Pumpkin Carving/Doughnut Party

Every year, our friends, Amy and Byron, host a Pumpkin Carving/Doughnut party in their backyard. Ryan and I love the event, but Ryan takes pumpkin carving to a new level. Ryan spends a few weeks researching different pumpkin carving ideas and then picks the most difficult and time consuming design. This year, a Martha Stewart design won out and Ryan carved a skull design that required a lot of delicate shaving and precise design-work.


I used a stencil that came with a carving kit to carve a skull with flames surrounding the creepy cranium. Soma's pumpkin was supposed to be a hissing cat because he LOVES chasing cats and squirrels when we walk around the neighborhood. Unfortunately, the cat got a little warped by my lack of carving skills (Ryan was still working on etching his skull pumpkin at the time), so the final product looks more like a mutant rabid squirrel/cat mix. On the plus side, Soma chases both so the pumpkin still represents Soma accurately.

Watch Out For The Mutant Rabid Cat-Squirrel!

I grew up with cake doughnuts in the fall. I have many fond memories of my mom canning and jamming whatever fruits and veggies remained after the summer growing season and "us" kids devouring hot doughnuts rolled in cinnamon and sugar. Fall in Seattle means rain and cold weather, which is the perfect weather for comfort foods like homemade doughnuts and warming soups. This fall has been colder and darker than usual, but the weather cooperated and we enjoyed a gorgeous evening.

The Main Table
Byron made this 10' table with reclaimed lumber from an old car port. Amy used some plants from her great garden and exercised her creativity to create the fabulous centerpiece.

Doughnut Varieties:
Chocolate (see "Photo Of The Week"), Ginger Buttermilk, and Apple with Maple Sugar (above).

"Act Natural"

Ryan is taking the day off to recuperate from his intense pumpkin carving project, but something tells me that he will be thinking about next year's pumpkin design by the end of the week.