It's finally that time of year again.
Wishing a very happy October to us all!
Showing posts with label Pumpkins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pumpkins. Show all posts
Autumn achievment unlocked - The Big E 2023!
One of my favorite seasonal rituals has been achieved - my annual visit to The Big E!
It was a gorgeous weekday, and we got there on the early side before things got too crowded. The sun was out, the temperature just right, a perfect autumn day from morning til evening.
The free wine tasting, featuring 6 New England area wineries, was one of the highlights of my late morning. It gets crowded during peak times and I hadn't been able to go in years. We didn't have to wait too long. I'm not even a big wine or alcoholic beverage person, but I do like new experiences and flavors, so this is always a fun time.
Of course, one of the main attractions to the fair is the food. This year I broke with tradition and mostly tried foods that were new: either new to me, or new to the fair this year, starting with plantain fries topped with pork, grilled onion/peppers, and a yummy sauce. Loved this and would get it again.
Next up: the apple fries, new to the fair this year and highly recommended. These were fantastic, crispy fries made of apples and dusted with cinnamon sugar - we opted for the caramel sauce addition.
New to me this year was the deep-fried taco, the outer skin reminded me a bit of an egg roll. We chose the chicken option, which also had lettuce, tomato, cheese, & sour cream. I would've loved some hot sauce on this, but it was otherwise pretty great.
We also shared a Mass Sea Breeze, a refreshing and very sweet drink.
And last up: the smoked salmon on a stick from the Maine building - which usually sells out as it is extremely popular. It's definitely some of the BEST salmon I've ever eaten, and I am a huge fan of salmon. I've had it before, but most years they run out before I can get it.
Pickle lemonade was one of the new offerings at the fair this year, but we didn't try it. There were a lot of pickle-flavored items, including pickle-topped pizza and a pickle cupcake. I didn't try any of those either. I like pickles, but not sure I need a pickle cupcake. Maybe if I'd had more wine it would've sounded like a good idea.
Last food item of the day, which is my usual custom, is buying a cream puff or 2 to bring home. This year's special flavor was MAPLE which I am extremely excited about. Maple is one of my favorite New England flavors, 10/10 would recommend this cream puff.
I was happy to see some Halloweeny vibes here and there as well, mostly in the Storrowtown/craft area of the fair.
The Rhode Island building always showcases the Great Jack O'Lantern Spectacular, which returns every year to the Roger Williams Park Zoo (and is absolutely worth visiting; I blogged about it a couple years ago)
Our night concluded with a spooky moonrise. And that's it for my 2023 Big E adventure!
To read more of my more in-depth posts about The Big E, check out these links:
Part 1: Intro / Part 2: Crafts & shopping / Part 3: Animals & agriculture /
Part 4: State buildings / Part 5: Food / Part 6: Other stuff
And just like that - Autumn is here.
The autumn season is here!
It's cozy candle season;
wandering through mysterious woods season;
harvest abundance season;
cozy blanket and sweater weather season;
pumpkin madness season;
haunted house season;
fall festival season;
leaf-peeping season;
-- and generally, the absolute best time of the year.
HAPPY FALL, EVERYONE!
Artist Brett Kelley's Pumpkin Pin
Do you like Halloween stuff AND supporting independent artists?
Brett Kelley, a friend of mine who's a prolific artist located in Western Massachusetts, USA, has just launched a Kickstarter to create these wicked cool enamel pins based on his original illustration of a bat-winged jack o'lantern! His original run of these pins sold out in TWO DAYS and he's raising the funds needed to release more color variations. You can support this project by clicking the pic below, and get your very own FlapJack pin! The funding is well under way and runs til 6th March, 2022.
Watch a giant pumpkin grow!
Got about 90 seconds?
Watch this mind-blowing time lapse of how a seedling grows up to be a massive pumpkin!
🌱🎃
I like my pumpkins black, like I like my metal
When a Facebook friend posted a picture of a black pumpkin labeled as a rare heirloom variety, I was skeptical. Pfffft -- Photoshopped, I thought. But then, I had to look it up, and - THEY DO EXIST! This one's called Dark Knight (not to be confused with a Batman-themed jack o'lantern) .
(image source: https://www.kitchengardenseeds.com/pumpkin-dark-knight.html)
They're really more of a very dark green, but wow! They're fantastic. And this particular pumpkin isn't the only dark-hued variety. This article on the site Home for the Harvest has compiled a list of heirloom pumpkins with dark skins, including this striking variety (and continuing the Batman theme), the Batwing pumpkin:
(image source: https://www.harrisseeds.com/products/12338-pumpkin-batwing-mix?variant=35441581228104BliOnm9gXXMIKoJoQ=s1247)
This one might be familiar - the kabocha, found pretty commonly in grocery stores, also called kabocha squash or Japanese pumpkin, another dark-green, almost black variety. They make fantastic eating, too; the texture of their cooked innards is more akin to a sweet potato.
(image source: https://www.westcoastseeds.com/products/kurinishiki-mini-kabocha)
The kabocha pumpkin is also beloved by superstar Japanese
artist, Yayoi Kusama, who has featured the pumpkin as a recurring theme in her works many
times during her career, including one of her infinity mirror room installations titled All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins (2016). (Same, Ms. Kusama -- same.)
(image source: https://publicdelivery.org/yayoi-kusama-pumpkins/)
I don't have much of a green thumb, but if I had my own house & yard, I wouldn't mind taking a stab at growing some of these amazing looking pumpkins. Maybe someday!
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