I have not forgotten about the long, epic-ly wordy post about our trip that was promised, but since I don't have it put together yet I figured dropping in a random post would be fun!
Nano-ing season is soon upon us! 3 days, 3 hours, and 23 minutes, 12 seconds, to be exact, or, you know, as exact as I can be, seeing as how this information will be untrue by the time I post this:)
I am very pleased to announce that my novel this year is to be written on my beautiful, shiny, brand new laptop! My old one kind of bit the dust after I . . . . sorta tried to wipe it . . . . . in my defense, I did get every single thing wiped off the computer! . . . . but I think I also managed to somehow fry the graphics card and a few other rather necessary bits and pieces.
So I'm not a technology genius, I'll admit it.
I console myself with the fact that, in today's terms the laptop was practically ancient, had previous problems, and was most likely going to crash pretty soon anyway. As well as the fact that it is still useable . . . within reason. . . as long as you don't want to us CDs or anything like that . . . .
Being that November is soon upon us, I have eagerly been keeping an eye on the little countdown widget, letting Irish Rose and Chickadee know that we have such-and-such days left to come up with the rest of our plot points and characters - or, you know, avoid it at all costs until the day of, if you are a pantser like me:) What is a Pantser? Oh yes, I had no knowledge of what it was either, but when I found out I felt rather consoled that I was not the only one. A lot of people go the planning route - putting loads and loads of careful, discerning thought into their plot-line; carefully crafting character sheets for every person that shows up in their novel; writing summaries for every chapter and plot-twist that is going to come along; and planning every speck of the novel down to what kind of shampoo your character uses.
A Pantser is in a completely separate class all their own, a very special, wacky, caffeine induced class that deals with it like this - "Three months until Nano? Great! I'm going out for icecream, anyone want to come?". . . One and a half months; "I just discovered the neatest new series! I'm going to read them all!" . . . . . Two weeks; "My goodness, what a filthy floor . . . oooo, look! Pumpkins!" . . . A day: "Hmm, maybe I should come up with a title . . . nah."
So, you see, we Pantser's studiously ignore the fact that a novel is going to be written in November, going about our daily business happily oblivious to the certain insanity that will erupt the second November 1st comes along.
I think it is because, being a Pantser, I can't get too sidetracked by planning out a novel, because then I'll get bored and toss it out, and besides, if I plan it out exactly how I want it I'm going to miss some of the brilliance that sometimes comes out of crazed write-or-die sessions. (I am serious, there are writing dares entitled that, I may explain later:) I've never done one before because, well, they involve the possibility of losing every speck of what you have just written, and I'd freak out if that happened! But brilliance does happen when you are so desperate all you want to do is smack your head against your ten-foot-thick wall of Writer's Block. I have an entire novel of it. It may not be genius, or compelling, or even polished, but I can tell you it is insanely amusing, especially at 11 o'clock at night with a sugar-and-adrenaline rush.
Thankfully I do actually have an idea for Nano this year - I had a couple, actually, but after narrowing down my favorites I decided to do one that popped up earlier this summer. I toyed with the idea of trying to plan it out, but after the disaster of the last attempted planning (it got shelved, never to be heard from again) I decided I wouldn't try mess with my methods.
I'm a Pantser, and I'm proud of it!
Pumpkins are at the peak and, as my sisters can tell you, I LOVE pumpkins and all the things you can make with them.
Pumpkin pie is a favorite of mine, but sometimes a person doesn't want to have to eat an entire slice (the occasion is rare, but I'm sure someone has them:)
If you remember my Pear Grumble post I mentioned a book of fairy tales that had accompanying recipes. Today we are going to explore another recipe that I use once or twice a year.
Alas, I am not quite as inspired for this post as I was for the Pear Grumble, so I'm afraid it won't be quite as entertaining:)
Pumpkin Tartlets
Filling:
1 15-oz can of pumpkin*
1/2 cup evaporated milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. ground clove
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
Topping:
1/4 cup ground walnuts
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp. cold butter
Now, before I go on to instructions - you may have noticed I did not mention crusts. This is because the recipe calls for pre-made; if you would like to use pre-made by all means go ahead, I have nothing against them but I am afraid I have been incredibly spoiled by the homemade crust my mother makes. For which I do not have a recipe handy.
So, basically you can use any kind of pastry dough recipe or pre-made dough that you like.
Now, onto directions!
*First thing needed is to obtain beautiful, shiny orange pumpkins and render them into the cooked, smashed consistency needed for baking! Or you can use it from a can, wherein you will find the need for a can opener:)
(If you use freshly baked pumpkin you might want to drain some of the excess liquid off of it before using it, as extra moisture will affect cook time and consistency)
(If you use freshly baked pumpkin you might want to drain some of the excess liquid off of it before using it, as extra moisture will affect cook time and consistency)
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Measure all filling ingredients into a bowl and mix. Set aside.
Grind walnuts, add brown sugar, and butter that you have cut into small pieces. Grind until crumbly.
Taking a muffin tin butter the insides, or lightly sprayed with cooking spray if you prefer to use that.
Lay out your pie crust and cut into rounds by placing a cookie cutter or drinking glass upside down and pressing firmly.
The recipe says you ought to get 10 tartlet shells from each pie shell, but the thickness of my pie crust when I roll it out varies, so I can't tell you if that is accurate or not. You may just end up with more or less. (More isn't a bad thing, you can take all the extra strips, brush them with butter, sprinkle them with sugar, and toast them in the oven. Mmmm:)
Gently press your tartlet shells into the muffin tins.
Spoon about 1 tablespoon of filling into each shell.
Sprinkle with aprox. 1 teaspon of the topping.
Repeat until you run out of shells or filling, then bake for 10 minutes.
With tartlets still in the oven, lower the temperature to 350 and cook for 12-15 more minutes or until a toothpick or thin knife can be stuck in and comes out clean.
Cool for 5-10 minutes before removing the tins. (If you can resist the smell:)
These are SO YUMMY! And like I said they are smaller than a piece of pie. (Which means you can eat more of them and not feel guilty!:) They are perfect for a quick snack along with a glass of milk or a pretty little treat to serve along with coffee or tea for visitors.
