Trip to Trax

The Pumpkin Party is no mere gathering.  It's an event that spans the better part of the afternoon and carries on well into the evening.  And it all starts with a trip to Trax.

Trax Farms is, as one of my friends described it, like, "the Farmer's Market and Disney World combined!"

There is literally TONS to see and do at Trax Farms.  All in all, Trax covers about 325 acres of land and boasts a sales space of about 85,000 square feet!  Under it's roof, the barn hosts a wine shop, antique loft, fresh produce, a deli, a bakery (which is always bursting with yummy delights), a HUGE gift shop with tons of wonderful seasonal flare, a greenhouse, a nursery, and a grocery section to boot!

Beautiful, purple pears

Perdy potatoes

In the grocery section, we admired the gigantic broccoli.  

It didn't take long before they became bouquets.

The grocery houses a variety of specialty coffee flavors such as "Cinna-bun" and "Pumpkin Spice," which are fun to sniff whether you're just passing through or buying some to enjoy with breakfast.  There's also a glass inclosed beehive where you can see the busy little black and yellows working away.  Their lovely, golden nectar is available for sale right there too.

This time of year, there are caramel and candy covered apples around every corner and the smell of freshly popped kettle corn, made right before your eyes in a huge drum, hits your nostrils before you make it two feet outside.

Kettle Corn:  before 

(look at the size of those bags!)

Kettle Corn:  middle

Kettle Corn:  after (Just look at em'.  They grow up so fast)

Once you cross the threshold to the outdoors, not only your sense of smell but also your site is mesmorizingly assaulted by the vision of every colored mum you could ever imagine and giant mounds of bright, orange pumpkins piled sky high with tons of kids scurrying and stumbling over their surface.

Many a family sat amongst the pumpkins posing for what would undoubtedly become a very festive, Fall card.  My friends and I were no exception.  Such ripe, picture taking opps cannot go un siezed…

Trax Farms is a wonderful way to spend a day whether you intended to do it up BIG and ride the hayride to the pumpkin patch before photos in the pumpkin piles, or just wander through with a group of friends, smelling and seeing, taking in all that Fall has to offer.

My girlfriends and I did just that.  Each woman took great care in selecting the perfect pumpkin.

The beautiful Emily with her pick.

Lucia with her lovely.

Amanda with her pumpkin that's practically as big as her.

We made our purchases (some ladies grabbed a bottle of wine, a specialty cheese, or a bag of flavored coffee) and headed back to my home for the remainder of the nights events.

All in all, Trax was the perfect destination to kick-off the Pumpkin Party.  Come back soon as, there is still tons more to share about the food and festivities of this funderful event.

Here's a few additional pics from our trip to Trax… 

because I want you to feel like you were there!

Warty pumpkins… strange… very strange

These were pretty crazy looking

Ummm… Butternut Squash!  You know I'm a fan!

Unabashedly

That's right.  Unabashedly.  I will unabashedly proclaim that, "I LOVE toasted PUMPKIN SEEDS!"

It's one of the reasons I love having people over to carve up pumpkins.  These gorgeous little beauties are just waiting on the inside to fulfill their crispity, crunchity destiny.

A sprinkling of cinnamon and sugar makes for a delicious treat.
And the standard salted variety is a no brainer when it comes to pleasing a crowd.  I have been known to sprinkle a little paprika, and, even a little cayenne pepper on my little seeds when I'm feeling especially adventurous during pumpkin season.

Basically, this is one tradition that I unabashedly embrace and particularly enjoy.

I love the slippery, slimy way the seeds feel after you've rinsed as much of the gunk off as possible.  I like the way they look all spread out in my cookie sheet.  I love the way they smell as the oven roasts them up; the toasted scent that wafts from the kitchen into the rest of the house beckoning me to pinch a few right out of the pan to test and see if they are of the perfect crispiness.

Below you'll find the recipe I used to toast some of my trappings from the Pumpkin Party .


Pumpkin Seeds with Paprika, Cayenne, & Salt:
Clean crud from seeds.  Spray cookie sheet with olive oil cooking spray.  Pour a layer of pumpkin seeds to evenly cover cookie sheet.  Spray seeds with olive oil cooking spray.  Sprinkle seeds with salt, then cayenne (so you can see how much you're putting on there since paprika looks very similar), then paprika.  Toast seeds for 30-35 minutes in oven at 325.  Seeds should be crunchy and just slightly browned when they're ready.

YUM!

XO,
Rachel