Foodie Friday: Pumpkin Dip, Pretend French Divas, Decorating, Martha, Bonding With My Daughter

It's been a while since I have written a Foodie Friday blog, dear reader. In honor of September, my favorite time of year, and pumpkin spice season, I thought I would share my recipe for pumpkin dip. I began making pumpkin dip in the early 1990s. The first time I made it was when my family was invited to my aunt's house for Thanksgiving. It was my first Thanksgiving after a hard and nasty break-up with a long-time boyfriend. Attending a family gathering alone felt uncomfortable and foreign to me. Isn't it odd how we can associate food with specific memories?

I have always been a fan of Martha Stewart. Even as a high school student, I would sit and read her magazine from cover to cover, watch her show, and record segments from news shows featuring her. Back then, I was a closet Martha Stewart fan. Once I graduated from high school, I embraced my inner Martha and made great strides to mimic her ideas of beauty, decor, and presentation. It seems that in the near past, I have forgotten and neglected my inner Martha. However, she has recently awakened, and I once again feel inspired to create a well-curated home, cook delicious meals, and focus on simple, beautiful presentations. This pumpkin dip I made in the early nineties made me feel like I had fully embraced my inner Martha, and it was a dish I was very proud to take to that significant Thanksgiving, now a lifetime ago.

In my efforts to embrace my inner Martha, The Bean and I decorated almost every room in our home for the autumnal season. The house has no room, minus the primary and guest bedrooms, without pumpkins, fall leaves, or Halloween decor. Even The Bean's room has fall decorations strategically placed about. It was a good day. We spent the day laughing, listening to vintage Halloween music, doing a little kitchen dancing, and dressing my now vintage French display mannequin, whom I've named Josephine Odette Bouchard. Josephine Odette Bouchard is a bit of a diva. We intended to dress her as a witch for Halloween, but she had other ideas. She now dons my black tulle skirt, a faux leopard wrap, my rust-colored cashmere sweater, a black hat with a veil, and layers of pearls. Josephine Odette Bouchard, who insists one uses her full name...it's a French thing, informed us she does not dress like a simple peasant witch. She also ends every statement with, " Oui, Oui." She requires only the best outfits with style and flair. I told you she was a diva. While decorating, I made this delicious pumpkin dip, minus the hollowed-out real pumpkin for presentation. We worked, nibbled on ginger snaps and pumpkin dip, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

It's nice to create good memories around an old recipe rather than dwell on mistakes from the past. While bonding with my daughter and snacking on this classic autumn dip, I shared my stories of mistakes from that time in my life. Rather than focus on my mistakes, I choose to focus on the lessons I've learned since those days in my early twenties. I also introduced The Bean to Martha Stewart through the Martha Stewart Living Channel. Yes, dear reader, Martha has her own channel that plays Martha Stewart television shows twenty-four-seven. The Bean now walks around mocking me when I serve dinner or create a vignette in our home. It always ends with, "It's a good thing." Insert an eye roll here. The Bean is equally as exhausting as her father. However, she enjoyed my pumpkin dip and has requested it for our Thanksgiving dinner. She also asks that the dip be served in a real hollowed-out pumpkin because "it's a good thing." Sigh.

Pumpkin Dip

Ingredients:

2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese at room temperature

1 15-ounce can of pure pumpkin

2 cups sifted powdered sugar

1 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

Beat the cream cheese and pumpkin with a hand mixer until smooth. Add powdered sugar, ginger, and cinnamon; mix thoroughly. Refrigerate for at least one hour or overnight. Serve in a hollowed-out small pie pumpkin. Serve with ginger snaps, small graham crackers, or apples. This also makes a delicious spread for toast, bagels, or English muffins.

On this lovely September Friday, stay safe, be smart, embrace your inner Martha, create new memories, share your life lessons with the younger generation, enjoy good food, and keep washing your hands.