Happy Pumpkin Wednesday! Pumpkin Beer Edition

Hello friends and Happy Pumpkin Wednesday!  We are inching closer and closer to Halloween, and I must post about pumpkin flavored beers before October is over, so tonight, grab your shopping list and get ready to pick up a new six pack of pumpkin beers on your weekly trip to the grocery store!

Let me start by saying that although Pumpkin Kitty might be spotted next to a beer every now and then:

Supporting the local breweries

Pumpkin and Pumpkin, she just loves the fall!

And whiles it's likely she is hovering near your beer bottle in hopes of catching an errant bottle cap, there is no doubt that Pumpkin no where near old enough to be having a beer!

Because Pumpkin couldn't help with tasting pumpkin beers, I assembled a panel of experts to provide their thoughts about five different pumpkin flavored beers

Some who wish to be named...hello ladies! 

And those who wished to preserve their anonymity

We gathered on a recent evening and sampled five different beers, chosen at random from the selection at the local beer/wine/liquor store.  The selections for the evening included:

New Holland Ichabod

Dogfish Head Punkin Ale

Wolaver's Organic Pumpkin Ale

Arcadia Jaw Jacker Ale

Southern Tier Pumpking Imperial Ale

Below are a few choice comments from the panel of experts, selected in the hopes that these reviews will enable you to feel confident trying a new beer!

New Holland Ichabod

The Ichabod was the second favorite beer of the group.  From the New Holland Brewery in Michigan, the experts overwhelmingly described this beer as "not too pumpkiny."  There are some who picked up on the nutmeg flavors, and overall the beer does not have a strong aftertaste.  One expert noted that this is a beer you "could get hammered on and be happy."

Dogfish Head Punkin Ale

The experts overwhelmingly agreed this beer was "spicy," had a "high spice content" and "cinnamon aftertaste."  A few of the experts did not enjoy the smell of this beer, which could be attributed to the fact that this beer is just better on draft served in a glass with a brown sugar rim.  Don't count this beer out, and I would recommend trying it on draft at your favorite local pub.

Wolaver's Organic Pumpkin Ale

This beer fared well with the experts, and was described as "light" and "very pumpkiny."  The pumpkin flavor was very apparent to all the experts, with one of the experts going so far as to describe the beer as a bit "too vegetably."  If you're looking for a light crisp beer with a strong pure pumpkin flavor and less nutmeg and cinnamon, give this beer a try!

Arcadia Jaw Jacker Ale

This beer from the Arcadia Brewery in Michigan had a "strong aftertaste" and was described by a few of the experts as "bitter."  This beer was not particularly well-received by the group, and one expert compared the beer to the "taste of soap."  Perhaps we had already consumed too many beers by the time we go to the fourth, but the Arcadia Jaw Jacker was the least favorite of the group.

Southern Tier Pumpking Imperial Pumpkin Ale

This beer, with a high alcohol content of 8.6%ABV, was the hands down favorite of the group.  But beware if you're not in the mood for something with a lot of pumpkin flavor and a lot of sweetness.  Almost all the experts described the beer as sweet and were quick to point out the heavy vanilla notes.  One expert described the beer as comparable to "pumpkin pie ala mode" and was suggested as possibly a "dessert beer."  If you're looking for sweet, almost pumpkin pie flavored beer, the Southern Tier Pumpkin Ale is for you.


What pumpkin beers have you tried this season?  What would you recommend to your friends and have you bought a six pack that you would not buy again?  Feel free to leave your comments and tell about your favorite pumpkin beer!

Looking forward to a lovely Thursday!

Happy Pumpkin Wednesday!

Happy Pumpkin Wednesday Friends!  You're over halfway through the week and getting close to being halfway through October.

While almost everything about the fall is completely wonderful, the beginning of fall/winter can sometimes mean cold and flu season.  While you may be able to get by with chicken noodle soup and over the counter cold medicines, if you do end up having to go to the doctor, follow Pumpkin's advice for a successful appointment.

Pumpkin is a savvy cat.  She knows that the changing landscape of the healthcare sector makes it even more important to be prepared before you even step foot into the doctor's office.

It wasn't long ago in fact that Pumpkin needed to go to the vet, aka, the kitty doctor, for a pesky eye problem....

The ol' squinty eye syndrome

However, like most cats, Pumpkin, is not a fan of going to the cat doctor.  

I don't want to go!!!!

Nonetheless, she knew that she would eventually be put in her carrier and taken to the vet, so she figured it was better to roll with it than fight it.

I tried to trick Lindsay into taking the scary fake cat to the vet.  She wasn't fooled.

Pumpkin was well prepared for her appointment.

She identified and wrote down all the health questions that she had since the last time she saw her vet.  With the rising costs in health care, she knows its best to cover as much as you can with your physician while you are in the office and already paying for the appointment.  While is there no guarantee you won't need to schedule a second procedure, or come back to the office, there is nothing wrong with engaging in a meaningful dialogue with your doctor.

Look at me.  I'm serious...about my health. 

Also, keep records and notes together at home regarding your medical care.  While you don't need to have all your paper medical records with you, its helpful to keep records of what doctor you saw when, and any procedures you had done, or medicines you were prescribed.  Doctors and vets aren't psychic, they only know what you tell them, or what they might be able to glean from medical records they can get from your other physicians.  You won't waste an appointment if you are able to supply the necessary details.

Now where is the Pumpkin file?  I swear I saw it here somewhere!

And don't be afraid to take a friend or family member with you if you don't think you'll be able to remember everything or are nervous about speaking with your doctor.  Write down any instructions for when you go home, no one is trying to test your memory.

Do friends or family treat each other like this?

So go forth and stay healthy!

Looking forward to a wonderful Thursday!

Miscellaneous Monday: Quick Dinner and Dirty Cell Phones

Hello friends and Happy Monday!  I hope you had a wonderful weekend and were able to enjoy the delightful warm weather, sunshine and changing leaves.

In true Miscellaneous Monday form, I present two completely unrelated topics: a vegetarian recipe and methods for cleaning your cell phone.


With the weather being so pleasant, I decided to fire up the grill on Sunday, and cook some vegetarian cuisine.  Don't all you meat-eaters navigate away from this page.  This healthy and hearty dish is satisfying even to a regular carnivore ( i.e. Timmy even liked it).

Polenta Stack with Navy Bean Salad

Ingredients

1 can navy beans (sometimes called great northern beans) rinsed and drained

1 can diced tomatoes, drained

1/4 cup basil, chopped

5 ounces crumbled feta

1 medium sized zucchini or yellow squash

1 fresh red pepper

1 tube prepared polenta

olive oil

salt

pepper

Start by heating up your grill.  If you want to make this inside, no problem, just preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  Grab four 18 inch pieces of foil and coat the middle with cooking spray.  Set them aside until you are ready to make the foil packets.

Rinse and drain the can of beans.  In a large bowl mix the beans, tomatoes, chopped basil, feta and some salt and pepper to taste.

Beans and Tomatoes.  Feel free to add seasonings you see fit!

Grab another bowl, and cut you your zucchini into thin round slices, and cut the red pepper into similar size slices.  Toss the veggies in 1 tsp of olive oil and add salt and pepper for flavoring.

Next, get a cutting board and slice your pre-cooked polenta into 16 equal sized rounds.

The polenta really helps this meal feel filling

Take the foils and place 1/4 of the bean/tomato mixture in the center of each piece of foil.  Place 4 slice of polenta in each packet on top of each bean mixture.  Then add the veggies.

Wrap up each foil packet and crimp edges to seal the little packets.  Place on the grill over the hot hot heat for 10-15 minutes.  Do the same if you are cooking in the oven and enjoy!

Cleaning your Dirty Cellphone

I am not a germ freak, trust me.  I personally abide by the five second rule for food on the floor (only for me, not for people I cook for) and I have no problem walking around outside without shoes on.  However, when I read that your cellphone likely contains 18 times more bacteria than a toilet handle, I start to get a little nervous. 

If you have a cell phone without a touch screen, use a mixture of 40/60 alcohol to water to clean your keypad and the solid parts of your phone.  Use a cotton swab, dry cloth or even a q-tip to get into the hard to reach cracks between the keypad.

If you have a phone with a touch screen, you will want to avoid using a harsh cleaning agent on the screen like alcohol.  Head to your nearest electronics store and buy a wipe specially formulated to clean the screen and kill bacteria.  Some brands to try include iKlear/KlearScreen, Dust-Off, and ViewGuard.  These brands all have germ killing properties. 

Some keys for cleaning all types of cell phones:

• turn your phone off before doing any kind of cleaning/maintenance
• keep any liquids out of areas that have access to the internal part of the phone like a USB port, or anywhere you would plug something into, and use an air duster instead
• allow your device to completely dry before turning it back on.

Happy Cooking and Cleaning!

Looking forward an excellent Tuesday!

Happy Pumpkin Wednesday, the Helpful Pumpkin

Happy Pumpkin Wednesday Friends!  I hope you have had a wonderful week and are getting excited for the upcoming fall weekend.

It's been a busy week and Pumpkin is always looking for ways to help me out.

She has been helping me get the groceries

Taking out the garbage

And has even helped me tackle cleaning the bathroom

But Pumpkin was most helpful this week in the kitchen.  She has given me some great ideas for quick lunches and breakfasts, and below is a recipe she stumbled across for easy homemade granola.

The great thing is that this recipe makes a ton of granola and it will keep in an airtight container for roughly a week.  You can also add a variety of dried fruits/different nuts to the recipe to keep it interesting.

Courtesy of  Alton Brown's recipe for Granola

Ingredients

3 cups oatmeal (rolled oats)

1 cup slivered almonds

1 cup cashews or pecans

1 cup shredded coconut

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup vegetable oil

raisins

craisins

other dried fruits

sunflower seeds

Preheat Oven to 250 degrees

Line a large sheet pan with tin foil.  If you are using regular sheet pans you will need two

Combine oatmeal, almonds, cashews and/or pecans, coconut and brown sugar into a large bowl

Combine the vegetable oil, maple syrup and salt in a separate bowl

Combine all the ingredients mixing the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients to coat

Spread well-stirred mixture onto sheet pan in a thin layer

Cook the granola for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stopping to stir the granola every 15 minutes

Once the granola is removed from the oven and then cooled, combine in raisins or any other dried fruit



Have you found a new simple recipe to spice up your breakfast or lunch routine?

Looking forward to a lovely Thursday!