anything other than the road in front of us. After what felt like hours of driving through winding roads in the darkness, we finally arrived to what appeared to be a farm. It was too dark to really explore our surrounding and we were exhausted. We didn't waste too much time falling asleep. The next morning when we woke up, we were surprised to find ourselves surrounded by the most breathtaking landscape we had ever layed eyes.

I think the pictures do a pretty good job of describing what we saw.