By Pumpkin patch Saturday. Same farm as last year, Russ Family Farm, because the kids have declared it tradition, and in this family once you do something twice it becomes tradition, which is how we ended up with a tradition of eating gas station donuts on road trips and a tradition of Dave burning the first pancake every Sunday. Traditions are just habits you are fond of.
This year Josie is eight and has opinions about pumpkins that she shares with volume. She wants a round one, not a tall one, and it must be orange, not that pale kind, and it cannot have any spots. She examined approximately forty pumpkins before selecting one that met her standards, and she carried it to the car like a baby. Justin picked his in thirty seconds: the biggest one he could lift, no other criteria. Tyler picked one that was shaped like a lopsided heart and said it had character. Amber selected a small perfect one and did not explain her choice, because Amber does not explain her choices, she just makes them, quietly and with certainty.
I made pumpkin muffins this week, because October demands pumpkin in some form and muffins are faster than bread and more portable than pie. Canned pumpkin, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, flour, eggs, oil. They bake in twenty minutes and the kitchen smells like October distilled into flour and spice. I sent a batch to school with each kid and apparently Tyler teacher asked for the recipe, which is the highest compliment a school muffin can receive.
On the road I tried something new in the slow cooker: chicken tortilla soup. Chicken thighs, black beans, corn, diced tomatoes, green chiles, cumin, chili powder, chicken broth. Eight hours on low. I shredded the chicken in the cab, ladled the soup into a bowl, and topped it with crushed tortilla chips and a squeeze of lime. It was excellent. It was the kind of soup that makes you forget you are eating in a truck cab in a parking lot in October. It was the kind of soup that makes you feel located, present, fed.
I am going to post the recipe tomorrow. It is too good not to share. That is the rule of this blog: if it is too good not to share, I share it. The slow cooker chicken tortilla soup is going out into the world, and I hope someone eats it in a parking lot somewhere and feels the same thing I felt: warm, full, and exactly where they need to be.
We came home from Russ Family Farm with four pumpkins, muddy shoes, and that specific kind of tired that only happens when you’ve been outside and happy all afternoon — and I wanted something that honored all of it without turning on the oven again. This pumpkin yogurt fruit dip came together in about five minutes, and it has that same warm cinnamon-spice note as the muffins I’d baked earlier in the week. I set it out with apple slices and let the kids dip while they argued about whose pumpkin was best, and it felt exactly right for the day we’d had.
Pumpkin Yogurt Fruit Dip
Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 5 minutes | Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup or honey
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Apple slices, pear slices, strawberries, or graham crackers for serving
Instructions
- Combine the base. In a medium bowl, stir together the Greek yogurt and canned pumpkin puree until smooth and fully incorporated.
- Add sweetener and spices. Add the maple syrup (or honey), cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and vanilla extract. Stir well until everything is evenly mixed and the dip is a consistent warm orange color.
- Taste and adjust. Give it a taste and adjust the sweetness or spice level to your liking — an extra pinch of cinnamon or a little more maple syrup goes a long way.
- Chill or serve immediately. Serve right away with apple slices, pears, strawberries, or graham crackers. If making ahead, cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days — the flavors deepen nicely overnight.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 45 | Protein: 3g | Fat: 0g | Carbs: 8g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 20mg