November 1, 2010
Hi Everyone!
Hope you all had a fun and safe Halloween and have come down off the sugar high! We had about 30 trick-or-treaters and got lots of compliments on our carved pumpkins. And then our street turned into a total fireworks party. Ireland celebrates Halloween with fireworks and bonfires - it made for a very smokey night around here!
Yesterday I began the process of moving all of my art and craft supplies out to the studio! Turns out I have a LOT of supplies. It's all painted, and we're just working on the electricity and looking for a space heater. By the end of the week I should be fully moved in! At which point I promise photos...
Between the moving and the sorting, I roasted those carved pumpkins so I can freeze them to use all winter long! So much pumpkin going on!
And I'm freezing them the smart way - in plastic bags squished flat so they can stack in our outside freezer. I haven't done this in the past, but it makes so much sense! 
One of the bags of pumpkin isn't getting frozen, though. I baked it this morning!
I decided to try this recipe for pumpkin bars, but I added a teaspoon of cinnamon and a half teaspoon of nutmeg. I'm just not sure pumpkin has a strong enough flavor on its own. Would anyone recognize the pumpkin without those spices?? Now I'll never know...
Here's a photo pre-icing. 
If I were going to make these again, I think I would puree the pumpkin beforehand so that it's a little closer to canned pumpkin consistency. They're not very sweet, so I think the icing will do the trick!
*Please excuse the dark and grainy photos...our kitchen has hardly any natural light and I haven't quite figured how to use my camera as well as I should!
On another topic altogether, it's Election Day in America today and I hope all of my American readers will get out there and vote!
My aunt asked me last week if I missed all the election buzz since leaving America (I used to do campaign work before I moved to Dublin). And the truth is, this year I'm just relieved. I'm relieved I don't have to worry about how absolutely crazy some of the candidates are, and how terrifyingly viable a lot of those crazies are. It's because now I really feel like an outsider. I'm not the one driving (or flying) around the country or state trying to get someone elected.
Instead, I'm reading the papers from thousands of miles away. And I'm hoping that Americans will be able to get past some of the fear that is making the Tea Party so popular.
Because I don't believe fear is going to get America, or any other country, out of the economic mess. And voting more crazy "grizzly mamas" into office isn't going to do it either. I hope the candidates who win today aren't the ones who are taking advantage of voters who are worried and tired and scared that the future is just as bleak as the present. I hope the ones who win are the positive, creative and strong candidates who will be able to get the country working again.
Of course, the relief that I'm not worrying about American elections is quickly replaced by uncertainty about wacky Irish politics. But that's another topic for another day.
Happy Election Day, everyone! Vote early and often!
2 comments:
You're right, Em. I think your time in political campaigns can be thought of as the good old days when people were relatively civil and sane. Good year to be in Dublin.
This year's elections are the strangest and most upsetting I have ever seen. There is no civil discourse or argument of the issues. To disagree is to be un-American. And I agree that the far right is playing on people's fears and basest characteristics. This is probably the best time to be an observer. Anyway, I will head off to vote now and pray for the best. I planned to make the pumpkin bars and I will take your advice to spice them up a bit.
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