When I was a kid, every once in a while my mom would buy those Entenmann%u2019s marbled loaf cakes, (she still might) and I loved them. Chocolate and vanilla swirled into every slice. Super moist and rich with the soft, fluffy top. I would cut a big slice, toast it, then smother it in peanut butter.
Now when I see these cakes, well honesty, I think they kind of look sad. A cake such as a marbled cake, should not be squashed into a box, stacked away on some display case. No cake should have to deal with that. Cakes should be made then oohed and awed at from the comforts of home, only boxed if 100% necessary like in the case of bringing to a friend or giving as a present. Basically, what I am saying is don%u2019t buy pre-made cakes friends, make the cake at home yourself. The cake will like you better for it.
Anyway, I just was thinking about those cakes and my childhood in general and it made me want to make a quick cake all marbled because of the nostalgia and also, I mean, marbled cakes are pretty pretty and why the heck not. And because it is pumpkin season I had to go with pumpkin and chocolate instead of vanilla and chocolate because we all know it was the right thing to do.
Pumpkin spices, rich chocolate. Two flavors in one bite. Who could complain? I don%u2019t think my 10 year old self would have. I think she would have eaten the whole damn loaf (toasted with peanut butter of course).
Nw to the chocolate and pumpkin loaf cake..
The stuff. Flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, pumpkin puree, brown sugar, white sugar, oil, almond milk, cocoa powder, pumpkin pie spices, coffee, and apple cider vinegar.
Quick and easy. Oil and sugars get a good mix in a big bowl then in goes the pumpkin puree. Mix that in with the milk and apple cider vinegar. Ina separate bowl, mix the flour baking soda and powder and salt. Mix the dry into the wet.
Split the mix in half (eye ball it) and add the spice mix to one bowl and the cocoa and coffee to the other. Mix them until the new ingredients are incorporated. You will then have a chocolate batter and pumpkin spice batter.
Grease a loaf pan then layer dollops of each of the batters into the pan until both batters are gone.
Before the oven and after of the oven.
Place cooked loaf on a wire rack to cool. Really. It needs it. Just wait a least 15 minutes, you can do it.
And then you cut into the load, marvel at the marble, and then eat it.
Two flavors, one mouth.
-C
makes 1 loaf
2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup neutral flavored oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup plant milk
2 tablespoon coffee (or water if you don%u2019t have coffee)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 heaping tablespoon pumpkin pie spice or 2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon each ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and clove
Preheat oven to 350
In a large bowl, mix together the white and brown sugar with the oil until combined and there are no chunks of sugar. Add in the pumpkin puree and the milk and vinegar and mix until incorporated. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry mixture to the wet and gently mix until just combined. Scoop half of the batter (eye ball it) into other bowl. Add the pumpkin pie spices to one bowl and fold it into batter until incorporated. Add the cocoa and coffee to the other batter and fold it in until incorporated.
Interchange scooping the batters into greased loaf pan. One, then the other, to create the marbled effect, until both batters are gone. Place pan into oven and bake for 55-60 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
Remove pan from oven and pop bread out and place on a wire rack to cool.
Cut a slices, eat, be happy.
Store bread in airtight container for 3-4 days at room temperature or just slice it up and freeze pieces.
It is exactly that time of year. Apples galore, cool days in need of a little extra warm, meaning a warm oven is welcome, if not needed. It%u2019s the best time of year, or at least one of them.
And so I bake bread. Sometimes just a roll, and sometime a loaf, almost everyday. I love bread baking because, well just because. Plus it%u2019s what people want to eat and will always eat because I guess bread=love. Makes sense to me.
This bread was made from a small dip in the 2 gallons of applesauce I made the night before. (We had sooooo many apples). The mr isn%u2019t the biggest fan of applesauce, says he would rather eat a fresh apple. I kind of get it, but dude, warm, chunky, slightly cinnamon-y applesauce%u2026 I mean, that is happiness right there. Right? Anyway, I am trying not to eat all the applesauce to my face by myself at once (it has been a challenge) and plus I needed to make the mr some bread, so I figured what the hell. I%u2019ll just use applesauce as my liquid in the bread. And so I did and that is that and now that mr really like applesacue (when it is baked into bread)
This bread is a basic sandwich type bread. The apple taste is there but not overwhelming so it can be used for sandwiches of all kinds, toast, just eating with a smear od something, or not. Just a overall good loaf of bread with a little extra from the apple. And braided because I was feeling classy. It%u2019s amazing what at little braiding of bread dough can do for your self esteem. Made me feel like I was the coolest person in the world. Haha!
Now to the bread.
The stuff. A few apples, regular all purpose and white whole wheat flour, salt, applesauce, maple syrup, yeast, and warm water.
Applesauce, shredded apple, maple, yeast, and a little water get mix up and let to sit for a few minutes to activate yeast. Then the salt gets mixed in, along with all the flour. Stir until dough forms. Dough should be slightly sticky, ut not wet. IF wet, add a handful more flour. To dry, add more water.
Dump the dough onto a floured surface, cover your hands in flour, and knead dough for about 5 or so minutes, adding more flour as needed to keep dough from sticking, until the dough is a nice and cohesive texture.
Nice looking dough. Now roll dough into a ball.
Place dough in a clean wet or oiled bowl and cover with a damp cloth for one to one and a half hours or until dough doubles in size.
Dump dough onto floured surface.
Cut dough into 3 equal pieces and roll out into long longs.
Braid logs together. You can stop here bake it this way or%u2026
After placing it on a parchment lined baking sheet, tuck the ends of the braids underneath each other and make it like this. Either way. And once you have the dough on the baking sheet, brush a little water or plant milk on top and let dough rest for 15 minutes of so while the oven preheats.
Before oven and after oven. Classy, right?
Then for shin and soft crust, rub warm loaf with some plant butter.
And for the hard part. Let it cool before slicing it. Ok sure, a little warm is fine, but wait at least 20 minutes (an hour would be best) and then eat you some bread.
Eat you some bread. That%u2019s a t-shirt right there.
Happy Fall friends!
-C
makes pretty one loaf
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour plus more for kneading
1 cup unsweetened room temperature applesauce
1 large or 2 small apples ( about 2/3 cup shredded apple)
1/4- 1/2 cup warm water
1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
2 teaspoons active yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon or so plant milk or water
1 tablespoon plant based butter (optional for rubbing on finished bread)
Grab the apples and shred them until you have 2/3 cup shredded apple. In a large bowl, mix together the applesauce, shredded apples, yeast, 1/4 cup warm water, and sweetener.and let yeast activate for a few minutes. Add in salt, the all purpose flour and the 1 1/2 cups white wheat flour. Stir together until dough forms. The dough should be a little bit sticky so if the dough seems to dry, add in 1/4 cup more warm water. If it seems really wet, add in a handful more flour.
Dump dough out onto a well floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes adding a little bit of flour to the counter as needed to prevent it from sticking. Once dough is cohesive in texture, roll into a ball and place into a clean wet or oiled bowl. Cover with a damp towel and allow the dough to double in size. Should take between an hour and an hour and a half.
Once dough doubles in size preheat oven to 400
Dump risen dough back onto a well flour counter. Cut the dough into 3 equal sizes and roll each piece into long logs about 20 inches or so long. Place each roll next to each other and braid. Grab a baking sheet and line with a piece of parchment paper. Sprinkle with a bit of flour and place braided dough onto sheet, either as a braid or if you want, like I did, wrap the braid around itself into a rounded braid situation. Tuck ends into each other and under the loaf. Brush the top gently with a little plant milk or water and let rest for about another 15 minutes or so.
After the rest, place dough into preheated oven. Bake for 35-45 minutes (Less if left long braid, more if wrapped braid) or until the top is a deep golden brown and when tapped on the bottom, it sounds hollow. Also can use an insta read thermometer and check temperature. You want it to reach 190 degrees.
Once bread is baked, remove from oven. If you want the top to stay a little crispy, don%u2019t do anything but let it cool. For a softer, shinny crust, rub the top while it is still warm with some plant based butter.
Let bread cool completely before cutting.
Then eat it like you would eat bread. Any and every way.
Store cooled loaf in a airtight bag on counter for 2-3 days but if not eating that fast, slice and place into freezer. That way you can pull out individual pieces and toast as you want.
Not just sweater weather, which it had been all week and I am LOVING IT, but it%u2019s lamp light weather too. I forgot that I had all these fantastic lights around my house and yesterday when it was dark out at 6 (it was raining so the sky was cloudy) I got to turn on a couple lamps that haven%u2019t had any action in months. It was soooo nice and cozy. This my friends, this is the best time of year!
Camping last week was great and not so great. The campground was pretty, but our fellows campers were very rawdy and loud and there was a party at the picnic pavilion that had a shitty classic rock cover band playing. The noisy people and shitty music echoed through the park for longer then anyone should have had to deal with it. But I guess that happens, especially on a long holiday weekend. And really, besides the buttheads, we had fun. We went for a nice hike through the woods and into giant fields of wildflowers and goldenrod then spent some great time in the kayaks on a nearby lake (away from all the people). Plus after eating dinner and then packing it in for the night, we didn%u2019t get soaking wet, which we could tell by the many car doors slamming and people screaming at 1am , a good few people did. Our tent stayed nice and dry inside and we even managed to stay dry when we got out of the tent and and realized it was sitting in a giant puddle. We even managed to stayed pretty dry packing up and getting on our way home, in the rain! It%u2019s because we are good at coming I guess.
Then the rest of the week came and went in a fast blur. Mostly some same. Had lunch with Barb, cleaned apartments for new tenants,, made cards for artwork, picked up farm share, and you know, other life stuff. I have been busy in the kitchen harvesting garden food and canning or freezing it as well. Trying to stock up on as much food as I can for the winter. Then the littles slept over Friday. We watched Dumb and Dumber and I fell asleep on the couch. Woke up made waffles (I was so excited to use my waffle iron. It%u2019s been too long) and sent them on their way home to be moody tweens because that is now happening.
Oh, and I can%u2019t forget about how some little shithead smashed in the back of our car. Yup, that happened too. But that is pretty much it. I think%u2026.
Now for today. Mt Auscunty State park if all goes to plan. Should be a fun one with lots of hiking and a big high tower and stuff. I know it is gonna get mighty cold tonight so I am packing my winter long underwear and a jacket, hat, and mittens. So excited!
Links to explore on the internet.
–Doctors are now prescribing houseplants to help treat anxiety and depression. Makes a whole heck of a lot of sense to me. And why not try this simple remedy before trying a bunch of drugs?
-I wasn’t;t surprised much when I read this. Junky processed food is so bad, especially if it is all you eat. .19-Year-Old Goes Blind Due to Diet of Pringles, Bread, Fries, and Processed Meats
–Lush Botanical Forms Translated Into Abstract Embroideries%u00a0. So very pretty.
-Another good reason to ditch that pessimistic attitude and to look at he bright side of things. It doesn%u2019t hurt to try. Optimists For The Win: Finding The Bright Side Might Help You Live Longer
–Why do clowns creep us out?%u00a0Because they are creepy, that is why.
-I want, no, I need this cabin. Totally Off-the-Grid Cabin in the New Hampshire Woods
–This Apple Might Be the Most Anticipated Piece of Produce in History. I heard about this apple few years ago. I wonder if it%u2019s gonna live up tp all the hype. We shall see.
-Why don%u2019t we have one of these? The Otter: The 1950s Amphibious Caravan That Time Forgot!
–Can Bullet Journaling Save You? I am a list maker in all the ways. I a ma doodler to no end. I love pretty things and I love hand writing and have a ton of sketch books but besides the occasional list of note in a sketch book, I have never really gotten into Buju. It%u2019s to time sensitive I think, for me anyway.
–Squeeze in a Quick Nap at Work with This Under-Desk Hammock. A new way to sleep on the job. HA.
Pictures from the week.
Another Sunday, another week gone by.
So last Sunday I took some of the family (cousins, Dad, a few siblings and a couple littles) on a hike, a hike that I did not think would be a problem for anymore. Just a 5 or 6 mile, in and out, up a mountain hike. You know, easy. Turns out that some people are not as mountain climbing able as I thought and I might have almost killed a person or two. Oops. It was good though, actually is was freaking fantastic, and most of us made it to the top, to see the spender of the world, and we all made it back down alive so all ended well. And once were were down, everyone took off, and the mr and I headed for the campground. It was raining a little, cold as shit, but still glorious. We got there, set up, then tromped through the woods some more until we were just too cold. Headed back to camp where I chopped up a pumpkin for dinner and a little asshole chipmunk stole and ate half an apple. We then spent the rest of the evening trying to stay warm sitting by the fire. When it was finally an acceptable time to sleep, (8ish) I wore all my clothes, hat and mittens, and socks to bed. I fell asleep, woke up a few hours later to some load bros being dicks and shouting, but tyou know, that shit happens, but managed to be lulled back into sleep by the mr%u2019s snoring. Woke up in the pitch dark, made coffee, packed the site, and off to the river for the mr to do his morning fishing thing. And then back to the world of others and not just the trees. How do I not live in the trees? Some day, some day soon.
The rest of the week was whatever. Work stuff here and there. I ripped out most of the garden which was a little sad but freeing feeling. Barb came over for dinner and I plugged in my new lamp that I found on the side of the road and found a shade for it. I made a cake, cleaned the fridge, put away summer clothes. Boring stuff. There were two days back there when it got really warm again, and super humid and I almost lost my shit. And I got caught in the rain during farm share and got soaked, but other then that, nothing to eventful.
Friday I worked at the studio all day, cleaned a shit load, loaded kilns, did the happy human interaction thing. While I Was working the mr picked Judah up from school and after a trip for hot choclate, they came back home to meet me for dinner and a hair cut. That little finally let me take a few inches of hair off his head so he can now see again. I made pizza for them, we walked, Judah punched and karate chopped everything ( mostly the mr), Shannon randomly stopped by which was nice because I don%u2019t see here enough, and then everyone left. I assed out like a champ.
Yesterday was one of those day. I am not sick, but very tired and needed a kind of down day to just not, although it was very productive anyway. Trimmed some pots, ran chores, cleaned the shit out of the house. The mr did some fly tying and we went for a long walk. Slow and nice.
And it%u2019s Sunday which means CAMPING! We said it last week, and the week before, but I think this might actually be the last weekend camping for a little while (I am determined to get the mr to do a little winter camping) I don%u2019t know what I am going to do now because all week long I look forward to the taking of, going hiking, having a big fire, no house to clean up, and sleeping in the tent. I guess it%u2019s not like we still can%u2019t do all that, and still, it%u2019s just maybe we don%u2019t sleep in a tent outside anymore. Huh, maybe I might be preemptively saying we are not camping anymore.. Maybe we can just sleep in the car , do car camping from now on. Good idea me, keep it keeping on. Anyway, to the Queeche Gorge State Park today. The mr hopefully has his fishing waders, I have 2 books (one to finish, one to start), a pumpkin and lentils for dinner, and my winter mittens, extra socks, and lots and lots of fire wood.
We are ready.
Stuff you might find worth looking at on the internet this week.
–Why we need small farms. Giant farms scare me. I feel like I can trust a smaller, local farm over any big as mega farm any day.
–The Best Ways to Make a Carved Halloween Pumpkin Last Longer. I might try the soaking in water, I hear it really dose work well.
-I see it happening all the time was it scares that shit out of me. The babies know how to use a freaking computer, sometime even better then me. Craziness. Raised by YouTube
-I have got mine down. How and Why to Cultivate an Evil Laugh
–The Outrageous Master Sommelier Scandal, Explained. Oh man, would I be so so pissed if I was one of the honest test takers. That shit is HARD!
-This made me smile. Same-Sex Penguin Couple Fosters An Egg In Sydney
-Did you know Ikea had veggie dogs? In two months, Ikea sold 1 million of its new veggie hot dogs
-Definitely one of my life goals. The whole trail, one fell swoop. I might even have to drag the mr along too. What’s It Like To Hike The Long Trail?
–Yes, There’s a Right Way to Measure Brown%u00a0Sugar. I always back as much as I can%u2026
-Ginger Lime mule is the BEST! Polar Seltzer Limited Edition / Winter 2018 Released.
And Pictures from the wee
I have been making at least one cake, if not 3, a week for the past month. Last week I did not have a cake that I needed.to make, so what did I do? I made a cake.
I might have an alternative motive here, I have started my winter squash stash, and already it is looking pretty impressive. I have delicata, acorn, kombucha, and sugar pumpkins littered all over the house. As of now I think I have a count of about 27. Some came fro the garden, some from (and still coming, all winter long) from farm share, and some came from when they went on sale at the grocery store and I filled the shopping cart up. The cashier checking me out thought I was crazy, but I get that a lot. (Like when I buy 20 heard os cabbage.. it%u2019s like I scare them) The alternative motive is that some of the squashes don%u2019t have the shelf life of some of the others so I need to get on to eating the ones that don%u2019t last as long, like the delicata and pumpkins, which I am doing, gladly might I add. So while I am eating those, I figured I would use up an acorn squash for cake because well, I don%u2019t want to have a million acorn squash laying around and I am just too busy eating the pumpkins to get the acorn. And this is why I made an acorn squash cake.
What does acorn squash cake tase like? Basically like pumpkin cake. Every time I make any sweet thing with any squash other then pumpkin, no one really seems to notice the difference, but that is not to say there isn’t one. I would say that acorn has a slightly sweeter and nutter flavor then pumpkin so you might get a more flavorful flavor out of an acorn squash. And really, if you like pumpkin, your gonna like the acorn. And people love them some maple frosting so smothering that along with walnuts on this cake, well I know made some people really really happy.
That%u2019s the real reason why I made this cake. To make some people happy. Jeeze, I am just so nice. Ha HA!
The stuff. A roasted acorn squash. flour, baking soda and baking powder, spices of cinnamon, ginger and a pinch of nutmeg, salt, oil, soy milk, brown sugar, white sugar, and a little apple cider vinegar.
Start by pureeing your squash If you haven%u2019t already which basically involved removing seeds and skin (save seeds to rest, eat skin, it delicious) and blending the squash until smooth.
You are now ready to cake. Add squash puree and oil into bowl with the sugars and mix until completely combined. Whisk together all the dry ingredients then add in the sugar, squash, oil mixture to the wet along with the milk and apple cider vinegar. Mix until just combined then stop mixing so you don%u2019t over mix.
Batter then gets poured evenly into two greased and lined cake pans.
And into the oven they go.
Golden brown and smelling all nice and cozy. A tester in the middle making sure that they are cooked completely.
Cakes get popped out of pans and and placed on a rack to cool completely. In the mean time, make the frosting. Powdered sugar, salt, vegan butter, maple syrup, and maybe a splash of soy milk (you might or might not need it). And don%u2019t forget the walnuts.
Sugar, salt, butter, and maple get beaten together until creamy and smooth.
Toasted walnuts get chopped into bits.
And now it%u2019s cake assembly time. Place one completely cooled layer on a cake plate and spread half the frosting on top. Sprinkle with half the chopped nuts. Place second layer on, spread rest of frosting on top, and sprinkle with the rest of the nut.
Now eat.
Enjoy the fall weekend and all the squash.
-C
makes and 8 inch 2 layer cake
For the Cake
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup neutral oil
2 cups acorn squash puree*
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
pinch of nutmeg
1 1/2 cups plant milk (I used soy)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
For the frosting
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup earth balance or any vegan butter
1/2 cup real maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-2 teaspoons plant milk (if needed)
1 cup toasted walnuts
Note. For acorn squash puree. roast an acorn squash by place entire squash into oven at 425 degree for about 1/2 hour or until fork tender. Once cooked, cut in half, let cool a few minutes, then scoop out all the seeds. Remove skin and blend the squash until smooth.
Preheat oven to 350
Place brown and white sugar into bowl along with the oil and squash puree. Mix until completely incorporated. In a larger bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda and powder, salt, and spices. Pour wet mixture into dry almond with the soy milk and apple cider vinegar. Mix until just completely incorporated then stop to prevent over mixing.
Grease and parchment line two 8 inch cake pans. Pour batter evenly between pans then place into oven for 30-35 minutes or until Depp golden brown and a tester stuck into middle of cakes comes out clean. When it%u2019s done, remove from oven, let cook a few minutes, then remove from cake pans. Place on a wire rack o cool completely.
While cake is cooling, make the frosting. Beat together the powdered sugar, salt, maple, and earth balance until nice and creamy. If the frosting seems to thick, add a splash of milk, to thin, add a 1/4 cup more of powdered sugar.
Chop walnuts into small bits if they are not already.
Once cakes are completely cooled, assemble. Place first layer on cake plate and spread 1/2 the frosting onto first layer and sprinkle on half of the chopped walnuts. Place on second layer, spread the rest of the frosting on top, and sprinkle on the rest of the nut. And that is it. Now you just need to eat it.
Store any left overs in for a day on the counter, but any longer place in an airtight container in the fridge. I even froze a few pieces and the mr loved them frozen to if you like frozen cake%u2026..
And it%u2019s Sunday again. Time is just flying by.
The camping was amazing. I guess there are not a lot of people that go camping this late in the year because we basically had the entire Lake Carmi state park to ourselves. I think we were the only people there besides and old couple in a cabin far away from us. The weather was perfect, brisk, but not too cold, the sky was a grey, the colors were popping. We went for a jaunt in the fields and a hike in the wood, the mr went fishing off a giant tree, and we enjoyed a lentil and campfire squash for dinner. Simple and sweet and all the best of the world. Sure it rained that night, but we stayed dry and yes it started to pour in the monring while we were picking up camp but then it stopped and all was good. And really, what%u2019s camping all the time without a rain day or two. It%u2019s part of the adventure.
And is was Alex%u2019s birthday, he turned 13, and he had a family birthday party, but we ended up not going cause I was feeling like crap. I think it was a crash and burn, but I was weary because everyone is getting sick around me. Snotty, coughing, grossness. I am trying to avoid it if at all possible.
The next day I woke up tired but feeling better and went about the day doing the this and thats and thats and running around here and there. The mr started a rat trapping job (not for any of our properties) that turned into a whole big week long thing and I just don%u2019t even want to deal with that. I stay away from anything that involves animal. If I were to get involved, we would probably and up with a few pet mice and a squirrel or two. And definitely a skunk or possum. So again, I stay away from that stuff.
Then there was Wednesday. I had one of those days where everything was going wrong. To start my day I woke up with a door handle smashed into my hip which I then thought was broken (the mr sure knows how to open a door). When I got to the gym my toe started throbbing and opened up and starting bleeding again (gross), but whatever, not that bad. I then went and spent a few hours over at the loft cleaning the F out of it so that my dad had clean sheets, toilet paper, and no tools in the middle of the floor when he stayed. We are over there all the time, but something about being there that day was making me just super sad and nostalgic and I basically was just thinking about Washer and I might have cried a little. But that happens and well, yeah Then it was lunch time but I was not getting lunch, which is never a good thing with me, I was taking a trip to the dentist. Hooray for me! Good thing my teeth looked great, said I am doing a good job as usual taking care of my mouth, except I was told again that I should really consider smashing my jaw and my palette and get braces and wire my mouth shut and blah blah blah. Just give the dentist $500 million dollars and they will fix all my screwed up bite and jaw problems. Yeah, no. Dental stuff is a sore subject for me so I%u2019ll just leave it here.. So dentist made me in a bad mood on top of being sad. But I made it home and made a cake for Alex%u2019s birthday party (his friend party) which I ended up burning it. So ok, that shit happens too but then the second cake, looking all perfect when I pulled it out of the oven, well I dropped one of the pans, and burned myself a few time. And then I cried little more..Yup. Oh, and knocked over some greenware pots by my wheel because why not add some more misery to the day. I think after all that I just gave up and crawled into bed at like 730.
Thursday went a lot better. I managed to turn the broken apart cake into a single layer cake (genius) and make it actually look pretty good. I picked up farm share and got out to the fields before it started to rain (hurray for me) Barb came over and made me smile while we talked of all things Italy and I fed her broken cake bits. I hung up all my halloween bats and did some laundry and stuck a dent in paperwork and bills that needed addressing. A way better day.
Friday was a little hectic. The political stuff brought out a slight crazed rage over the craziness of the world and I am still trying to wrap my head around it (along with the last 2 years%u2026) But besides begin little wild eyed, I finish decorating the cake for Alex. Worked at the studio where I loaded 2 kilns and then some. Dropped the cake off to Alex then went to the groocery store for food for the party the next day, and somehow got pizza dough to rise at just the right speed (in and out of the fridge all day) in order to have dough for pizza birthday party for Coco (he turned 2 on Thursday!) that night. The littles came over for just a small something special for Coco. We had pizza, cookies, and a buzz lightyear balloon. He was sick so he ate no pizza and cried at the candle on his cookie, but then he ate it and that sugar made him happy, even when he was blowing super snot bubbles from his little nose. . And then Erin brought him home so he could have a sugar crash and be sick at home and the other littles could sleep over. They watched a Wrinkle in Time, while I started prepping apples and pie dough for Dads birthday pie the next day. And then we all fell asleep early. These darker nights really make it easy to crawl into bed at an early hour. (not complaining at all)
Saturday went swimmingly. I woke up made a pie and a loaf of pumpkin bread all before the littles woke up for breakfast pancakes. Barb came over, they all ate, then off we all went, the mr and I, Barb, Miley, Judah, to the farm for wagon ride and pumpkin picking. It%u2019s out tradition, and this year, we brought Coco too.(and Buzz light-year of course) The ride went great, the pumpkin patch was pristine, we all got a good pumpkin and some gourds, and no one fell off the wagon. A very successful pumpkin picking adventure. After that we all ran home and I got lunch ready, The rest of the family came, ate the food, made the mess. The mr thought it would a great idea for the medium kids to have something productive to do to keep them out of trouble so he gave them all shovels and let them dig a giant hole in the middle of the back yard because why not? Uh huh, yeah. So on top of the normal mess everyone makes, there was a heavy extra layer of dirt tracked in and out of the house. After everyone left, I got to spend a little extra time cleaning late into night. How they got mud on the bathroom walls is pretty impressive.
Today we are doing something with Dad and his other children. Either a bike ride or hike, not sure yet, but something outside that will involve trees. After that, the mr and I are going to try and find a place to camp tonight. The weekly camping is just too good. We can%u2019t not. Plus after a full week of people interaction, I could really use a night of peace and quite in the woods.
Internet from the week.
-Pumpkin Knowledge. The Best Pumpkins for Baking and Cooking. And 3 Ways to Use Those Pumpkin Guts. And What’s Actually in Your Canned Pumpkin Pur%u00e9e?
–Wigstock, ‘An Iconic Piece of Drag History,’ Lets Its Roots Show At 2018 Revival. Oh my.. SO amazing. I wish I could be there!
-100% agree with this, it really is the best brand. The One Flour You Should Buy, According to a Professional Bread Maker
-Have you heard? Drunk birds are wreaking havoc in Minnesota
-Yeah, I would live here (that tree!) or definitely in this row house%u00a0(the front door!)
–Most Introverts Would Like to Be More Extroverted. Yes and no. I love being alone and do not find it lonely, but I do wish I didn%u2019t get completely drained and feel like I have ran a marathon from being around people.
–DARK MATTER IS A HUGE MYSTERY. THIS DEVICE IS TRYING TO DETECT IT. This makes me think of the His Dark Materials Books by Phillip Pullman. (read them if you haven%u2019t, they are in my top 3 favorite books of all time)
-I kind of love this. Banksy auction prank leaves art world in shreds
-I follow this families adoption and it is so heartwarming and amazing and I just love them (Their daughter is so freaking cute, it kills me). And they are adopting again! I love how she does a Q and A about the whole thing.
And some pictures from the week.
Are you as excited about pumpkin season as I am. And not because of pumpkin spice this or that, I am talking about real squash pumpkin. I am so excited, and have started a stash. I have about 10 sugar pumpkins all through the house. Equal parts fall decor and dinner. Being able to eat your decorations is key to a successful life. I am 100 percent sure about that.
So now that we have established that it%u2019s time to eat pumpkin, we also have to realized that there are more ways to eat pumpkin then in baked goods. Savory pumpkin is just as good, if not better then sweet pumpkin. I mean, it%u2019s a squash and don%u2019t we all love a good ssavory squash situation? If you don%u2019t, well you are in the wrong place my friend.
This dish here pretty much sums up all that I ever want to eat again. Roasted pumpkin with cumin is one of the best things ever. No joke. Swiss chard is definitely my favorite green, besides spinach, (and I love kale, but chard is better then kale too!) and red lentils are my favorite kind of lentils. All I all, this small list of ingredients makes for one heck of a dish. I was pre making this for dinner for Barb and the mr. and ended up making something else for dinner so I could eat and save it all for myself. I did not share one bit of this and feel zero bad about it. I mean, I made it so it is mine. They had chili, I secretly ate this.
It%u2019s come to that. I am hiding my pumpkin and lentil dish. What is wrong with me? Ha!
Now to the best pumpkin dish ever!
The stuff. A sugar pumpkin, some swiss chard, an onion, red lentils, a few cloves of garlic. cumin, salt and pepper, and olive oil.
Cut the pumpkin in half, scoop the seeds out (save for roasting later), and chop into mouth sized chunks. Dice the onion up, and remove the stalk and thicker part of the rib from the chard leaves and dice up the stalk. Stick the leaves to the side.
Place all the chopped up stuff onto a baking sheet, drizzle with a little bit of oil, dump on some cumin and sprinkle with salt and pepper then toss it all around.
A fall roast ready for the oven.
Once veggies are in oven roasting, make the lentils. Water and lentil in a pot, bring to a boil, turn on low and let cook until lentils are done. Once cooked, sprinkle in a pinch of salt.
Also mince up the garlic and rough chop up the chard leaves.
Fall veggies are looking nice and roasted and tasting all so good. Toss in the minced garlic and chopped chard leaves and pop the baking sheet back into the oven for a little longer just until the garlic and leaves are cooked too.
Now you have your lentils and the cumin roasted pan of goodness. If you have a lime, cut that up too because it will make this all just perfect. Perfect I tell you.
Here it is. A bowl of red lentils, piled high with cumin roasted pumpkin and chard with a fresh squeeze of lime. Once you aat a few bites, tell me. Best fall dish ever, right!?!
Have a fantastic fall weekend.
-C
serve 2-3
1 pie pumpkin
1 bunch of Swiss chard (between 5-6 large stalks, more if the stalks are small)
1 yellow onion
2-3 cloves garlic
1 cup died red lentils
3 cups water
2 tablespoons cumin
A lime (optional)
salt and pepper
olive oil
Preheat oven to 400
Start by cutting pumpkin in half and removing seeds, (place seeds aside for later to roast), then cut the pumpkin into inch or so cubes. Grab the chard, remove the stalks and ribs from the leaves, place leaves to the side, and dice the stalks up. Dice onion into medium sized chunks and place all of what you have just chopped on a baking sheet. Drizzle a teaspoon or two of oil all over. Spinkle on the cumin and a pinch of salt and pepper and toss around. Evenly distribute the veggies on the pan and stick into the oven to roast, for about 25 minutes, or until the pumpkin and chard stalks are fork tender. In the meantime rough chop the leaves and mince the garlic. When the pumpkin and chard are just about done, remove pan from oven and toss in the garlic and leaves. Place pan back into oven for another 8-10 minutes or until the leaves have cooked. Remove from oven.
While the veggies are roasting, make the lentils. Place the water and lentils into a medium sized pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn down to low, giving it a stir ever few minutes until lentils are soft.Once cooked, remove from heat and season with pinch of salt salt.
When the lentils are cooked and the veggies are roasted, it%u2019s time to eat. Spoon lentils into a bowl and top with roasted veggies. Season with more salt and pepper if needed and cut up lime (optional) and squeeze juice all over. Eat right away and save any for later.
Well happy first day of fall to you! Are you as excited as I am? I am very very excited because well, cooler weather, shorter days, pretty trees, pumpkins, sweaters, and of course apples. All the apples!!
I am not going to lie, I was going to wait to do a big apple pick to start with my apple baking but this week the grocery store was selling apples form the orchard I am going to go picking from for a 77cents a pound!! I mean, I couldn%u2019t not buy 20 lbs right? Sure I felt a little guilty that they were not hand picked by me, but in a way they were because I did hand pick them form the store so that kind of counts? Plus I am still going apple picking, today in fact so not harm in having a shit ton of apples.
Anyway, so apple brownies. Why, because why not. Slightly chewy but soft, dense, full of all the cinnamon and apple walnut flavor one could want or need to feel all the feels of the apple season. Made them and fed them to the people and they were gone within a minute. Huge success in flavor and texture. and best part, it was slightly chilly out when I made them so the oven on was extra nice, and my house smelled amazing. Oh gosh, I am just so excited that it%u2019s fall, it%u2019s the best time of year!
And now I am for real going apple picking! I%u2019ll probably make these brownies again, just because you know, apples and I’ll probably come home with another 100 lbs or more so you know, I%u2019ll have the apples to do it.
The stuff. Apples. sugar, applesauce, cinnamon, and walnuts. Also some vegan butter, flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
FIrst, chop up the apples. And no, don%u2019t peel them, just chop, into little 1/2 inch cubes.
Butter and sugar get a good beat until light and fluffy (I read somewhere that when you beat the sugar with butter in brownies, it helps make that crisp, crackly top)
Fold in the apple sauce and cinnamon .
Like a galaxy of cinnamon goodness.
Then all the rest of the stuff: flour, baking soda and powder, salt, apples, walnuts, get folded in too until just incorporated.
Batter gets spread evenly in a greased and parchment lined pan. (There is parchment there, I was running low so it only covers the bottom of the pan. Better if it goes up the sides though.)
Then into the hot oven they go.
Popped out at just the right moment. See the top? A bit crisped crinkly, kind of like a brownie! Now pop them out of the pan and let cool completely. Or cool enough to cut. Or, cool enough to handle and eat%u2026..
There you go, apple walnut brownies.
And now you can officially enjoy the first day of fall because there is a lot of apple goodness in these brownies and what is fall without apples?!!
Have the best day.
-C
makes a 9×9 pan of apple goodness
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup vegan butter
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 large Macintosh apples (about 2 cups chopped)
Preheat oven to 350
Core and dice apples into about 1/2 inch cubes . Measure out 2 cups ans eat any left over apple chunks. In a large bowl, beat together vegan butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Fold in the applesauce and cinnamon. In a smaller bowl whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Dump into wet mixture, along with the apples and walnuts and fold together until just evenly incorporated. Grease and parchment line a 9×9 baking sheet. Dump the batter into the pan and spread evenly then pop into oven and bake for 40- 45 minutes or until browned and a tester stuck in the middle comes out clean. Check after 35 minutes%u2026 you don%u2019t want to over bake! Once cooked all the way through, remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes. Once cool enough to handle, remove the brownies from the pan (you really need to line the pan with parchment to do this) and let cool completely on a wire rack. When they are cool (if you can wait that long because really, these are great eaten warm too.), cut and eat.
Store left overs in a airtight container for a day or two or freeze any extra. Great warmed and serves with a scoop of some ice cream or a yogurt situation.
THE LOVELY CRAZY
December 30, 2019 by maximios • Blog
When I was a kid, every once in a while my mom would buy those Entenmann%u2019s marbled loaf cakes, (she still might) and I loved them. Chocolate and vanilla swirled into every slice. Super moist and rich with the soft, fluffy top. I would cut a big slice, toast it, then smother it in peanut butter.
Now when I see these cakes, well honesty, I think they kind of look sad. A cake such as a marbled cake, should not be squashed into a box, stacked away on some display case. No cake should have to deal with that. Cakes should be made then oohed and awed at from the comforts of home, only boxed if 100% necessary like in the case of bringing to a friend or giving as a present. Basically, what I am saying is don%u2019t buy pre-made cakes friends, make the cake at home yourself. The cake will like you better for it.
Anyway, I just was thinking about those cakes and my childhood in general and it made me want to make a quick cake all marbled because of the nostalgia and also, I mean, marbled cakes are pretty pretty and why the heck not. And because it is pumpkin season I had to go with pumpkin and chocolate instead of vanilla and chocolate because we all know it was the right thing to do.
Pumpkin spices, rich chocolate. Two flavors in one bite. Who could complain? I don%u2019t think my 10 year old self would have. I think she would have eaten the whole damn loaf (toasted with peanut butter of course).
Nw to the chocolate and pumpkin loaf cake..
The stuff. Flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, pumpkin puree, brown sugar, white sugar, oil, almond milk, cocoa powder, pumpkin pie spices, coffee, and apple cider vinegar.
Quick and easy. Oil and sugars get a good mix in a big bowl then in goes the pumpkin puree. Mix that in with the milk and apple cider vinegar. Ina separate bowl, mix the flour baking soda and powder and salt. Mix the dry into the wet.
Split the mix in half (eye ball it) and add the spice mix to one bowl and the cocoa and coffee to the other. Mix them until the new ingredients are incorporated. You will then have a chocolate batter and pumpkin spice batter.
Grease a loaf pan then layer dollops of each of the batters into the pan until both batters are gone.
Before the oven and after of the oven.
Place cooked loaf on a wire rack to cool. Really. It needs it. Just wait a least 15 minutes, you can do it.
And then you cut into the load, marvel at the marble, and then eat it.
Two flavors, one mouth.
-C
makes 1 loaf
2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup neutral flavored oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup plant milk
2 tablespoon coffee (or water if you don%u2019t have coffee)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 heaping tablespoon pumpkin pie spice or 2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon each ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and clove
Preheat oven to 350
In a large bowl, mix together the white and brown sugar with the oil until combined and there are no chunks of sugar. Add in the pumpkin puree and the milk and vinegar and mix until incorporated. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry mixture to the wet and gently mix until just combined. Scoop half of the batter (eye ball it) into other bowl. Add the pumpkin pie spices to one bowl and fold it into batter until incorporated. Add the cocoa and coffee to the other batter and fold it in until incorporated.
Interchange scooping the batters into greased loaf pan. One, then the other, to create the marbled effect, until both batters are gone. Place pan into oven and bake for 55-60 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
Remove pan from oven and pop bread out and place on a wire rack to cool.
Cut a slices, eat, be happy.
Store bread in airtight container for 3-4 days at room temperature or just slice it up and freeze pieces.
It is exactly that time of year. Apples galore, cool days in need of a little extra warm, meaning a warm oven is welcome, if not needed. It%u2019s the best time of year, or at least one of them.
And so I bake bread. Sometimes just a roll, and sometime a loaf, almost everyday. I love bread baking because, well just because. Plus it%u2019s what people want to eat and will always eat because I guess bread=love. Makes sense to me.
This bread was made from a small dip in the 2 gallons of applesauce I made the night before. (We had sooooo many apples). The mr isn%u2019t the biggest fan of applesauce, says he would rather eat a fresh apple. I kind of get it, but dude, warm, chunky, slightly cinnamon-y applesauce%u2026 I mean, that is happiness right there. Right? Anyway, I am trying not to eat all the applesauce to my face by myself at once (it has been a challenge) and plus I needed to make the mr some bread, so I figured what the hell. I%u2019ll just use applesauce as my liquid in the bread. And so I did and that is that and now that mr really like applesacue (when it is baked into bread)
This bread is a basic sandwich type bread. The apple taste is there but not overwhelming so it can be used for sandwiches of all kinds, toast, just eating with a smear od something, or not. Just a overall good loaf of bread with a little extra from the apple. And braided because I was feeling classy. It%u2019s amazing what at little braiding of bread dough can do for your self esteem. Made me feel like I was the coolest person in the world. Haha!
Now to the bread.
The stuff. A few apples, regular all purpose and white whole wheat flour, salt, applesauce, maple syrup, yeast, and warm water.
Applesauce, shredded apple, maple, yeast, and a little water get mix up and let to sit for a few minutes to activate yeast. Then the salt gets mixed in, along with all the flour. Stir until dough forms. Dough should be slightly sticky, ut not wet. IF wet, add a handful more flour. To dry, add more water.
Dump the dough onto a floured surface, cover your hands in flour, and knead dough for about 5 or so minutes, adding more flour as needed to keep dough from sticking, until the dough is a nice and cohesive texture.
Nice looking dough. Now roll dough into a ball.
Place dough in a clean wet or oiled bowl and cover with a damp cloth for one to one and a half hours or until dough doubles in size.
Dump dough onto floured surface.
Cut dough into 3 equal pieces and roll out into long longs.
Braid logs together. You can stop here bake it this way or%u2026
After placing it on a parchment lined baking sheet, tuck the ends of the braids underneath each other and make it like this. Either way. And once you have the dough on the baking sheet, brush a little water or plant milk on top and let dough rest for 15 minutes of so while the oven preheats.
Before oven and after oven. Classy, right?
Then for shin and soft crust, rub warm loaf with some plant butter.
And for the hard part. Let it cool before slicing it. Ok sure, a little warm is fine, but wait at least 20 minutes (an hour would be best) and then eat you some bread.
Eat you some bread. That%u2019s a t-shirt right there.
Happy Fall friends!
-C
makes pretty one loaf
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour plus more for kneading
1 cup unsweetened room temperature applesauce
1 large or 2 small apples ( about 2/3 cup shredded apple)
1/4- 1/2 cup warm water
1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
2 teaspoons active yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon or so plant milk or water
1 tablespoon plant based butter (optional for rubbing on finished bread)
Grab the apples and shred them until you have 2/3 cup shredded apple. In a large bowl, mix together the applesauce, shredded apples, yeast, 1/4 cup warm water, and sweetener.and let yeast activate for a few minutes. Add in salt, the all purpose flour and the 1 1/2 cups white wheat flour. Stir together until dough forms. The dough should be a little bit sticky so if the dough seems to dry, add in 1/4 cup more warm water. If it seems really wet, add in a handful more flour.
Dump dough out onto a well floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes adding a little bit of flour to the counter as needed to prevent it from sticking. Once dough is cohesive in texture, roll into a ball and place into a clean wet or oiled bowl. Cover with a damp towel and allow the dough to double in size. Should take between an hour and an hour and a half.
Once dough doubles in size preheat oven to 400
Dump risen dough back onto a well flour counter. Cut the dough into 3 equal sizes and roll each piece into long logs about 20 inches or so long. Place each roll next to each other and braid. Grab a baking sheet and line with a piece of parchment paper. Sprinkle with a bit of flour and place braided dough onto sheet, either as a braid or if you want, like I did, wrap the braid around itself into a rounded braid situation. Tuck ends into each other and under the loaf. Brush the top gently with a little plant milk or water and let rest for about another 15 minutes or so.
After the rest, place dough into preheated oven. Bake for 35-45 minutes (Less if left long braid, more if wrapped braid) or until the top is a deep golden brown and when tapped on the bottom, it sounds hollow. Also can use an insta read thermometer and check temperature. You want it to reach 190 degrees.
Once bread is baked, remove from oven. If you want the top to stay a little crispy, don%u2019t do anything but let it cool. For a softer, shinny crust, rub the top while it is still warm with some plant based butter.
Let bread cool completely before cutting.
Then eat it like you would eat bread. Any and every way.
Store cooled loaf in a airtight bag on counter for 2-3 days but if not eating that fast, slice and place into freezer. That way you can pull out individual pieces and toast as you want.
Not just sweater weather, which it had been all week and I am LOVING IT, but it%u2019s lamp light weather too. I forgot that I had all these fantastic lights around my house and yesterday when it was dark out at 6 (it was raining so the sky was cloudy) I got to turn on a couple lamps that haven%u2019t had any action in months. It was soooo nice and cozy. This my friends, this is the best time of year!
Camping last week was great and not so great. The campground was pretty, but our fellows campers were very rawdy and loud and there was a party at the picnic pavilion that had a shitty classic rock cover band playing. The noisy people and shitty music echoed through the park for longer then anyone should have had to deal with it. But I guess that happens, especially on a long holiday weekend. And really, besides the buttheads, we had fun. We went for a nice hike through the woods and into giant fields of wildflowers and goldenrod then spent some great time in the kayaks on a nearby lake (away from all the people). Plus after eating dinner and then packing it in for the night, we didn%u2019t get soaking wet, which we could tell by the many car doors slamming and people screaming at 1am , a good few people did. Our tent stayed nice and dry inside and we even managed to stay dry when we got out of the tent and and realized it was sitting in a giant puddle. We even managed to stayed pretty dry packing up and getting on our way home, in the rain! It%u2019s because we are good at coming I guess.
Then the rest of the week came and went in a fast blur. Mostly some same. Had lunch with Barb, cleaned apartments for new tenants,, made cards for artwork, picked up farm share, and you know, other life stuff. I have been busy in the kitchen harvesting garden food and canning or freezing it as well. Trying to stock up on as much food as I can for the winter. Then the littles slept over Friday. We watched Dumb and Dumber and I fell asleep on the couch. Woke up made waffles (I was so excited to use my waffle iron. It%u2019s been too long) and sent them on their way home to be moody tweens because that is now happening.
Oh, and I can%u2019t forget about how some little shithead smashed in the back of our car. Yup, that happened too. But that is pretty much it. I think%u2026.
Now for today. Mt Auscunty State park if all goes to plan. Should be a fun one with lots of hiking and a big high tower and stuff. I know it is gonna get mighty cold tonight so I am packing my winter long underwear and a jacket, hat, and mittens. So excited!
Links to explore on the internet.
–Doctors are now prescribing houseplants to help treat anxiety and depression. Makes a whole heck of a lot of sense to me. And why not try this simple remedy before trying a bunch of drugs?
-I wasn’t;t surprised much when I read this. Junky processed food is so bad, especially if it is all you eat. .19-Year-Old Goes Blind Due to Diet of Pringles, Bread, Fries, and Processed Meats
–Lush Botanical Forms Translated Into Abstract Embroideries%u00a0. So very pretty.
-Another good reason to ditch that pessimistic attitude and to look at he bright side of things. It doesn%u2019t hurt to try. Optimists For The Win: Finding The Bright Side Might Help You Live Longer
–Why do clowns creep us out?%u00a0Because they are creepy, that is why.
-I want, no, I need this cabin. Totally Off-the-Grid Cabin in the New Hampshire Woods
–This Apple Might Be the Most Anticipated Piece of Produce in History. I heard about this apple few years ago. I wonder if it%u2019s gonna live up tp all the hype. We shall see.
-Why don%u2019t we have one of these? The Otter: The 1950s Amphibious Caravan That Time Forgot!
–Can Bullet Journaling Save You? I am a list maker in all the ways. I a ma doodler to no end. I love pretty things and I love hand writing and have a ton of sketch books but besides the occasional list of note in a sketch book, I have never really gotten into Buju. It%u2019s to time sensitive I think, for me anyway.
–Squeeze in a Quick Nap at Work with This Under-Desk Hammock. A new way to sleep on the job. HA.
Pictures from the week.
Another Sunday, another week gone by.
So last Sunday I took some of the family (cousins, Dad, a few siblings and a couple littles) on a hike, a hike that I did not think would be a problem for anymore. Just a 5 or 6 mile, in and out, up a mountain hike. You know, easy. Turns out that some people are not as mountain climbing able as I thought and I might have almost killed a person or two. Oops. It was good though, actually is was freaking fantastic, and most of us made it to the top, to see the spender of the world, and we all made it back down alive so all ended well. And once were were down, everyone took off, and the mr and I headed for the campground. It was raining a little, cold as shit, but still glorious. We got there, set up, then tromped through the woods some more until we were just too cold. Headed back to camp where I chopped up a pumpkin for dinner and a little asshole chipmunk stole and ate half an apple. We then spent the rest of the evening trying to stay warm sitting by the fire. When it was finally an acceptable time to sleep, (8ish) I wore all my clothes, hat and mittens, and socks to bed. I fell asleep, woke up a few hours later to some load bros being dicks and shouting, but tyou know, that shit happens, but managed to be lulled back into sleep by the mr%u2019s snoring. Woke up in the pitch dark, made coffee, packed the site, and off to the river for the mr to do his morning fishing thing. And then back to the world of others and not just the trees. How do I not live in the trees? Some day, some day soon.
The rest of the week was whatever. Work stuff here and there. I ripped out most of the garden which was a little sad but freeing feeling. Barb came over for dinner and I plugged in my new lamp that I found on the side of the road and found a shade for it. I made a cake, cleaned the fridge, put away summer clothes. Boring stuff. There were two days back there when it got really warm again, and super humid and I almost lost my shit. And I got caught in the rain during farm share and got soaked, but other then that, nothing to eventful.
Friday I worked at the studio all day, cleaned a shit load, loaded kilns, did the happy human interaction thing. While I Was working the mr picked Judah up from school and after a trip for hot choclate, they came back home to meet me for dinner and a hair cut. That little finally let me take a few inches of hair off his head so he can now see again. I made pizza for them, we walked, Judah punched and karate chopped everything ( mostly the mr), Shannon randomly stopped by which was nice because I don%u2019t see here enough, and then everyone left. I assed out like a champ.
Yesterday was one of those day. I am not sick, but very tired and needed a kind of down day to just not, although it was very productive anyway. Trimmed some pots, ran chores, cleaned the shit out of the house. The mr did some fly tying and we went for a long walk. Slow and nice.
And it%u2019s Sunday which means CAMPING! We said it last week, and the week before, but I think this might actually be the last weekend camping for a little while (I am determined to get the mr to do a little winter camping) I don%u2019t know what I am going to do now because all week long I look forward to the taking of, going hiking, having a big fire, no house to clean up, and sleeping in the tent. I guess it%u2019s not like we still can%u2019t do all that, and still, it%u2019s just maybe we don%u2019t sleep in a tent outside anymore. Huh, maybe I might be preemptively saying we are not camping anymore.. Maybe we can just sleep in the car , do car camping from now on. Good idea me, keep it keeping on. Anyway, to the Queeche Gorge State Park today. The mr hopefully has his fishing waders, I have 2 books (one to finish, one to start), a pumpkin and lentils for dinner, and my winter mittens, extra socks, and lots and lots of fire wood.
We are ready.
Stuff you might find worth looking at on the internet this week.
–Why we need small farms. Giant farms scare me. I feel like I can trust a smaller, local farm over any big as mega farm any day.
–The Best Ways to Make a Carved Halloween Pumpkin Last Longer. I might try the soaking in water, I hear it really dose work well.
-I see it happening all the time was it scares that shit out of me. The babies know how to use a freaking computer, sometime even better then me. Craziness. Raised by YouTube
-I have got mine down. How and Why to Cultivate an Evil Laugh
–The Outrageous Master Sommelier Scandal, Explained. Oh man, would I be so so pissed if I was one of the honest test takers. That shit is HARD!
-This made me smile. Same-Sex Penguin Couple Fosters An Egg In Sydney
-Did you know Ikea had veggie dogs? In two months, Ikea sold 1 million of its new veggie hot dogs
-Definitely one of my life goals. The whole trail, one fell swoop. I might even have to drag the mr along too. What’s It Like To Hike The Long Trail?
–Yes, There’s a Right Way to Measure Brown%u00a0Sugar. I always back as much as I can%u2026
-Ginger Lime mule is the BEST! Polar Seltzer Limited Edition / Winter 2018 Released.
And Pictures from the wee
I have been making at least one cake, if not 3, a week for the past month. Last week I did not have a cake that I needed.to make, so what did I do? I made a cake.
I might have an alternative motive here, I have started my winter squash stash, and already it is looking pretty impressive. I have delicata, acorn, kombucha, and sugar pumpkins littered all over the house. As of now I think I have a count of about 27. Some came fro the garden, some from (and still coming, all winter long) from farm share, and some came from when they went on sale at the grocery store and I filled the shopping cart up. The cashier checking me out thought I was crazy, but I get that a lot. (Like when I buy 20 heard os cabbage.. it%u2019s like I scare them) The alternative motive is that some of the squashes don%u2019t have the shelf life of some of the others so I need to get on to eating the ones that don%u2019t last as long, like the delicata and pumpkins, which I am doing, gladly might I add. So while I am eating those, I figured I would use up an acorn squash for cake because well, I don%u2019t want to have a million acorn squash laying around and I am just too busy eating the pumpkins to get the acorn. And this is why I made an acorn squash cake.
What does acorn squash cake tase like? Basically like pumpkin cake. Every time I make any sweet thing with any squash other then pumpkin, no one really seems to notice the difference, but that is not to say there isn’t one. I would say that acorn has a slightly sweeter and nutter flavor then pumpkin so you might get a more flavorful flavor out of an acorn squash. And really, if you like pumpkin, your gonna like the acorn. And people love them some maple frosting so smothering that along with walnuts on this cake, well I know made some people really really happy.
That%u2019s the real reason why I made this cake. To make some people happy. Jeeze, I am just so nice. Ha HA!
The stuff. A roasted acorn squash. flour, baking soda and baking powder, spices of cinnamon, ginger and a pinch of nutmeg, salt, oil, soy milk, brown sugar, white sugar, and a little apple cider vinegar.
Start by pureeing your squash If you haven%u2019t already which basically involved removing seeds and skin (save seeds to rest, eat skin, it delicious) and blending the squash until smooth.
You are now ready to cake. Add squash puree and oil into bowl with the sugars and mix until completely combined. Whisk together all the dry ingredients then add in the sugar, squash, oil mixture to the wet along with the milk and apple cider vinegar. Mix until just combined then stop mixing so you don%u2019t over mix.
Batter then gets poured evenly into two greased and lined cake pans.
And into the oven they go.
Golden brown and smelling all nice and cozy. A tester in the middle making sure that they are cooked completely.
Cakes get popped out of pans and and placed on a rack to cool completely. In the mean time, make the frosting. Powdered sugar, salt, vegan butter, maple syrup, and maybe a splash of soy milk (you might or might not need it). And don%u2019t forget the walnuts.
Sugar, salt, butter, and maple get beaten together until creamy and smooth.
Toasted walnuts get chopped into bits.
And now it%u2019s cake assembly time. Place one completely cooled layer on a cake plate and spread half the frosting on top. Sprinkle with half the chopped nuts. Place second layer on, spread rest of frosting on top, and sprinkle with the rest of the nut.
Now eat.
Enjoy the fall weekend and all the squash.
-C
makes and 8 inch 2 layer cake
For the Cake
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup neutral oil
2 cups acorn squash puree*
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
pinch of nutmeg
1 1/2 cups plant milk (I used soy)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
For the frosting
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup earth balance or any vegan butter
1/2 cup real maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-2 teaspoons plant milk (if needed)
1 cup toasted walnuts
Note. For acorn squash puree. roast an acorn squash by place entire squash into oven at 425 degree for about 1/2 hour or until fork tender. Once cooked, cut in half, let cool a few minutes, then scoop out all the seeds. Remove skin and blend the squash until smooth.
Preheat oven to 350
Place brown and white sugar into bowl along with the oil and squash puree. Mix until completely incorporated. In a larger bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda and powder, salt, and spices. Pour wet mixture into dry almond with the soy milk and apple cider vinegar. Mix until just completely incorporated then stop to prevent over mixing.
Grease and parchment line two 8 inch cake pans. Pour batter evenly between pans then place into oven for 30-35 minutes or until Depp golden brown and a tester stuck into middle of cakes comes out clean. When it%u2019s done, remove from oven, let cook a few minutes, then remove from cake pans. Place on a wire rack o cool completely.
While cake is cooling, make the frosting. Beat together the powdered sugar, salt, maple, and earth balance until nice and creamy. If the frosting seems to thick, add a splash of milk, to thin, add a 1/4 cup more of powdered sugar.
Chop walnuts into small bits if they are not already.
Once cakes are completely cooled, assemble. Place first layer on cake plate and spread 1/2 the frosting onto first layer and sprinkle on half of the chopped walnuts. Place on second layer, spread the rest of the frosting on top, and sprinkle on the rest of the nut. And that is it. Now you just need to eat it.
Store any left overs in for a day on the counter, but any longer place in an airtight container in the fridge. I even froze a few pieces and the mr loved them frozen to if you like frozen cake%u2026..
And it%u2019s Sunday again. Time is just flying by.
The camping was amazing. I guess there are not a lot of people that go camping this late in the year because we basically had the entire Lake Carmi state park to ourselves. I think we were the only people there besides and old couple in a cabin far away from us. The weather was perfect, brisk, but not too cold, the sky was a grey, the colors were popping. We went for a jaunt in the fields and a hike in the wood, the mr went fishing off a giant tree, and we enjoyed a lentil and campfire squash for dinner. Simple and sweet and all the best of the world. Sure it rained that night, but we stayed dry and yes it started to pour in the monring while we were picking up camp but then it stopped and all was good. And really, what%u2019s camping all the time without a rain day or two. It%u2019s part of the adventure.
And is was Alex%u2019s birthday, he turned 13, and he had a family birthday party, but we ended up not going cause I was feeling like crap. I think it was a crash and burn, but I was weary because everyone is getting sick around me. Snotty, coughing, grossness. I am trying to avoid it if at all possible.
The next day I woke up tired but feeling better and went about the day doing the this and thats and thats and running around here and there. The mr started a rat trapping job (not for any of our properties) that turned into a whole big week long thing and I just don%u2019t even want to deal with that. I stay away from anything that involves animal. If I were to get involved, we would probably and up with a few pet mice and a squirrel or two. And definitely a skunk or possum. So again, I stay away from that stuff.
Then there was Wednesday. I had one of those days where everything was going wrong. To start my day I woke up with a door handle smashed into my hip which I then thought was broken (the mr sure knows how to open a door). When I got to the gym my toe started throbbing and opened up and starting bleeding again (gross), but whatever, not that bad. I then went and spent a few hours over at the loft cleaning the F out of it so that my dad had clean sheets, toilet paper, and no tools in the middle of the floor when he stayed. We are over there all the time, but something about being there that day was making me just super sad and nostalgic and I basically was just thinking about Washer and I might have cried a little. But that happens and well, yeah Then it was lunch time but I was not getting lunch, which is never a good thing with me, I was taking a trip to the dentist. Hooray for me! Good thing my teeth looked great, said I am doing a good job as usual taking care of my mouth, except I was told again that I should really consider smashing my jaw and my palette and get braces and wire my mouth shut and blah blah blah. Just give the dentist $500 million dollars and they will fix all my screwed up bite and jaw problems. Yeah, no. Dental stuff is a sore subject for me so I%u2019ll just leave it here.. So dentist made me in a bad mood on top of being sad. But I made it home and made a cake for Alex%u2019s birthday party (his friend party) which I ended up burning it. So ok, that shit happens too but then the second cake, looking all perfect when I pulled it out of the oven, well I dropped one of the pans, and burned myself a few time. And then I cried little more..Yup. Oh, and knocked over some greenware pots by my wheel because why not add some more misery to the day. I think after all that I just gave up and crawled into bed at like 730.
Thursday went a lot better. I managed to turn the broken apart cake into a single layer cake (genius) and make it actually look pretty good. I picked up farm share and got out to the fields before it started to rain (hurray for me) Barb came over and made me smile while we talked of all things Italy and I fed her broken cake bits. I hung up all my halloween bats and did some laundry and stuck a dent in paperwork and bills that needed addressing. A way better day.
Friday was a little hectic. The political stuff brought out a slight crazed rage over the craziness of the world and I am still trying to wrap my head around it (along with the last 2 years%u2026) But besides begin little wild eyed, I finish decorating the cake for Alex. Worked at the studio where I loaded 2 kilns and then some. Dropped the cake off to Alex then went to the groocery store for food for the party the next day, and somehow got pizza dough to rise at just the right speed (in and out of the fridge all day) in order to have dough for pizza birthday party for Coco (he turned 2 on Thursday!) that night. The littles came over for just a small something special for Coco. We had pizza, cookies, and a buzz lightyear balloon. He was sick so he ate no pizza and cried at the candle on his cookie, but then he ate it and that sugar made him happy, even when he was blowing super snot bubbles from his little nose. . And then Erin brought him home so he could have a sugar crash and be sick at home and the other littles could sleep over. They watched a Wrinkle in Time, while I started prepping apples and pie dough for Dads birthday pie the next day. And then we all fell asleep early. These darker nights really make it easy to crawl into bed at an early hour. (not complaining at all)
Saturday went swimmingly. I woke up made a pie and a loaf of pumpkin bread all before the littles woke up for breakfast pancakes. Barb came over, they all ate, then off we all went, the mr and I, Barb, Miley, Judah, to the farm for wagon ride and pumpkin picking. It%u2019s out tradition, and this year, we brought Coco too.(and Buzz light-year of course) The ride went great, the pumpkin patch was pristine, we all got a good pumpkin and some gourds, and no one fell off the wagon. A very successful pumpkin picking adventure. After that we all ran home and I got lunch ready, The rest of the family came, ate the food, made the mess. The mr thought it would a great idea for the medium kids to have something productive to do to keep them out of trouble so he gave them all shovels and let them dig a giant hole in the middle of the back yard because why not? Uh huh, yeah. So on top of the normal mess everyone makes, there was a heavy extra layer of dirt tracked in and out of the house. After everyone left, I got to spend a little extra time cleaning late into night. How they got mud on the bathroom walls is pretty impressive.
Today we are doing something with Dad and his other children. Either a bike ride or hike, not sure yet, but something outside that will involve trees. After that, the mr and I are going to try and find a place to camp tonight. The weekly camping is just too good. We can%u2019t not. Plus after a full week of people interaction, I could really use a night of peace and quite in the woods.
Internet from the week.
-Pumpkin Knowledge. The Best Pumpkins for Baking and Cooking. And 3 Ways to Use Those Pumpkin Guts. And What’s Actually in Your Canned Pumpkin Pur%u00e9e?
–Wigstock, ‘An Iconic Piece of Drag History,’ Lets Its Roots Show At 2018 Revival. Oh my.. SO amazing. I wish I could be there!
-100% agree with this, it really is the best brand. The One Flour You Should Buy, According to a Professional Bread Maker
-Have you heard? Drunk birds are wreaking havoc in Minnesota
-Yeah, I would live here (that tree!) or definitely in this row house%u00a0(the front door!)
–Most Introverts Would Like to Be More Extroverted. Yes and no. I love being alone and do not find it lonely, but I do wish I didn%u2019t get completely drained and feel like I have ran a marathon from being around people.
–DARK MATTER IS A HUGE MYSTERY. THIS DEVICE IS TRYING TO DETECT IT. This makes me think of the His Dark Materials Books by Phillip Pullman. (read them if you haven%u2019t, they are in my top 3 favorite books of all time)
-I kind of love this. Banksy auction prank leaves art world in shreds
-I follow this families adoption and it is so heartwarming and amazing and I just love them (Their daughter is so freaking cute, it kills me). And they are adopting again! I love how she does a Q and A about the whole thing.
And some pictures from the week.
Are you as excited about pumpkin season as I am. And not because of pumpkin spice this or that, I am talking about real squash pumpkin. I am so excited, and have started a stash. I have about 10 sugar pumpkins all through the house. Equal parts fall decor and dinner. Being able to eat your decorations is key to a successful life. I am 100 percent sure about that.
So now that we have established that it%u2019s time to eat pumpkin, we also have to realized that there are more ways to eat pumpkin then in baked goods. Savory pumpkin is just as good, if not better then sweet pumpkin. I mean, it%u2019s a squash and don%u2019t we all love a good ssavory squash situation? If you don%u2019t, well you are in the wrong place my friend.
This dish here pretty much sums up all that I ever want to eat again. Roasted pumpkin with cumin is one of the best things ever. No joke. Swiss chard is definitely my favorite green, besides spinach, (and I love kale, but chard is better then kale too!) and red lentils are my favorite kind of lentils. All I all, this small list of ingredients makes for one heck of a dish. I was pre making this for dinner for Barb and the mr. and ended up making something else for dinner so I could eat and save it all for myself. I did not share one bit of this and feel zero bad about it. I mean, I made it so it is mine. They had chili, I secretly ate this.
It%u2019s come to that. I am hiding my pumpkin and lentil dish. What is wrong with me? Ha!
Now to the best pumpkin dish ever!
The stuff. A sugar pumpkin, some swiss chard, an onion, red lentils, a few cloves of garlic. cumin, salt and pepper, and olive oil.
Cut the pumpkin in half, scoop the seeds out (save for roasting later), and chop into mouth sized chunks. Dice the onion up, and remove the stalk and thicker part of the rib from the chard leaves and dice up the stalk. Stick the leaves to the side.
Place all the chopped up stuff onto a baking sheet, drizzle with a little bit of oil, dump on some cumin and sprinkle with salt and pepper then toss it all around.
A fall roast ready for the oven.
Once veggies are in oven roasting, make the lentils. Water and lentil in a pot, bring to a boil, turn on low and let cook until lentils are done. Once cooked, sprinkle in a pinch of salt.
Also mince up the garlic and rough chop up the chard leaves.
Fall veggies are looking nice and roasted and tasting all so good. Toss in the minced garlic and chopped chard leaves and pop the baking sheet back into the oven for a little longer just until the garlic and leaves are cooked too.
Now you have your lentils and the cumin roasted pan of goodness. If you have a lime, cut that up too because it will make this all just perfect. Perfect I tell you.
Here it is. A bowl of red lentils, piled high with cumin roasted pumpkin and chard with a fresh squeeze of lime. Once you aat a few bites, tell me. Best fall dish ever, right!?!
Have a fantastic fall weekend.
-C
serve 2-3
1 pie pumpkin
1 bunch of Swiss chard (between 5-6 large stalks, more if the stalks are small)
1 yellow onion
2-3 cloves garlic
1 cup died red lentils
3 cups water
2 tablespoons cumin
A lime (optional)
salt and pepper
olive oil
Preheat oven to 400
Start by cutting pumpkin in half and removing seeds, (place seeds aside for later to roast), then cut the pumpkin into inch or so cubes. Grab the chard, remove the stalks and ribs from the leaves, place leaves to the side, and dice the stalks up. Dice onion into medium sized chunks and place all of what you have just chopped on a baking sheet. Drizzle a teaspoon or two of oil all over. Spinkle on the cumin and a pinch of salt and pepper and toss around. Evenly distribute the veggies on the pan and stick into the oven to roast, for about 25 minutes, or until the pumpkin and chard stalks are fork tender. In the meantime rough chop the leaves and mince the garlic. When the pumpkin and chard are just about done, remove pan from oven and toss in the garlic and leaves. Place pan back into oven for another 8-10 minutes or until the leaves have cooked. Remove from oven.
While the veggies are roasting, make the lentils. Place the water and lentils into a medium sized pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn down to low, giving it a stir ever few minutes until lentils are soft.Once cooked, remove from heat and season with pinch of salt salt.
When the lentils are cooked and the veggies are roasted, it%u2019s time to eat. Spoon lentils into a bowl and top with roasted veggies. Season with more salt and pepper if needed and cut up lime (optional) and squeeze juice all over. Eat right away and save any for later.
Well happy first day of fall to you! Are you as excited as I am? I am very very excited because well, cooler weather, shorter days, pretty trees, pumpkins, sweaters, and of course apples. All the apples!!
I am not going to lie, I was going to wait to do a big apple pick to start with my apple baking but this week the grocery store was selling apples form the orchard I am going to go picking from for a 77cents a pound!! I mean, I couldn%u2019t not buy 20 lbs right? Sure I felt a little guilty that they were not hand picked by me, but in a way they were because I did hand pick them form the store so that kind of counts? Plus I am still going apple picking, today in fact so not harm in having a shit ton of apples.
Anyway, so apple brownies. Why, because why not. Slightly chewy but soft, dense, full of all the cinnamon and apple walnut flavor one could want or need to feel all the feels of the apple season. Made them and fed them to the people and they were gone within a minute. Huge success in flavor and texture. and best part, it was slightly chilly out when I made them so the oven on was extra nice, and my house smelled amazing. Oh gosh, I am just so excited that it%u2019s fall, it%u2019s the best time of year!
And now I am for real going apple picking! I%u2019ll probably make these brownies again, just because you know, apples and I’ll probably come home with another 100 lbs or more so you know, I%u2019ll have the apples to do it.
The stuff. Apples. sugar, applesauce, cinnamon, and walnuts. Also some vegan butter, flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
FIrst, chop up the apples. And no, don%u2019t peel them, just chop, into little 1/2 inch cubes.
Butter and sugar get a good beat until light and fluffy (I read somewhere that when you beat the sugar with butter in brownies, it helps make that crisp, crackly top)
Fold in the apple sauce and cinnamon .
Like a galaxy of cinnamon goodness.
Then all the rest of the stuff: flour, baking soda and powder, salt, apples, walnuts, get folded in too until just incorporated.
Batter gets spread evenly in a greased and parchment lined pan. (There is parchment there, I was running low so it only covers the bottom of the pan. Better if it goes up the sides though.)
Then into the hot oven they go.
Popped out at just the right moment. See the top? A bit crisped crinkly, kind of like a brownie! Now pop them out of the pan and let cool completely. Or cool enough to cut. Or, cool enough to handle and eat%u2026..
There you go, apple walnut brownies.
And now you can officially enjoy the first day of fall because there is a lot of apple goodness in these brownies and what is fall without apples?!!
Have the best day.
-C
makes a 9×9 pan of apple goodness
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup vegan butter
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 large Macintosh apples (about 2 cups chopped)
Preheat oven to 350
Core and dice apples into about 1/2 inch cubes . Measure out 2 cups ans eat any left over apple chunks. In a large bowl, beat together vegan butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Fold in the applesauce and cinnamon. In a smaller bowl whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Dump into wet mixture, along with the apples and walnuts and fold together until just evenly incorporated. Grease and parchment line a 9×9 baking sheet. Dump the batter into the pan and spread evenly then pop into oven and bake for 40- 45 minutes or until browned and a tester stuck in the middle comes out clean. Check after 35 minutes%u2026 you don%u2019t want to over bake! Once cooked all the way through, remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes. Once cool enough to handle, remove the brownies from the pan (you really need to line the pan with parchment to do this) and let cool completely on a wire rack. When they are cool (if you can wait that long because really, these are great eaten warm too.), cut and eat.
Store left overs in a airtight container for a day or two or freeze any extra. Great warmed and serves with a scoop of some ice cream or a yogurt situation.