0 Something About Pumpkins

What is it about Pumpkins?

Is it because it's SEASONAL that we like them so much?  At our house, we are into them. I love to look at them,  decorate with them, carve them, bake with them, cook with them, even drink them!

And pumpkin stuff only comes once a year...it's an Autumn tradition!

I think we connect pumpkins with the turning of colorful leaves, the cooling weather, pulling out sweaters, and anticipating the holidays.  

kind of fuzzy photo of the cool pumpkin branches
at Trader Joes

The other day, I walked into Trader Joe's and saw these Mini Pumpkin Branches.  How terrific are they?! I wish I had an event to justify purchasing them for an arrangement!  They are real (though they look almost fictional).  In addition to these beauties,  there was a food rack with all manner of pumpkin items including: pumpkin butter, pumpkin spice bread mix, pumpkin spiced tea, and even pumpkin spice granola.

The farmer's market is brimming with pumpkins, gourds, squashes and mums...of all shapes and sizes.

And then, there are Pumpkin Spice Lattes.  I imagine they top the list of Pumpkin Favorites for most people.

On September 4th, Starbucks sent out the word (via signs, tweets, etc.) that Pumpkin Spice Lattes were back.  I think for some people, this announcement meant that the season of autumn officially began.  People flooded the stores evidently, because the news reported last month that the onslaught of customers caused a shortage of Pumpkin Spice Syrup at many Starbucks stores. Customers were despairing!

The Jam's Pumpkin Pie Latte

My friend Melissa sent an Instagram of the Pumpkin Pie Latte that she had at the Jam (a local coffee/tea shop near Belmont) a couple of weeks ago and I couldn't get it out of my mind.   I made my way there a few days later and the sign on the counter said, "Pumpkin Pie Lattes are back: Made with Real Pumpkin...Epic".  I have to agree.  Theirs are EPIC.






Last fall, my friend, Sharon, made  pumpkin syrup for some home-made lattes at a gathering and it was delicious! I was inspired to try to make some myself, so I started digging around on Pinterest to find a recipe for homemade Pumpkin Coffee Syrup. I found a lovely one on Annie's Eats (always a lovely BLOG to peruse).  I made a batch, tried it out, approved it, and then filled a glass bottle with it to give as  an October birthday gift.

I made a latte for Asher, at his passionate request, who loves a coffee drink whenever he's "allowed".  He gave it a thumbs up.  (Of course he loved the whip and extra pumpkin pie spice sprinkled on top!)

Pumpkin Spice Syrup

borrowed from Annie’s Eats

1½ cups water


1½ cups sugar


4 cinnamon sticks


1 tsp. ground nutmeg


½ tsp. ground ginger


½ tsp. ground cloves


3 tbsp. pumpkin puree

Combine the water and sugar in a medium saucepan and heat over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has completely dissolved.  Toss in the cinnamon sticks and whisk in the remaining spices and the pumpkin puree.  Continue to cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, without letting the mixture come to a boil.  Remove from the heat and allow it to cool for 10-15 minutes. (Annie says to strain syrup through fine mesh, but I didn’t have to do so). Pour in your container of choice.  Store in the refrigerator.

To make a pumpkin spice latte: combine 2 ounces of hot coffee or 1 shot of hot espresso (about 1-1½ ounces) with 5-6 ounces of steamed low-fat milk.  Stir in 1½-2 tablespoons of the pumpkin spice syrup.  Taste and adjust amounts accordingly.  Top as desired with freshly whipped cream, ground cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice. (You can even drizzle with caramel sauce)!

(If you need a jar and you live in Nashville, my husband would love for you to have one of our jars.  I have a thing about keeping jars for repurposing, and the space under the kitchen sink is teeming with them!)

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October
O hushed October morning mild, 
thy leaves have ripened to the fall; 
Tomorrow’s wind, 
if it be wild, 
Should waste them all. 
The crows above the forest call; 
tomorrow they may form and go.
O hushed October morning mild, 
begin the hours of this day slow, 
make the day seem to us less brief...
 - Robert Frost

(thanks to Margaret for this beautiful excerpt 
that you shared this week via your blog... I just had to pass it along)

Detail: Something About Pumpkins

0 A Girl in love with Puppies!

Our friend Amy has been talking to our kids about getting a dog for years!  I remember her telling Lucy that she was going to get a dog sometime and Lucy took that as, "Amy's getting us a dog".  How do you break the news to a 3 year old that that dog will be Amy's dog not her dog?  That was a couple of years ago.  There has been countless online searching for dogs, video watching of dogs (on Amy's iphone), dreaming about "the day", thinking about breeds and sizes and colors and names.  Ironically, since the beginning of this Amy-dog pursuit, we got our first family dog, Scout, and have entered the world of dog-love.  So, the time finally came for Amy and her sister, Ashley, to get that long-sought after puppy.

They found the breeder and decided on the dog, and then we all waited for this puppy to enter the neighborhood.  Amy decided on the name Patsy Cline for her girl Golden Doodle puppy. It really is the perfect name.  Amy, lover of country music, farm girl at heart, clever in all she does, named her puppy Patsy Cline.  Well, Lucy had to have a quick education about this name sake.  So one Sunday afternoon, we had a Patsy Cline YouTube overview and spent some time seeing, hearing, and singing some Patsy.  Lucy studied her outfit and tried to replicate it.  She began to dream about the day she and Patsy would meet.




Come to find out, this puppy has a sister too.  Amy's neighbor decided he wanted to buy the sister and then the sisters could stick together.  The plan was in place until the week the puppies were to arrive. A new wrinkle was added.  A couple of days before they came, he opted out.  So, Amy and Ashley opted in!  Now... 2 dogs were coming to their house! Double excitement!!

Lucy accompanied Amy to PetSmart a couple of days before they arrived to get the necessary dog stuff - 2 of everything! As they made the list of all they needed to purchase, Lucy added a "big crate" to the list. She said, "we have to get a big crate for them to climb on." We were confused and asked why they would climb on it?  She answered, "Well, her name is Patsy Climb".

Love it.

Then process of naming Patsy Cline's sister ensued.  After many options considered ("Rosie" being Lucy's vote),  they landed on June Carter.  Perfectly apropos.

When the day came for the puppies to be picked up, Lucy woke up, came downstairs and declared, "This is my luckiest day ever!".  The challenge was that we had to wait until late afternoon to meet "the girls".  We decided to make some homemade dog treats for them – something fun and productive to do to pass the time (the waiting time).

puppies, love and country music were the shapes we chose

Homemade Dog Treats borrowed from A Cozy Kitchen

1/2 cup peanut butter (I used creamy natural)

1/4 cup honey

1 Tbsp. coconut oil (or olive oil)

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup wheat wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350˚. Whisk together peanut butter, honey, oil and chicken broth.  

In a separate bowl, combine flours and oatmeal.  Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients. 

Place dough on flour dusted surface.  Roll or press dough out to about 1/4" thick.

Use a small cookie cutter to cut our cookies. Place cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet.  

Bake for 14-16 minutes.  Transfer to a cooling rack.

Place in tightly sealed container.  

[Use within a week, as they will become moldy.  If you have more than you can use, freeze some in a ziplock bag, or share them with a dog friend]

Then we received the text message that we could come over.  The girl was GIDDY! We rushed over to Amy's house and met the adorable puppies!

loving June Carter

hugging Patsy Cline

fast friends

Love at first sight!

P.S. I must admit, being new to dog life, that I never had considered baking for dogs before this year.  However, when we adopted Scout, I felt so compelled to bake for him, that I immediately started searching on Pinterest for homemade dog treat recipes.  It was the most natural instinct for me to want to bake for him as a way to express my love and welcome to him.  I guess it's my default love language - I love to take cookies to welcome new neighbors, and muffins to appreciate teachers, and cakes to celebrate birthdays, and meals to honor friends.  So, I guess peanut butter dog treats for puppies just feels right to me!

Detail: A Girl in love with Puppies!

0 Ode to Peppermint Bark

One of my very favorite holiday treats is Peppermint Bark. 

Is it because it’s basically hunks of white chocolate with crunchy peppermint?

Or because we only eat it in December, so it is novel?

Or is it because it is so beautiful: in a jar, in a bowl, on a plate, in my hand, in my mouth?  Or is it because it makes such a great gift for people to enjoy for weeks?

Or is it because it is soooo simple to make and so tasty and lovely and if you buy it at Williams Sonoma it is a shocking $26.50 per pound , yet you can make it for just a few dollars?

Are you sold?  Should Peppermint Bark be giving me commission?

Really, if you haven’t made it, you should try it.  Simple. Elegant. Crowd Pleasing. Versatile. Yum!

a few simple ingredients

Peppermint Bark

Crushed candy canes, to yield 1 cup

2 pounds white chocolate

Peppermint flavoring, to your taste- start with 1 tsp.

hammer those mints...get out your aggression

Place candy canes in a plastic bag and hammer into 1/4-inch chunks or smaller.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave 30 seconds at a time (according to the chocolate package).

peppermint-filled white, smoothed on pan

        

Combine candy cane chunks with chocolate (add peppermint flavoring at this point). Pour mixture onto a cookie sheet layered with parchment or waxed paper- I find the thinner is better. Place in the refrigerator for 45 minutes or until firm. Remove from refrigerator and break into pieces. (whatever size you like)

case in point

Some Ideas:
*This is a very good use for broken candy canes- if you happen to have broken candy canes in your world for some reason, say, for instance, you have them as tree decorations and your 2 year old thinks they are really fun to play with, and then drops them on your wood floor, or something like that!

dark chocolate under-layer

on the counter for snacking or to give as a gift

* Make it how you like it. Add and change it as you like. This time I decided to add a dark chocolate layer underneath, inspired by the amazing Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark. Simply spread the chocolate layer on the parchment and let it set somewhat...not all the way, but firm enough that adding the white chocolate won't make it bleed.

Detail: Ode to Peppermint Bark