From little things big things grow.....

OK, maybe a little late, but I have a pumpkin!!!!!!
 

Might look small, but that pumpkin plant is REAL big.....

Rule change??

Breaking news....Given the last few photos of competitors, in order to make the competition fairer i think i might calculate the winner by dividing the weight of the pumpkin by the weight of the competitor!!! HIghest score wins!!!


(Just kidding boogs)

And they keep coming....

Well, we're getting to the pointy end of the competition, and the photos keep coming. Here is another one..

Good work..

Pumpkin Muffins with a Frosty Top

Well I never.... Old mate jamie has come through with the goods again.... Pumpkin muffins!!!
"They taste a bit like carrot cake, but we have substituted the carrot with pumpkin"

400g Pumpkin, skin off roughly chopped
350g light brown sugar
4 large free range eggs
Sea salt
300g plain flour
2 heaped teaspoons baking powder
Handful of walnuts
1 teaspoon cinnamon
175m extra virgin olive oil

For the topping
Zest of 1 clementine (what is that??)
Juice of half a lemon + the zest
140ml sour cream
2 heaped teaspoons icing sugar
1vanilla pod (for the yuppies amongst us, otherwise 1 tsp good old extract)

I love the method... Chop up the pumpkin in a food processor, chuck in the rest (but not the icing stuff) give it a whirl and put it into a muffin tray (makes 12) Whack it in a 180 degree oven for about twenty minutes and your done!! How easy is that!! A real mans recipe.

Mix together all the frosting ingredients and pour it over the top of the muffins when they're done.. Voilla!! Could be a prize for the first bloke to email me a picture of the finished product.. This is what they should look like

Jack and the GIANT..............

Well, pumpkin of course. Here is the proud owner of the pumpkin shown in the previous post

Rosevears Pumpkin

Spotted along the banks of the Tamar River, just before the Rosevears Hotel, was this GIANT pumpkin.. It's the handy work of young Jack...

Now, I'm pretty sure this pumpkin is heavier than the grower!

News Flash!!!!

Meteorite Lands in Newstead Resident’s Frontyard.

An early morning jogger noticed a large object in the frontyard of a property in Newstead.

The passer by immediately notified authorities claiming she had found, what she believed to have been, a meteorite.

On closer inspection by the authorities, they discovered the object to be ”a pimpin’ great pumpkin”.

Investigations are continuing and the site remains closed for viewing. Upon speaking to the resident, authorities believe that the pumpkin is being grown as part of a Pimp Your Pumpkin Competition. Despite allegations of GM and the use of purple pigmentation, no fowl play is believed to be involved at this stage (other than the strong odour of chicken manure that lingers around the property)

Guess the pumpkin No.3

Someone told me that we would struggle to grow a pumpkin over 40-50kg. Well, how wrong were they!!!
Check out this monster...

That's a size 10 thong to give you a sense of scale

Guess the pumpkin No.2

Who's pumpkin could this monster be?? Well, it was a pumpkin, honest!!!

Oh well.. There's still hope

Fellow Pumpkiners: How's Yours Goin?

Guess who's this is:

Actual email received with the photos:

Subject: dear clog. i know not blog, but down in my bog i found ......

…a pretty pimp’n yella fingy.

Note; very secret hiding spot complete with “wallaby Proof Fence” and “floppy top possum abatement system”.
Security provided by “cows with guns”.

Other security initiatives include;
“rat proof, pressure cooker compost system”,
“bird proof effort justification/ offset system (harvest garden for the missis)”,
“frost proof, glass enclosed jump starter system, (never used)”,
“free standing, sacrificial anode patch for the natives (still need to build jail around the raspberries).

Quiz question; what single piece of plant security system in the picture can be traced back to Vermont Rd and Uncle Chris. Hint; it is not in active service.

Dear little clog, I not know how to blog, causes my brain to chog, makes me sick as a dog.

We're back!!

Sorry, it's been a while, but we're back on deck. Things are going pretty good with our plant. Yesterday we were treated to the most magnificent flower display, and old mate Mr Bee was busy doing his thing

Pity there was no girl flowers about for him to take the pollen to..

What to do with pumpkin #2

Ever heard of potato or orange guns? Check this out!!

For your viewing pleasure

Pumpkin Risotto

I know it's a bit early yet, but i am going to start putting up pumpkin recipes.. After all, if these babies grow to 300kg, that's a lot of pumpkin!!!

First cab off the rank is pumpkin risotto (We had it for tea tonight)

1 Butternut pumpkin
2 cups arborio rice
Mushrooms
Bacon
Boiling hot chicken stock
White wine
Cheese (parmesan and cheddar)

Peel and chop up the pumpkin and boil it for about 15 minutes.

Melt a good knob of butter in a heavy based saucepan, add the arborio rice and cook it in the butter for about 5 minutes until it goes translucent and "nutty". Add a good glass of white wine. When all the wine is absorbed, start adding cups of hot chicken stock, stirring constantly, until it wont absorb any more moisture.

In a seperate saucepan, fry the bacon with the mushrooms. (do all the above at the same time as it makes a bigger mess in the kitchen. Looks like total chaos, but trust me, it all comes together)

When the pumpkin is cooked, put it in a blender with some of the water.

When the risotto is cooked, take it off the stove, add 2/3 off the pumpkin puree (we keep the rest for Finn food), the bacons and mushrooms and handfuls of grated cheese Yummo, the kids love it, and don't be put off thinking it takes forever, i had it on the table in a little over 20 minutes! Served wth snow peas (that the mouse didnt get)

Late Starters

Some people received their seeds a couple of weeks after the first mailing went out. So as not to disdavantage these people too much, we have decided to have a handicap system. We will weigh our pumpkin two weeks before the weigh in date and add the weight gained over the last two weeks on to the weight of those who received their seeds late.