The Pumpkin Cake

It was Tim's birthday and I was deciding what kind of a birthday cake I'd bake for him. He loved my cooking and baking and especially my cakes. It had to be just right. I needed a challenge, so I decided to bake a pumpkin cake using a fresh pumpkin. I followed the recipe to the t and put the cake on a fancy plate to frost. Cream cheese frosting...yum! The party started with all the relatives celebrating with us. We had a cookout and were eating on the deck. It was time for dessert....birthday candles lit... ta da! He blew out the candles and then I started to cut the cake. I noticed it was a little damp inside, as I cut generous slices. I told Tim to take the first bite...he took a huge bite and then shut his mouth and looked kind of strange to me. We all watched as he gulped and tried to swallow it. He was always very honest. He said...."Mom, this isn't one of your best ones." I tasted it and agreed with him. It wasn't even sweet...very, very moist almost soggy. Oh, how I wished that I had made a boxed mix cake. My dad (who never wanted to hurt me) chimed in...."It tastes fine to me...give me another piece." Poor dad suffered through two pieces of that horrible cake. Everyone else had just ice cream that day. Every time Tim had a birthday after that...he reminded me of that soggy pumpkin cake. I never made another one.
He made me a birthday cake a year or so later. German Chocolate...one of my favorites. I thought all the while I was eating it, that he had done something to get back at me, because he was such a kidder. But no, he had just made his mom a good cake. Show off!

When fall comes around the smell of pumpkin and spices fills the air. Our grocery makes the best apple cider donuts. They sell like hot cakes and you have to get there early to get them.  I love pumpkin breads and pies etc. I used to bake loaves of pumpkin bread and put them in the freezer for later on. Nothing like a slice of pumpkin bread with a cup of tea or coffee on a cold winter's day.I'm not crazy about pumpkin spiced coffees and teas, however. I pretty much like my drinks plain.  I always wonder why we keep this for fall...why not all year round? I guess it wouldn't be such a treat if we had it all the time. So, sometime this weekend, I will be in the kitchen baking something with pumpkin.


Here's a little story our former Priest told the pre schoolers one Sunday morning.....I put it in my blog a couple of years ago...just thought I'd repeat it.
All of us are something like a pumpkin. God picks you from the patch, brings you in and washes off all the dirt you may have gotten on you. The pumpkin is filled with yucky, gooey stuff and when we sin and do wrong, our soul can too look like the inside of a pumpkin. When we open our hearts to God...he opens the top of the pumpkin and scoops out the "yucky stuff." He removes the seeds of unkindness, doubt, hate, greed, and anything that would keep us from loving Him and others. Jesus said, "I am the light of the world." With his light inside of you, and a beautifully carved face, you can let the light of God shine through you for the whole world to see.
Balisha