Want to grow a truly giant pumpkin? Here’s how | Green Pumpkin Seeds Kernel

Last year, Patrick’s entry was 785 pounds, and he had one pumpkin that weighed in at 1,020 pounds. This year’s is one pound heavier, setting a new record for Patrick.

Preheat your oven to 200˚C/Gas 6. Place the squash in a baking dish, drizzle with oil and season. Turn cut-side down and bake for approx. 45 mins, until the flesh is tender when pierced with a knife. 

Fort Collins Fort Collins farmer Josh Hillhouse was tired of showing up to early spring farmers’ markets with nothing more than bags of salad mixes to sell. “We needed to make more money to justify the time involved with doing the market,” Hillhouse says. He and his wife, Kirsten, hatched a plan to supplement their biodynamically grown produce—as well as chicken and duck eggs and grass-fed beef—with CFA-approved, shelf-stable spice mixes and teas. With the help of their 12-year-old son, the Hillhouses’ line of dry goods has ballooned to almost 70 unique products, including a popular ginger-mint-lavender herbal tea made from organic, fairly traded botanicals and a tomato-basil spice blend that does triple duty as a seasoning, a dressing, and a dip mix. In fact, their CFA line has become so popular the family now devotes a portion of its eight-acre farm to growing perennial herbs for the products. In November, they debuted a year-round retail store on their property where they’re selling their teas and spices as well as baked goods—and of course, when in season, fresh salad greens.How To Buy: Order Sunray Natural products (loose-leaf teas and spice blends start at $5 for about an ounce) online, or visit the farm’s retail store Tuesdays through Fridays from 4 to 8 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 5656 N. Highway 1, Fort Collins

You don’t usually find nut or seed butter in banana bread, but you may not make it any other way after tasting this. The sunflower butter is unmistakable without being overpowering and adds lots of filling fat to the grain-free recipe.

You do not need to be an experienced baker for this delicious nutrient-dense Power Bread by Selva Wohlgemuth, and you will not have a kitchen covered from head to toe in flour. All you need is a food processor, a bowl, your baking tins, and just 15 minutes of your time.

Chef Brandon Gauthier and his wife and house manager Victoria Gauthier with their children Jackson, 5, and Elijah, 2, at Confluence.(Photo: Patrick Breen/The Republic)

Some competitors have boosted revenue by adding haunted houses, hayrides, and corn mazes to their farms, but the Mullers have eschewed such agritourism, describing themselves as purists.

Even though they’ve only been for mere weeks, they’ve demonstrated seamless service and created a menu locals are already raving about.

Alternative medicine has revealed that ginger, honey, and hibiscus flower essence, when combined, is an old folk remedy that’s been handed down from generation to generations.

This cozy and elegant pub is distinctly more casual than its sister establishment, Latah Bistro, known for fine neighborhood dining and an extensive wine list. Wine & Taps features five rotating taps, plus Stella Artois on draft. The feel is contemporary and casual with sophisticated yet rustic touches. The floor is polished concrete. Table tops are knotty hickory. So is the 21-foot bar top. Black-and-white vintage Western-themed images printed on metal adorn the walls. A banquette along one wall is covered with brushed velvet. Owner Susan Readel particularly likes the look of the high-backed bar stools, which remind her of “the look of an old Chevy.” She and her husband, Mike Readel, bought the restaurant and its companion latte stand, Latah Latte, in April. They are the second owners of those businesses, started in 2004 and 2005 respectively. And they were regulars at the restaurant before they bought it. There are two TVs in the space, which fills up fast when the Zags and Eagles play. The menu features elevated pub grub and shareables such as four wild Gulf prawns with citrus-vodka sauce for $15, a pint of bacon with whiskey-maple syrup dip for $13, skewered Old-English-braised brats with Walla Walla sweet onions for $10, and Cajun-spiced Mississippi sliders for $15. The $18.50 Royale with Cheese features Wagyu beef, Cambozola, garlic aioli, arugula and smoked bacon. It’s served with a side of chicharron-dusted cheddar mac and cheese. Look, also, for a $13 bowl of bison chili and the chance to build your own steak wraps for $18 with blackened hanger steak, adobo-lime yogurt sauce, radishes, cilantro, crushed corn nuts, lime wedges and lettuce cups. The Bucket of Love includes six gluten-free Mayan chocolate-ancho chile muffins dusted with powdered sugar for $10. Wine & Taps also offers a 4-and-a-half-foot-long charcuterie board for 20. It costs approximately $200, or market price. The pub asks for 24 hours’ notice for it as well as the 3 1/2-foot-long birthday board with Twinkies, animal cookies and vodka-soaked gummy bears. 4241 Cheney-Spokane Road. (509) 838-8338. latahbistro.com.

In Go Dairy Free 2nd Edition, I promised to share the brands and ingredients I used for testing the recipes in that book. And I finally have them altogether in this post. Below is a quick list of the specific products I used for Go Dairy Free ingredients during recipe testing.

Nicki requests buckets of fried chicken (lots of wings), fried hard turkey bacon, Bumble Bee tuna, plus one large cheese platter. But, this is for Nicki "and her crew." Adorable.