Pumpkin Fest

5 years ago, 5 girls had a vision.



A vision to celebrate the delicious-ness of pumpkin foods. A vision to celebrate the glory of fall. A vision to gather together to feast and celebrate sunshine and good weather before the drudgery of winter in Northern Indiana.

The first Pumpkin Fest, in 2006, was a success:



At the bottom of the invitation it reads, "Get ready to be pumpkin-afied!"



Then I hosted another one (my housemates from the previous year had all moved away), so I continued the tradition with a new group of people. We called this one the 2nd Annual Fest, Fall Edition, as one of my housemates was not terribly enamored with pumpkin foods. It was still delicious, as Sarah exhibits below.



Then we hosted another one--this time in Denver. Pumpkin Fest 2008:







2008's offerings included homemade pumpkin donuts, pumpkin whoopie pies, savory pumpkin cumin/chile-spiced dip, and pumpkin soup served in a pumpkin.

I seem to have no pictures of Pumpkin Fest 2009, so we'll skip ahead to 2010, the fifth annual Pumpkin Fest, which did not disappoint. There were TWO types of pumpkin cheesecake, roasted pumpkin seeds, pumpkin ganoush (like baba ganoush, but with pumpkin, not eggplant), pumpkin dip with apple slices, pumpkin lentil sausage soup, pumpkin ice cream, and more. My contribution was Mama Pea's pumpkin scones, which were a HUGE hit. Mine weren't vegan (I used butter and cow's milk) and I used 1/2 white flour and 1/2 whole wheat flour (b/c I didn't have whole wheat pastry flour), but they were egg-free and delicious.



I count myself lucky that I have had the privilege to participate in all five Pumpkin Fests and that 5 years later, I am still friends with all the girls from the original celebration. All but one of us live here in Denver. It is such fun to celebrate this holiday we made up, and it helps me remember to celebrate these friendships, too. I am so lucky have these amazing women in my life.

Here's to many more Pumpkin Fests!