The always festive Lou

Lou.

I may not have the perfect costume or any solid Halloween party plans but I do have a black cat and an orange pumpkin so I think I have this holiday covered. 

Happy (early) Halloween!

Monday mashup: pumpkin picking, llamas, and a pig race

I can't even begin to explain how excited I was to go pick pumpkins this weekend. So excited that I unintentionally dressed like a pumpkin. (I blend in quite well, wouldn't you say?) I also told Jack that the pumpkin in my lap looked like me. Yeah, I don't know what I meant by that either. I think I was drunk on pumpkins and fresh farm air.

Anyways, in addition to probably definitely picking the four best pumpkins in the patch, we also went on a hayride, chilled with some llamas and goats, watched a pig race, and reenacted famous works of art. (Jack is totally the next René Magritte.)

So in conclusion it was pretty much the greatest day ever.

Well, except for when I got attacked by a bee and accidentally dropped my apple cider. That's when we decided our time in the country was up and headed back to Boston.

But not before we stuffed our faces with some fudge. Naturally.

Any unique pumpkin carving/decorating suggestions?

PS - Thank you all for your sweet words Friday regarding my last long training run. I'm happy to report that although it was pouring rain -- seriously POURING buckets -- I successfully ran the final 22 miles. Bring on the taper!

October cupcake: pumpkin cheesecake with "whipped cream" frosting

For this month's cupcake, instead of following a recipe created by a trained culinary professional -- or by someone with at least a decent amount of kitchen skills -- I decided I'd just tweak my favorite pumpkin cheesecake recipe.*

Don't ask me why I thought I could successfully transform a cheesecake into a cupcake -- must be all the Cupcake Wars and Chopped episodes I watch -- but I was extremely determined.

And so I woke up Sunday morning, threw on my black Northeastern University sweatshirt (lesson 1: wearing black while working with flour is a big mistake -- though I do love to show my school spirit in the kitchen. HUSKIES.), and went to work mixing and measuring like a mad kitchen scientist. I created four different versions of a pumpkin cheesecake cupcake, and shockingly all were edible.

Actually they were more than edible -- they all were good!

But the version I present to you today is beyond good. In fact, boyfriend Jack declared it the greatest cupcake he's ever eaten in his entire life.

And boyfriend Jack knows his cupcake shiz.

This recipe produces super moist cupcakes that taste just like pumpkin cheesecake. I mixed shortbread cookies -- used for the crust in the original recipe -- into the batter, which created a cake-like consistency -- and made me feel like the smartest woman in the world.

Oh and the frosting?

Oh. My. God.

I can't take credit for inventing it -- that honor belongs to MissyDew. I was searching for a frosting that resembled whipped cream in taste but had a thicker consistency when I came across a recipe called "the greatest frosting I ever tasted". And boy oh boy it really is the greatest frosting ever. (Apparently so good that it makes me say "boy oh boy".) Though it uses two sticks of butter and flour (say what?!), it's somehow light, fluffy, and tastes way better than any whipped cream I've ever had.

Clearly with this recipe I'm ready for Cupcake Wars -- as long as the surprise ingredient is this guy: