pumpkin pancakes

Good morning! It's a BLUSTERY Tuesday morning here. I'm shocked we haven't lost power. The wind is blowing so hard it's a bit unnerving! It's been raining for a couple of days now and we have a small river in our back yard. This weekend I made my favorite pumpkin pancakes. My dog is on a pumpkin diet, so I always have a can of pumpkin in the fridge. This comes in handy when I want to make muffins and such. MY pumpkin diet isn't as healthy as hers! I finally found a pumpkin pancake recipe that was worth writing down, so here it is!

Well, after I show you a picture of my new orchid. We'll see how long it takes for me to kill this one!
And here is a picture of Chris and Amanda eating said pancakes. This is our 1970's dining den. More about the wood paneling later. These are the only pancakes Chris has made positive comments on. He's not a pancake fan.

And of course not just regular maple syrup on these babies, although it still tastes great if that's what you use. Today I had some cream cheese frosting that I spread on while they were still warm so it melted all over them. Yummmmm...nausea.....worth ittttt....Do you like my new Fiesta Ware plates??? In tangerine! I'm going to get more colors as I go. I've wanted Fiesta Ware for YEARS!!! There was a buy one get one sale at Macy's after Christmas so I retired my wedding gift every day dishes and took the plunge. I'm addicted! I love all the colors!

Here it goes:

2 cups flour 1/2 tsp salt

4 tbsp brown sugar 1 1/2 cups milk

2 tbsp baking powder 1 cup pumpkin puree

1 tsp baking soda 2 eggs

1 tsp ground allspice 2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tbsp ground cinnamon 2 tbsp vinegar

2 tsp ginger

In a separate bowl, mix together milk, pumpkin, egg, oil, and vinegar. Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger, and salt. Stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium heat. Pour or scoop batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown both sides and serve. Duhhh, doesn't everyone know how to cook pancakes? This last paragraph is pretty obvious. Enjoy!

They would be really good with whipped cream or an orange ginger glaze or ??? Let me know if you come up with anything else!

Chocolate houses

I saw an idea for a new take on the gingerbread houses during the holidays and decided to give it a try. It was a YUMMY success! We used the large chocolate bars and cut them with a serrated knife. It must be serrated and you must saw it, or they break. We melted the scraps and put the melted chocolate into sandwich bags to pipe the edges together. We used drinking glasses to hold the sides together while the chocolate set up. It was easy enough that we plan to do it again next year!

Wal Mart had a little section in the candy area where they had little tubs of candy pieces to use for decorating houses.

Surprisingly, Evan really took to this idea. In the past his patience wasn't really there for decorating houses. This time he got into the design, placement, and finishing touches better than his sister. Maybe we'll have to do Easter houses with white chocolate! Oohhh! That would be fun!

Amanda is my little chocolate freak. I think she ate more than she placed. The fun next year will be to find more unique things to decorate our houses with. Maybe we'll make a little village of chocolate!

Hellooo!

Helloooo! (Imagine Mrs. Doubtfire here) I know, I know. I've been away for a long time. My life is busy, as is everyone elses, and I chose to focus on trying to keep the house under control so I'd also stay under control. The end of the summer brought on the last of our crops. Can you imagine the haul of tomatoes on thirty some odd plants? Even with this being such a bad year for tomatoes and some of the plants not producing we still had a ton. We made sauce, stewed, and salsa'd til I couldn't take it anymore. STOP PICKING!!!! I grew tired of my counters being covered and my table having a beach towel full of tomatoes on it.

Guess what?!? I already miss fresh tomatoes. Is that sick or what?

I promise to be a better blog buddy and will catch up on the past couple of months the rest of this week. We had fishing derbies, birthdays, soccer, sewing, and of course, more animal pictures. Hope you are all doing well! Love you!

Fruits of our labor

Here's what we've been working towards with our garden. We've been busily storing up for winter. The first picking of green beans yielded 16 quarts and we're in the midst of doing pickles in 3 or 4 flavors. So far we have dill relish, dill pickles, golden glows, and zucchini relish. The next batches will be bread and butter and more dills, but more of a kosher kind. I'm learning a lot about estimating amounts needed and methods used...ice bath, lime bath, pickling salts, soaking, rinsing, flavoring, the possibilities are endless! What kind of recipes does your family pass down? What little tricks do they use to make their veggies shine? We want to know!



We're really trying to get done with this stuff to make room for when our tomatoes really come on. They've been slow to ripen due to the mild weather we've been having. When they do come on we'll be in trouble!!!

Here is my little helper. He made sure I did dill pickles, since those are his favorite. His other favorite that I showed him this year is to take cucumber, slice in spears(which he can now do by himself) and sprinkle with salt and pepper. He probably eats a couple of large cukes a day!!!

Thebest thing about all of these veggies? I don't have to buy them to use on my South Beach diet I'm doing! In phase one you can have lean meats, veggies(non-starchy), eggs, and low fat dairy. That means I'm eating a lot of veggies!!! I am getting a little tired of zucchini and bell peppers though! The great part is I've lost 10 pounds and get to start phase 2 which means I can have fruit again! Have a great week! We're headed out of town on a camping trip.

major project

Here is what's been taking up a lot of our time in the evenings this past month. Veggies galore!!!

Our garden has really taken off! The kids love going out in the evenings to pick what's ripe.

We have watermelons, cantalope, crookneck, zucchini, butternut, corn, tomatoes, green beans, basil, green onions, peas, peppers, cucumbers, and dill. Here is a collage Chris made of some photos he took. It's a busy place out back!

I've been canning this week. Wow! I'm tired! Picking, washing, processing, needing a latte and a pedicure...

Ready, set, no go.

We made goodies for Easter and Grandma's house. I made the kids "sushi" Aunt Patty style. It's the only sushi I'd eat large quantities of. They even had rice in them!

Here are my seaweed wraps and wiggly centers. We also made homemade oreo cookies.

We worked hard on our Easter eggs. It was really difficult going any buying store bought eggs since I have LOTS of eggs already, but brown eggs don't really color well.

Then, no more pictures of Easter. It went downhill the next day and I pouted on the couch with a sick kid the rest of the weekend!!!!!

random updates

Spring has really sprung around here including the crazy schedules that go with it. I'll have more updates to come this week and a few pictures too. I'll get to that when I have more time. For now I'm posting my hamburger and hot dog buns that I made. I was quite proud of them for my first attempt. They had good texture and held up to the vaious condiments quite well.



Can you guess what this is? It has forced us to not cut down this dead birch tree in our back yard.

More updates to come this week. Life has just been too full to do blogging lately. I hope all is going well with you!

Welsh Tea Cakes

One of the traditions that I was introduced to from Chris's family was making Welsh Cakes. The recipe is from Karen's Grandmother. These are a big family favorite and only the privileged get some to take home! You really can't appreciate that until you've made them, and you really can't make them until you've been shown how to make them. They are a tricky little griddle cake. I've learned over the years that you can't be bashful with the flour or they stick to the mat, and you can't add too much flour or they get dry and tough. See what I mean??? They have currants in them. When you roll them out you roll it to about the thickness of the currant. Then you cut and hope you added enough flour to the mat. Usually my first batch always sticks. It seems to be a right of passage to a successful Welsh Cake session. I use my Great Grandfather's whisky glass to cut them. It's the perfect size.


There is a system to placing, flipping, and cooling them.

I made 4 batches this year. It takes a couple of hours for each batch. Sadly, there never seems to be enough!!! Chris usually eats a batch before I even have them in containers and baggies. Evan loves them too. I like them warm from the griddle with a cup of tea. Amanda can do without them. She isn't a raisin person. I don't know where she got that from...no comments from you Mom Dolley!!! There is still time for her to grow to like them.

Why is there a hole in my Christmas tree? It seems to be missing the lower left side of it's branches.

You know, I'd post the recipe, but since you really have to be shown how to make them, I'll just leave an open invitation for a Welsh Cake lesson to any that want to sign up!!!

I think this is officially my last Christmas post for the season. On to Spring!!! It has been in the high 60's and low 70's this week. Very strange and not normal!!!

Christmas Traditions

I've decided to take the rest of this week to catch up on Christmas posts. It takes a month to prepare for Christmas at our house, so I'm going to give it a week to wrap up thoughts and pictures. A tradition my Grammie Crabtree started one year while visiting from Maine was making braided Christmas wreath bread. It is a yummy yeast bread she found a recipe for that combines cardamon, candied cherries, almond extract, and almonds. My favorite holiday flavor is almond. Probably because my favorite holiday cookie is a spritz cookie with almond extract in it. Yum! Anyhoo...this year I asked Amanda if she wanted to help make it. She just turned 9, and really wants to learn her way around the kitchen. I've always been a bit stand offish when it comes to helping in the kitchen. Don't get me wrong, I do let my kids help. I just have a hard time with the mess they make when they do help. They start playing with the flour, spilling the egg everywhere, losing their focus, you get the idea. So, this year I plan to be more patient, more inviting, and let them help me more.

I just realized I posted these pictures in the wrong order but don't feel like redoing it. So, here is the roll right before cutting and twisting it. Amanda learned how to seal the bread and loved the twisting part. It really looks neat.

The filling is so yummy! I could eat it plain. Amanda listened very intently to directions and did a great job spreading it almost up to the edge.

She got tired of rolling and decided she'd rather work on the filling. Although I love my rolling pin, it weighs about 15 pounds and is rather heavy for a kid. Chris got it for me a couple of years ago. Solid maple and just the right size to whack anyone that gets out of line. Some like a frying pan, I'll take my rolling pin!

I completely forgot to take a picture of the bread when it was nice a brown, sitting there waiting for it's glaze. I really enjoyed Amanda helping me with it. It reminded me of spending time with my mom in the kitchen during the holidays. This type of event really made the holidays what they should be...spending time with the ones we love. Mommy's little girl is growing up!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! When I look back at this past year I really have to pause for the events to really sink in. It has been a year filled with triumphs and many trials. While we've had lots of stresses, it's also been filled with many relaxed and joyful occasions as well. It made my husband and I closer and our children more appreciative of their family and surroundings. It's brought me closer to my faith and given me a clearer vision of what the important things in my life are. It also reminded me of what things I've lost my grips on and what I need to refocus on in the NEW YEAR! I won't say it's a resolution thing, but more of an awareness of my goals.

The kids and I made a special New Year's Eve party for Daddy. We planned, shopped, and made Dad a special dinner at "Chez Toma's" restaurant.


We printed up a menu with our dinner and salad choices.

Our sign board had the specials. We had coconut shrimp appetizers, our special favorite house champagne, and a featured ice crem to go with dessert, which was gourmet chocolates that we picked up at a local shop in Down Town Auburn. The kids made meatballs to go with our spaghetti and mixed green salads.

Amanda was the hostess and seated Daddy, took his beverage selection for the evening, and told him he'd let him know when the rest of his party arrived.

Evan took his order and delivered his shrimp appetizer. He also said he would prepare his salad now.

The kids and I finally made it to the restaurant after all of the food was on the table. Then I had to go to the "bathroom". While I was gone the waitstaff cleaned up the table and prepared the dishes of special ice cream and chocolate truffles. When I came back from the "bathroom" we had a nice time of coloring on the paper tablecloth like they do at Macaroni Grill while eating our yummy dessert. The kids had so much fun giving dad a special evening at home. They were so polite and took it so seriously. Amanda even practiced her lines and wrote them down.

Then we watched my FAVORITE movie of all time after dinner with a nice fire in the fireplace. There is nothing like watching The Man From Snowy River after a nice meal with the most important people in my life. It was the first time I'd let Amanda watch it. She now says horses are her favorite animal. It still chokes me up when I watch that movie. I've seen it so many times! It is my sappy reminder that I would have loved to try to fit in on a ranch 150 years ago. Heck! Give me a ranch right now with horses and unlimited income to take care of it and I'd be happy. Is that too much to ask? It really makes me realize how much I miss my horse I had growing up. That was another time and place. Then I fell asleep in the chair, awaking just prior to the ball drop and the kiss from my husband welcoming in the new year. Hello 2009. Hello to another year and wishing for much health and happiness together.

Help!!!

Do you ever find yourself in the kitchen, struggling with the need...to...keep...adding...things...to the pot???? A little of this, a little of that, some more of this...maybe just a little more of this...help! I'm sick in the head! Then my poor husband is forced to be the guinea pig. The last 2 days I've been chasing him around with a spoon(then he made some comment about how it's too bad I had a spoon in my hand while chasing him...but I'm ignoring that)asking him to taste it this time. "I just tasted it! And how come it looks like baby poop?" "I know, but that was before I added more of ____!" This is my pumpkin apple butter. Viola!!! Mind you, I've had a stuffy nose for 2 weeks so I'm not completely sure of it's quality, but I think it turned out pretty good!!! I've not had pumpkin butter in a long time. I added lots of apples and didn't put in as much sugar and it sweetened up nicely. Those of you that will be at Thanksgiving beware. I'll probably try to get some of you to taste it. You know, until my nose gets back to normal. I need testers! Hey, I can at least use it in my pumpkin muffin recipe if I get tired of it. I have 6 jars to use up!

Birthday weekend

It's been a relaxing rainy Saturday. I spent the morning making a casserole and soup for my best friend's mom. She had surgery on Wednesday and had some complications so I wanted to take over some food for them to munch on while she's recovering. Then it was delivery time! She is doing pretty well considering, and I was glad they were home and settled in. Meals on wheels is rewarding and I enjoyed putzing around my kitchen all day.

Look at my birthday gifts from the kids and Chris! Handmade cards are always the best. Amanda wrote me a poem in hers and Evan drew pictures of the 2 of us inside his. Awww. I also got 2 chicken books and 2 bars of yummy soap. The electric fly swatter was Chris's idea since I rant about all of the flys coming in from the garage that buzz around my kitchen. Can't stand that!

Here is one batch of apple butter. The second and third batch are bubbling away as I type. I'll probably process it tomorrow morning. My house smells yummy!!!

Here is my cake that we get to eat tomorrow. The kids were proud of their cake. I ALMOST let them do it all by themselves.

Here they are!!! My not so Amish Friendship bread. It tastes good, is REALLY sweet, and can never be duplicated. I added different stuff to mine and put a bunch of apple butter in the mix. I couldn't keep this stuff around that much. I'd eat it constantly!

This is my gift from Chris. Thanks honey! Whew! I'm pooped! I had a productive day in my kitchen and tomorrow I hope to sew something. We'll see. I might do nothing after church. I feel a Harry Potter marathon coming on!!! Too bad turning back the clocks tomorrow didn't include turning back time. I guess I'll embrace 34 the best I can!

Carving

What a mess! Slime and seeds everywhere! The kids still want to carve pumpkins even though we won't get trick or treators anymore. We'll have to light them inside on the fireplace so we can enjoy them instead.

Daddy even wore his Cal Trans orange work out shirt for the occasion. Guess who went shopping on their own?

Signs of Fall

Our mulch pile is growing! Sophie visits it all the time to make sure she didn't miss out on any kitchen goodies. It has lots of pumpkin guts and apple peels right now.

The chickens are really enjoying life right now! Not only did they get the shell of the butternut squash I cooked, they love to eat apple peels. I found organic apples on sale at the store for 88 cents a pound. Apple Butter here I come!

The kids carved their shrunken apple heads for Halloween. Darn the fruit flys!

Nothing says Fall like fresh baked bread and curried butternut squash soup. Yum!

moving mishaps

When we moved I had put all of my candles in one tub and made sure they went into a livingspace instead of the barn at my parent's house. I bought these candles when we were up in Squaw Creek this past summer. There is a great candle shop up there! You'd have to check it out on my old blog page posted to the right. Notice how they look a little funny in spots??? Gee, I wonder why.


This is how they looked minutes before the picture above. Nice. This is what happens on a 10 minute trailer ride across town when you have to move in 100 degree heat. I was so bummed! Heating them in the oven worked a little. I refuse to throw them out!

Really, I just wanted to show a picture of how clean my oven is before it goes through a winter at my house. (Imagine the Vanna hand waving around here, and here.) It looks brand new inside! Either they never used the oven or they did a lot of hard work to make it look all spify. I wasn't that nice to our buyers...they got their "hard work" out of their reduced sales price...the kids want to go trick or treating in our old neighborhood to check them out. We never saw them. They'd probably open their big mouthes about it on the step. What are your Halloween plans this year? Amanda is going to a friend's Halloween party and I'm taking Evan to the Downtown Businesses that are participating in giving out candy after school. I might be too pooped to trick or treat after those 2 events...hopefully. It's supposed to rain too. There might be a lightening strike or a flash flood...what else can I come up with? No candy!!! It's hard enough to make it through the grocery store without going into chocoholic rants and holding up somewhere in a corner like a crazed animal growling at customers while one rips open bags of Reeses...

The gift of Amish Friendsh...wait a minute...

Look what I got at the gym this morning??? I saw her coming, her little bags of slime in hand. She nailed me at the door on my way out from spinning class. Her: "Hey, have you ever tried one of these?" Me: "Uh, no." Her: "It's really easy. You're on day 6. It's really yummy too!" Me: "Ok. I guess with the holidays coming up I can throw them in the freezer." See? Already justifying the extra calories coming into the house. Well, once I got home I saw why it was so yummy. Day 1 mush the bag. Day 2 mush the bag. That goes on for a while. Day 6 add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and one cup milk. Mush, Mush, Mush. Then add more sugar, more sugar, more sugar. Every time you add flour you add the same amount of sugar! No wonder it's soooo good! Then at the end you add a box of vanilla pudding as well! Ah, do the Amish add a box of vanilla? I bet not. So, I've already started tweaking it. I added the right amount of sugar, but I did half whole wheat half white flour. Basically, I won't be able to pass my slime on to anyone else cause I'm tweakin' it. Maybe if it turns out tasty I'll pass on the loaves instead. It also has the typical, "Only the Amish have the recipe so if you don't pass it on and keep it going at your house you'll never know the recipe to start it again!" Ah, have you heard of the internet? I'm now on a quest to do a healthy bread starter. I'll try a sourdough or something that won't add as much bad stuff to it. Be on the look out for bags of slime and a smile!