Face it: Those cute little pumpkins that have been decorating the house since Halloween will be dated when the Thanksgiving dishes are done. So why not serve them instead?

Pumpkins make the perfect serving vessels for soups, side dishes and desserts. The following recipe combines many flavors of the season , and the bonus is that you don’t have to wash the dish when dinner is done.

When Angie Wheeler decided to enter The Virginian-Pilot's 2009 Dream Team competition, she chose the bar cookie category. The Suffolk resident figured it would allow her the versatility to develop something unique and delicious.

Dream Teamer Nancy Zeitman took first place at the State Fair of Virginia this year for her sugar-free cookies. Her winners are based on a sugar cookie recipe that a friend gave to her years ago.

VIRGINIA BEACH
Lunch had ended at Beach Day School, but at a round table ringed by 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds, there was plenty of eating ahead. Pumpkins, fat-fingered hands and broom handles and bristles had yet to be consumed.

Here are two recipes from The Pilot’s 2009 Dream Team, which brought home 11 ribbons from the State Fair of Virginia’s baked goods competition.

And now, for the second batch of recipes from The Pilot's Dream Team of bakers who took home a bevy of ribbons from the State Fair of Virginia.
Today, we have Francie Rayburn's chocolate chip cookies, which took second place in one of the most crowded divisions at the fair.

DOSWELL
The bustle in Building 221 began before sunrise.
Soon after, bakers from across Virginia came bearing cookies, pies, fudge, truffles, corn bread and biscuits. At the door of a football-sized tent, volunteers, mostly women and some who have been working the State Fair of Virginia for decades, carefully checked in each plate of baked goods.

Betsy Dijulio
Correspondent
The Veggie Table

Whatever happened to the once-cherished summertime ritual of churning ice cream?

The tradition seems to have gone by the wayside for many people, maybe because they’re pressed for time, lactose intolerant, vegan or just searching for a healthier alternative to eggs, cream and half-and-half. 

The latest crop has ripened to make the summer palette complete: red tomatoes, white corn and now blue blueberries.

The peak of the blueberry season has arrived, and the berries will grace bushes through the third week of August, said Juanita Burns, who with her husband, Robert, owns Pungo Blueberries Etc. in Virginia Beach, South Hampton Roads’ only pick-your-own blueberry farm.

By AnnaLisa Michalski Correspondent

There’s so much to love about this dessert. Even picky kids don’t find its familiar ingredients suspicious. Adults are drawn to its elegant presentation. And let’s face it: who doesn’t like a cool ice cream treat in the heat of summer.

AnnaLisa Michalski, churchland-corner@adminmaven.com