Pumpkin Pie for Breakfast

Nick and I stopped at the grocery after school for a few things, which of course turned into a half cart full of stuff. Wandering through the spice aisle looking for peppercorns, he asked me how to make pumpkin pie. "It's easy," I said. "Would you like to make one?" We grabbed a can of pumpkin, some frozen pie shells, and headed home. Nick helped me mix the ingredients, and we popped our dessert into the oven while daddy-o fired up the grill for dinner.

When I was a kid, we used to eat the "leftover" pumpkin pie for breakfast. Needless to say, we didn't have leftovers for very long.

Weeknight Pumpkin Pie

1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 can pumpkin
2 eggs
1 12-oz. can evaporated milk
unbaked pie crust
whipped cream

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In another bowl, beat the eggs. Add the pumpkin to the eggs and mix well. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin-egg mixture. Slowly mix in the evaporated milk. Put an unbaked pie crust on a cookie sheet; pour the pumpkin filling into the crust. Bake for 15 minutes. Turn down the heat to 350 degrees, and bake for an additional 45-50 minutes, until the pie is set. Cool on the cookie sheet for at least 1 hour before serving with whipped cream.

Ode to Summer Tomatoes

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Originally uploaded by mickeynick.

On date night, with both kids out at friends' homes for the evening, I decided to fix my sweetheart an old-fashioned steak dinner. The heirloom tomatoes at the grocer were too good to pass up and became the centerpiece of the meal, dressed up with some balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and a sprinkling of shredded basil. Here's another tomato-rich dish.

Gazpacho

6-8 ripe red tomatoes
1 English cucumber
1/2 purple onion
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 cups V-8
tabasco sauce

Finely dice half of the tomatoes, cucumber, and onion and place them in a large glass bowl. Roughly chop the other half of the vegetables and place in the food processor. Add the garlic, parsley, cilantro, and about 1 cup of V-8 to the food processor. Process the vegetables until smooth. Pour the processed vegetables into the bowl with the finely chopped ones. Add more V-8 until you get the consistency you want. Add tabasco to taste. Salt and pepper to taste. Chill for at least 3 hours. Serve very cold. Makes a nice light dinner with an open-faced cheese toastie.