The Story of The Jack O Lantern

The Irish brought the tradition of the Jack O'Lantern to America. But, the original Jack O'Lantern was not a pumpkin.The Jack O'Lantern legend goes back hundreds of years in Irish History. As the story goes, Stingy Jack was a miserable, old drunk who liked to play tricks on everyone: family, friends, his mother and even the Devil himself. One day, he tricked the Devil into climbing up an apple tree. Once the Devil climbed up the apple tree, Stingy Jack hurriedly placed crosses around the trunk of the tree. The Devil was then unable to get down the tree. Stingy Jack made the Devil promise him not to take his soul when he died. Once the devil promised not to take his soul, Stingy Jack removed the crosses and let the Devil down.




Many years later, when Jack finally died, he went to the pearly gates of Heaven and was told by Saint Peter that he was too mean and too cruel, and had led a miserable and worthless life on earth. He was not allowed to enter heaven. He then went down to Hell and the Devil. The Devil kept his promise and would not allow him to enter Hell. Now Jack was scared and had nowhere to go but to wander about forever in the darkness between heaven and hell. He asked the Devil how he could leave as there was no light. The Devil tossed him an ember from the flames of Hell to help him light his way. Jack placed the ember in a hollowed out Turnip, one of his favorite foods which he always carried around with him whenever he could steal one. For that day onward, Stingy Jack roamed the earth without a resting place, lighting his way as he went with his "Jack O'Lantern".



On all Hallow's eve, the Irish hollowed out Turnips, rutabagas, gourds, potatoes and beets. They placed a light in them to ward off evil spirits and keep Stingy Jack away. These were the original Jack O'Lanterns. In the 1800's a couple of waves of Irish immigrants came to America. The Irish immigrants quickly discovered that Pumpkins were bigger and easier to carve out. So they used pumpkins for Jack O'Lanterns.


Enjoy and God Bless.

Pumpkin Pie Cake

Serves 18

Ingredients:


1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix

1 egg

1/2 cup margarine

1 (29 ounce) can pumpkin puree

3 eggs

1/2 cup white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2/3 cup evaporated milk

1/4 cup margarine

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 cups pecans (optional)


Directions


1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.

2.Reserve 1 cup of cake mix from the package. In a bowl, combine remaining cake mix, 1 egg and melted margarine. Press mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9x13 inch pan to form a crust.

3.Mix together the pumpkin, 3 eggs, sugar, cinnamon and evaporated milk until blended. Pour over the crust. Combine the brown sugar and reserved 1 cup cake mix, then cut in the margarine until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over the filling.

4.Bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes. Keep refrigerated.



It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown

  The house remodel is pretty much complete, the moving is done and I am over being sick. So, it is time for me to get back to work, don't you think?  That means new blogs, new recipes, new ideas, new contests to enter and some fun facts about the food we eat, or maybe don't eat.  It also means working on my book.

In addition to all of this I am collaborating with someone else on writing a second cookbook which will feature very easy inexpensive meals for you and your family.  Face it, we could all use a little more money left in our pockets when we leave the grocery store, couldn't we?

Well down to business.

  Pumpkin lovers unite! It’s that time of year again. The time for pumpkin pie, Jack O’Lanterns, toasted pumpkin seeds and colorful fall decorations. The time for carving contests, pumpkin smoothies and countless other pumpkin flavored dishes. (Can you say Yummmmmm?)

But first how about a fun pumpkin fact for today?  Pumpkins are fruit, not vegetables. They are actually 90% water and are low in calories and high in fiber. They are an excellent source of vitamins A & B. The average pumpkin contains roughly 1 cup of seeds.

Enjoy and God Bless.

Black Bean Pumpkin Soup

  4-6 servings

Ingredients:


2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

3 cups canned or packaged vegetable stock

1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes in juice

1 can (15 ounces) black beans, drained

2 cans (15 ounces) pumpkin puree

1 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Coarse salt

Fresh, chopped chives (Optional)
Sour Cream (Optional)

Directions:


Heat a soup pot over medium heat. Add oil. When oil is hot, add onion. Saute onions 5 minutes. Add broth, tomatoes, black beans and pumpkin puree. Stir to combine ingredients and bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and stir in cream, curry, cumin, cayenne and salt, to taste. Simmer 5 minutes, adjust seasonings and serve garnished with chopped chives and sour cream.