pumpkin weekend!

so last week/weekend was a blast. we celebrated katie's 27th birthday on wednesday, by going out to dinner at a new restaurant, the raven grill, which was by far the best meal we've had in houston so far, and then out to see waterdeep in concert at ecclesia (the church we've been becoming part of here). the food was local, the music was familiar, the strawberry shortcake afterwards was superb (if i do say so myself)...it was a pretty great day.

on friday night, we lazed a bit (a common trend at the end of the work week), and then went out for coffee with our friend audra and her friend. it was perfectly cool outside, and the conversation was great. U2 concerts apparently are fantastic and i hope to maybe see one in my lifetime now.

saturday, our friend cori came into town from austin to help celebrate katie's birthday and...Pumpkin Day! so, while katie was at a Teach For America training/workshop thing, cori and i started on the baking. i decided this year to bake the pumpkin halves one at a time, instead of skinning it, chopping it up, and boiling the flesh, which is a lot of work. it worked perfectly - the skin just sort of peels off after its done baking (almost leathery-looking...we talked about next year's recipe being pumpkin shoes). over the course of evening, we packed between 12 and 15 people in our tiny apartment, and relished in the glory of pumpkin treats (or maybe that was just me, and everyone else just ate). the food was amazing, and we tried a few new recipes this year, as always:

-pumpkin empanadas (a mexican pastry, not too sweet)
-pumpkin soup
-pumpkin fries - these did not turn out. though, i think if we had gotten the oil hotter, they totally would have. next year!
-pumpkin pie
-pumpkin (wasserman) squares, with cream cheese icing

our friends also brought:
-pumpkin brownies (!!! neat!)
-pumpkin mousse pie (like french silk, but more like pumpkin pie taste. it was incredible)

and there was plenty of pumpkin beer, of course.

overall, it was a successful evening. there was an impromptu pumpkin toss outside our front door that left a scattering of seeds that is still decorating the breezeway sidewalk. this also led to the creation of two pumpkin hats :) and we didn't sing to katie or anything (i kind of get lost in pumpkin day), but it was still a special night for one primary reason. this was the first party of more than two people that we have hosted in houston, and it was really normalizing. parties were something our friend group in lawrence did a lot...sometimes too often...like having a party for the color green (which was amazing...people thought it was an environmental party, but it wasn't). i think hosting is something that katie and i both enjoy, and to finally feel like we have the friends that will come if we plan it - that feels great.

happy pumpkin day to all, and to all a good night.

and yes, i cooked a pumpkin this big. jk

(plug: if you want to partake in some of this amazingness...come to houston for thanksgiving!)