Valle Crucis News November 3, 2010

Valle Crucis News
By Callie Foss

November 3, 2010

Wasn’t this weekend glorious? You can’t ask for much better weather for the end of October. It was mild enough for trick or treaters to come out and show off their costumes without looking like the Michelin Man.  LC had lots of little trick or treaters – we saw Batman, Superman, princesses, lady bugs, pumpkins, ghouls, ghosts, zombies, and some costumes that we just couldn’t put a finger on. We all had a good time watching them come on the porch that had corn shocks, jack o’lanterns, and ghosts decorating it.

I found out some more about Tellebration on November 20th. The tellers will be at the Original Mast Store from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. They’ll have some nationally and regionally-known tellers from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m., including Orville Hicks and host Doyle Pace. From 1 p.m. until 2 p.m., they’ll have a Liars Competition. Ethel and I know that there are several of you out there that will be eligible for this contest, so sign up! Really, it’s for anyone that can spin a good tale and the competition will be for adults and for children. I’m sure that Howell and Junior would have a couple of good ones to tell about days gone by here in Valle Crucis.

Have you looked at the weather for later in the week? Ray is saying that we could have some snow. Yes, the “s word” is now entering the forecast. The weekend looks to be a little chilly, too. I’m glad that we got out and enjoyed the lovely, warm weather this weekend. It was indeed welcomed and celebrated. We’ll have more warm weekends coming up, but I’m pretty sure they won’t be quite as warm as last weekend.

Guess what ended up on our porch on Monday morning. A great big, giant cooking pumpkin. We think it might be a descendent of the Great Pumpkin! Ethel and I just looked at each other. There is no way possible that we are going to be able to use the entire “meat” in this monster. We can’t make enough pumpkin bread! We got LC to help us find some new uses for the pumpkin – he had to pitch in because he was the culprit that left the pumpkin on the porch. We found a great starter recipe for something called New World Chili. We did a little experimenting with the ingredients and came up with a vegetarian version. It’s more like a really heavy soup. Here’s what we did:

1 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes
1 15 ounce can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 8 ounce can tomato sauce
1 cup peeled, seeded, and cubed butternut squash
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 medium onion, chopped
½ cup vegetable broth
½ cup frozen whole kernel corn (we used one of those small cans)
½ cup dried cranberries
1 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 clove garlic, minced
¼-1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 dash of cinnamon

In a 5-quart pot, add all ingredients and stir together well. Cook on low heat for 10-12 hours or on higher heat 5-6 hours. If you like, add two cups of shredded spinach just before serving and top with shredded cheese. The original Better Homes and Garden recipe sounded pretty good, too, but we like to tinker with recipes. Enjoy!

We’ve also discovered a neat pumpkin bread recipe that is a “yeasty” bread not the typical pumpkin bread that you usually think of. If any of you have other suggestions on things to do with pumpkin puree, please share them with us. This pumpkin is the gift that keeps on giving!

Happy Birthday to Adam Blake and Jaimie Blake on November 4, to Kevin Vasgaard and Sarah Donovan on November 5, to Savannah Copeland on November 6, to Dale Glover on November 8, and to Ginny Whitaker on November 10. Happy Anniversary to David and Roberta Yates on November 5. My best wishes to all of you for fine celebrations and lots of fun!

Please let us know about things that you know are happening. It takes your input to make this column more interesting. Just send us an e-mail at callieandethel@hotmail.com. We want to know and report your Valle Crucis News. If you need to send it by the postal service, mail it to:
Valle Crucis News
c/o Sandy Shook
Watauga Democrat
474 Industrial Park Drive
Boone, NC 28607

Here’s a good quote for our first snow: Kindness is like snow – it beautifies everything it covers. Anonymous. Have a wonderful week!ful week!