Prickly shells with a treasure inside.
A rich brown nut whose smooth skin is highlighted with swirls of gold
gathered from the sunny summer days that helped it grow.
Hold it in your hand. Feel it's warmth.
This one reminds me of Audrey II, from The Little Shop of Horrors. Do you see it?
Be careful of those prickly shells, they may try to eat your finger!
It's a rainy fall Saturday here in Portland. The drops are pounding on the window panes. The yellow leaves on the trees are glowing against the gray sky. The heat is kicking on from time to time and the jazz station is playing moody standards. I love it. It's the kind of day that feels like six o'clock in the evening when it's only noon time. Lazy day. Some warm, yummy pumpkin bread would be a great snack with some hot cider or a good cup of coffee. I imagine the smell of pumpkin and spices in the air, the plump raisins, mmm, it will be perfect. I am imagining things.
Battle pumpkin bread began yesterday. Similar weather and a craving for a moist pumpkiny treat prompt me to get baking.
I chose a recipe from a reputable bakery's cookbook. I follow it exactly, well, I add three tablespoons of ground flax seed and some walnuts but nothing crazy. It bakes. It smells great. It looks amazing. I take photos and picture my blog post entitled 'The Best Pumpkin Bread Ever!' I let it cool. Okay, I really didn't let it cool. I was so excited to have some that I sliced it while it was still warm. The raisins were plump and the bread was a bit crumbly but I attributed that to it's fresh out of the oven state. I proceed to eat the whole end slice thinking to myself, this doesn't really taste right. It must've been because it was the end. They don't call it the heel for nothing. I cut the next piece it had to be better. It wasn't. I ate the whole slice anyway. I don't know why. It was bitter and my tongue felt coated with something but I'm not sure what. I realized by the smudge of dried up pumpkin on the lower corner of the recipe page that I had made this before and unfortunately at that moment I remembered I didn't like it last time either. Into the trash it went.
Pumpkin Bread 1, Cristine 0
So here we are today. Take two. I would not be put down by this one recipe! My craving was not satisfied. I would not be defeated! I would try again.
All my cookbooks came out. I googled. I compared ingredients and decided on a recipe that had 840 reviews. 840! How could I go wrong? I did what almost all reviewers had suggested and switched up applesauce for half of the oil, cut back the sugar a little, use part whole wheat flour. Excellent, I thought, it will be kind of healthy, too! This particular recipe made two loaves. Another bonus! I could eat one and freeze one for when my husband gets back. Perfect. I imagine my blog post title, 'The Best Pumpkin Bread Ever...two loaves, one mess!'
Or not.
Two loaves. One with raisins, one with chocolate chips. They smell delicious and spicy. I let them cool and I eat a slice. Great flavor, but it's a little cake-like. It's just not what I'm looking for in a pumpkin bread. Oh no! Is this really happening?
"They" say it's best to let your pumpkin bread sit and eat it the next day after the flavors meld together. Maybe I'll try another slice tomorrow. These won't be another treat for the trash can but I'm not about to list the recipe either. I think I'm raising my white flag. All of a sudden the idea of anything pumpkin is making me feel a little ill. Defeat?
Pumpkin Bread 3, Cristine 0
I thought it would only be appropriate if Clementine was an owl for her first Halloween. A magical colorful owl! That's the best part of making your own costume, you can make it anyway you want! I needed this to be as easy and simple as possible which meant NO SEWING! With my trusty hot glue gun and some colored felt, I sketched out my idea and got to work.
I folded a yard of brown felt in half and marked the shape of my owl body by using one of Clementine's pajamas as a guide for shoulder width and overall length. I cut it out, which gave me the front and back piece. I attached them together by using hot glue on the sides of the body close to the edge, starting about five inches down from the shoulder, leaving enough room for her arms, and stopping about eight inches up from the bottom point, leaving room for her wiggly feet and making it a bit easier for diaper changes.
I made a triangle pattern and used it as my guide to cut out different colored "feathers", which I placed on the front of the body in my desired pattern and then hot glued them down.
I love how the felt can hold it's shape. It made the feathers look a little ruffled.
I attached two pieces of velcro (one on each side) to the inside of the body on the shoulder line leaving more than enough room for her neck.
Finally, I cut out two wings in bright pink and attached them to the body.
For the owl head, I happened to come come across a brown knit hat that had two 'ears'...perfect! I just had to glue on eyes and a beak.
I found this while rummaging through old photos with my mother-in-law at Grandma Lilly's house.
Halloween in a small town, many years ago.
I think it's amazing for two reasons.
One. It reminds me of writing assignments in highschool where you were given a photo and had to make up a story to go along with it. I'd like to think it's more than just a halloween party. There are so many small details in this snapshot that every time I look at it I see something new, and each detail makes for a twist in the story that I'm creating in my head. It's probably hard to see here, but the woman to the left is wearing a button that says 'Still a Virgin' and what is she carrying in her basket? Why is the clown holding a gun? Is that Robin Hood? Is that black rotary phone ringing? If you look very closely you'll see numbers on the back wall. That would be a height chart. As it turns out this photo was taken at the police station. What did these characters do to make it to the police station? And if it is just a halloween party, since when do they take place at the police station?! Imagine that happening now!
Two. You may not know Grandma Lilly, but she is one of the sweetest ladies I have ever met. Her hair, although now beautiful silver strands, is still cut in the same short style that she has always worn pulled back with a little barrette. She never got her driver's license. She makes a mean oatmeal cookie, that to this day, I will never be able to live up to no matter how many batches of oatmeal cookies I make for my husband. Her smile is sweet and she has the most warm, gentle, caring way about her exuding a certain traditional grandmotherly innocence. Surely she was always this way! The fact that this sweet innocent lady is in this picture under one of these costumes blows my mind. Which one is she?
It all makes me smile as my imagination runs away with the story behind this picture. The story of the secret life of Grandma Lilly...
I was looking on epicurious for a recipe when I came across Yummy Mummy Meatloaf. How funny! This was so not the recipe I was searching for but it made me laugh, I got completely sidetracked and decided I had to make it! As it turns out there are a few different variations of this ghoulish dinner idea floating around in cyberspace. It all comes down to meatloaf, pasta, cheese and olives. If you like all of those things, you'll enjoy this dish and it's sure to impress any little ones you have in the house!
Meatloaf. I just used my mom's recipe with a few additions. There was never a whole lot of actual measuring.
It makes for a moist loaf that always tastes great.
Heat oven to 350 degrees and then mix together:
2 pounds of ground beef
1 medium onion, diced
1 small red or green pepper, diced
2 eggs (I started with one but it seemed like it needed another)
1/4 cup milk
a little over a cup of bread crumbs
1.5 tablespoons of tomato paste
salt and pepper
If it is too wet add a little more breadcrumbs.
Lightly oil (or cooking spray) a 10x13 baking pan/dish and
shape the mixture into a round mound!
meatloaf
I did try the glaze from Matthew Mead's recipe (from the Yummy Mummy Meatloaf link above) and it was a nice addition.
1/3 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons brown sugar (I only used 1.5)
2 tablespoons of prepared mustard
Mix together and spread over the meatloaf. Bake for 1 hour or until done. Let rest.
special-sauce
Pasta.
I used pappardelle. Make according to the package. Some variations used lasagna and cut off the frilly ends. Both work.
Drain it and separate so the pieces do not stick together. Keep warm while meatloaf is resting.
Time to assemble!
pasta
Put your meatloaf on a serving tray.
Put two pieces of cheese (I used cheddar, it was in the fridge) where the eyes would be and then wrap the pasta over the loaf like mummy wrappings. Add the olives for eyes.
mummy-eyes
How about personal mini mummy meatloaf?!
Make small mounds, use fettucine and smaller olives. I'll have to try that next year!
Boo!
I found these cupcake liners at Target. Sitting close by were the packages of ghost peeps.
All of a sudden, I had a vision!
Start with cupcakes.
I used my current favorite chocolate cake recipe that I've posted in the past except made it into cupcakes. They turn out incredibly moist and light.
I frosted them with whipped cream, but your favorite white frosting will work just fine.
Add a spooky peep.
Bootiful! (sorry, couldn't resist)
boo
Ahh, apple season.
We were craving the yummy apple dumplings from Brookfield Orchards but, unfortunately couldn't make a day trip to Massachusetts. So, we tried to make our own. I was feeling a bit lazy and decided to use pre made pie crusts. I know, I know...but the reality is they are flaky, tasty and already made so why not use them! I rolled out the EZ dough and cut it into four sections. Peeled four apples and cored them. Placed one apple on one dough section. Put a little cinnamon sugar mixture in the core as well as a little pad of butter and folded up the dough around the apple. Then I brushed an eggwhite water mixture over the dough so it browns up nicely. I put all four apples close together in a small baking dish.
Many of the dumpling recipes call for a syrup that you make and bake them in. The ones that we had back on the east coast didn't come that way and again, I was looking for the easiest, fastest way to have a sweet treat so in the oven at 375 degrees they went. You know they are done when they turn golden and flaky and make your house smell all homey and delicious!
Sure, they were warm and yummy but they didn't taste like the dumplings we remembered. My husband said it was like eating a pie ball. I agreed, and for some reason that name makes me laugh. So, if your looking for a fall apple treat maybe you should whip up some easy bake pie balls!
