Autumn brings to mind thoughts of brightly colored leaves falling from trees, days growing shorter and football games at the local high school. For children, autumn means Halloween and the fun of carving jack-o-lanterns. Historically a sign of fall, pumpkins are an integral part of the season and adorn school classrooms and front porches. There is more to a pumpkin than a scary faced jack-o-lantern however. Inside each chubby, brightly colored shell lie the beginnings of many delicious and tempting dishes and desserts.
When faced with the dilemma of selecting the right pumpkin for cooking or baking, how do you know which to choose? Although perfect for the best possible jack-o-lantern, the biggest may not always be the best for cooking. Usually, smaller pumpkins have less water and more yummy pumpkin flesh and less waste.
What is the best technique for preparing a fresh pumpkin for cooking or baking? Start by slicing the pumpkin in half crosswise. Put the halves, cut side down, on a pan and bake for 45 minutes at 325 F or until tender. When the pumpkin has cooled it can be peeled and easily mashed. Most 5 pound pumpkins will give you around 4.5 to 5 cups of cooked, mashed pumpkin. A pumpkin will keep for two months if refrigerated.
Here is a delicious pumpkin recipe to try at home:
Baked Pumpkin
3 cups cooked, mashed pumpkin
2 eggs, beaten
½ c pecans, chopped
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp butter, melted
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground mace
Dash of pepper
½ c pecan halves
½ c firmly packed brown sugar
¼ c maple syrup
Combine first 8 ingredients, stirring well. Pour pumpkin mixture into a lightly greased 1 ½ qt casserole. Arrange pecan halves on top of casserole. Combine brown sugar and syrup in a small saucepan; cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until mixture reaches a boil. Cool slightly. Spoon glaze evenly over casserole. Bake, uncovered, at 350F for 40 minutes. Serves 6.
Writer's Block Just Jack
Writer's block is a difficult challenge to conquer because there's no set way to get rid of it. Oh, sure, you can find advice everywhere, and just about any :how to write" website will give you some hints and ideas. The problem is, it's a very abstract, and often personal, problem and each writer has a different way of getting past it.
Based on what I've learned from my own experience, I'm happy to share these ideas to help you buckle down and get back to business.
The first thing to remember is to stay positive. You're not going to get anywhere if you sit at your desk and dwell on the fact that the words just aren't coming. It's very easy to start panicking when the words won't come, and your entire article marketing campaign is in the balance. Trust me, I know! However, keep in mind that good article writing, just like everything else in business, takes a bit of effort and is worth doing right.
Now that you've got your head around your project, make an outline. It's a good idea -- especially if you don't consider yourself a professional writer -- to draft a general outline of what you want to say in your article. For example, if you're writing about finding a target market for your online marketing, you might want to start with three bullet points. One will talk about how to create a solid definition of your product, one about how to pinpoint the general demographic for your product, and finally one about finding keyword descriptions that are attractive to that demographic.
If this doesn't get you moving, and sometimes it won't, start talking to yourself. (It's OK, no one's listening.) Look at your outline and start telling yourself how you would approach item. If you're used to talking to large groups of people, pretend that you're giving a lecture on the topic. If you do better with small bits of info, try jotting words or phrases on post-in notes or index cards, then rearranging them. Soon, those notes and jots will start to flow together into a good solid article that people will want to read.
Another great way to get your thoughts to flow is by writing the facts. You feel that you're qualified enough to write articles about your business; chances are you already know what you want to say. So, start putting your thoughts to paper and just ignore punctuation and flow. The point is to start writing. You'll find that once you get yourself moving, the words will take care of themselves. Then when you're finished, go back through for the cleanup and the final pizzazz.
I've found some great resources that helped me over that writing hump a couple of weeks ago. If you are writing articles for submission to article marketing services, you might want to check these out:
WritersDigest.com always has at least one writing prompt that will help crack writer's block. This web site is designed for writers and includes easy, thought provoking tips. One recent prompt tells stuck writers to write outrageous headlines for 2007. These "no rules" prompts really get the creative juices flowing!
eFuse.com is geared toward creating tight, interesting website content. The site has a variety of helpful hints to get started. One writer talks about starting in the middle of a project rather than at the beginning. This is a great idea for people who can't push through the first sentence.
ArticleMarketer.com has useful articles on just about every aspect of web writing, including writer's block. A recent article gives advice contrary to eFuse and tells the writer to start at the very beginning by writing an inspiring headline! Writing the headline first might get you excited about the project. It might also serve as an article summary to help you stay within your writing parameters.
The great thing about these websites is that every one of them gives different advice. Rather than being confusing, this actually helped me write my articles. Some of the advice worked, some didn't, and I bet it will be different for every article marketer. Reading all the advice, though, helped me understand that writer's block is a real phenomenon, with real solutions. Do a little experimenting and figure out which writer's block trick works the best for you!
So take some tips from the experts and put your thoughts down into information, content-rich articles for submission. You never know who might be by to read them!
Both Sfrewerd & Nancy Amada are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Sfrewerd has sinced written about articles on various topics from Parenting, Family and Culture. Sherry Frewerd is an affiliate marketer who publishes websites and blogs on various topics. Visit her new Halloween Blog and Get your Free Halloween Treat Recipes and Party Ideas e-book at http://halloweencostumeandpartyblog.blogspot.com/2007/09/free-hall. Sfrewerd's top article generates over 9900 views. to your Favourites.
Nancy Amada has sinced written about articles on various topics from Internet Marketing, SEO Articles and Marketing. For more small business advice, contact Nancy Amada at . Find more article writing tips at. Nancy Amada's top article generates over 165000 views. to your Favourites.
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