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Pumpkin Doughtnuts

These, in our opinion were better than the pumpkin doughnuts at Dunkin (which just moved in about a block from our house, an exciting day for us, let me tell you). We tried these two ways, with a glaze and with the cinnamon sugar coating. The cinnamon sugar always takes the cake, or in this case the cake doughnut.

Ingredients
1/2T apple cidar vinegar
6T almond milk
1/2c fresh pureed pumpkin
1/4c organic cane sugar
3T unsweetened applesauce
2T lightly packed brown sugar
2T butter, melted
2t baking powder
1/4t baking soda
2t pumpkin pie spice
1/2t salt
1c all-purpose flour
1/2c whole wheat pastry flour

Recipe
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease doughnuts pans with butter.
 In a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar, milk, pumpkin, sugar, applesauce, brown sugar, and melted butter. Mix in the dry ingredients (baking powder, baking soda, spices, salt, and flours). Stir until just combined. Using a ‘zip-lock’, spoon the batter into the bag and then secure it with the zip lock. Twist the bag slightly and then cut off a hole at the corner to pipe out the batter. Pipe the dough around the circle and gently flatten down with slightly wet fingers to smooth. Repeat.
Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350F or until they gently spring back when touched. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before carefully using a butter knife to remove. Place on cooling rack for another 10-15 minutes.
Cinnamon Sugar: Melt more butter in a small bowl and dip the cooled doughnuts into butter one at a time. Transfer the dipped doughnut into a bag with the cinnamon sugar and shake until coated thoroughly. Doughnuts keep for 2-3 days.

One of the only things I like about the midwest...

...Cider Mills, we drove awhile to get to this one, but it is fall after all.

Soup.

 

My dear friend, Kirstin's has been writing some lovely things about what I consider it's own food group, soup. Her last post really summed up our (and I'm sure yours as well) extreme love for a pot of vegetables, beans and warmth. Soup ends up on our table at least twice a week, but in the winter, we have soup or stew almost every day.

I like routine, and Monday's are my very favorite day. I generally shop for groceries for the week and bring everything home and prep for the upcoming busy days. A whole chicken heads right for a crock pot filled with onions, garlic, lemon and thyme. The chicken will be used for many meals to come, but most importantly, those bones are made into stock, so we can enjoy soup all week long.

If you haven't made chicken stock before, I just take the drippings from the pan I cooked the chicken in, the lemon, thyme, onions and garlic go right into a large stock pot along with the bones. Fill with water and simmer for 8-10 hours. It's so easy and so perfect for the cold nights ahead.

Since we have been a little sick the last few weeks,  I knew we needed a big bowl of vegetables and ginger. So I made carrot ginger soup. It was so simple but we couldn't stop slurping it. It is sweet and earthy from the carrots but spicy and warm from lots of ginger. We served ours with crusty bread, spread with a 1-1 parts dijon and maple syrup, topped with crisp apples and greens.

Carrot Soup

Ingredients:

2lbs Carrots, peeled and chopped

2 apples, chopped

1 onion, diced

5tbs ginger, minced

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

6-8 cups stock

3tbs apple cider vinegar

Orange, zest and juice

Cinnamon

Thyme

s&p

Recipe:

In a large pot, sweat onions over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger and cook for 10 minutes or until soft. Add carrots, apples, stock, apple cider vinegar, zest and juice of an orange, cinnamon, thyme, salt and pepper. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer and simmer about 30 minutes or until carrots are tender. Start pureeing in batches, using a blender or food processor until smooth. 

Happy Sweetest Day!

 

To my love.

Do you celebrate sweetest day? I wasn't introduced to this holiday until moving to Michigan a few years ago. I think it is more of a midwest thingI consider it a mini Valentine's day but I'm never going to complain about a reason to do something special.

Friday Senses.

Making: Butternut Squash Pizza

Ingredients

1 crust, this is our favorite

1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/4 in. disks.

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4c olive oil

1/2c ricotta cheese

sage,thyme,rosemary

s&p

Recipe

Drizzle squash with olive oil, s&p and roast in preheated oven for 20 minutes at 425F, until fork tender.

Meanwhile, roll out pizza dough and place on parchment paper on a baking pan. Heat olive oil and garlic over low heat for 5-10 and brush over dough. Mix ricotta cheese, s&p, fresh thyme and rosemary together and spread over dough. Then arrange squash on top of pizza and season generously with sage. Bake for 10-12 at 500F or until crust is crispy.

Seeing: Rows and rows of garter stitch, making a christmas secret.

Hearing: Ascend the Hill, such beautiful worship and memories of YWAM.

Smelling: Butternut Squash roasting in the oven.

Tasting: Theo, salted almond dark chocolate.

Feeling: Sore and tired, but thankful for a husband who cares for me.

Loving: Warm sweaters and socks, the air is getting quite chilly.

Reading: Sprouted Kitchen, these pictures are lovely.

Praying: for our upcoming move, for patience in the time left here.

Happy Birthday Jamie!

 

 

As you may know by now, birthday's are my favorite. We celebrated my husband's by a trip to the pancake house, discovery world, checkerboard cake, a cider mill trip, games and lots of time together!

Back to fall,

 

 I may be enjoying fall a little too much, I seem to have lost track of other things.

Because I am a lover of lists, here is a list of things I've been enjoying:

-Yoga before bed, some nice stretching and restoring before I fall asleep.

-Baking, man some yummy fall recipes have been created and eaten in the last few weeks.

-A friend got married a few weeks ago, not only was it a beautiful celebration, it was fall themed - complete with a soup bar and caramel apple bar!

-Cookie butter from Trader Joe's.

-Knitting, although it's been a little slow these days.

-Revenge, wow these writers are quite creative.

These are just a few, what about you?

Friday Senses.

Making: Mittens, I'm kind of making it up as I go.

Seeing: Crate and Barrel, doing some shopping for an upcoming wedding!

Hearing: poor Jamie talking to angry customers!

Smelling: Pumpkin spice from anodyne. (It's nothing like starbucks.)

Tasting: browned-butter, nutella-stuffed, chocolate chip cookies. 

Feeling: happy, we had some fun family time this week!

Loving: a new ballet teacher, she's tough (it's awesome!)

Reading: recipes, I love cookbooks.

Praying: for wisdom in the way we use our time and money.

Just an outfit..

Top: Ae, Sweater: f21, Cords: UO, Shoes: Thrifted, Jewelry: target and thrifted.

Just a fall outfit and a quote:

"Let my life not be marked by striving, but instead by surrender.”

-source

Cherish.

Sweater, Skirt&Belt: f21, Shoes: jcpenny, Necklace: francesca's

This week, I'm cherishing:

Coffee with my mom and sister

Knitting

Monday mornings with my husband (time off!)

Brown rice cakes with creamed honey and pecans (thanks k!)

Sweaters

Jamie wearing the socks I knit (what a feeling!)

Yarn

Planning Jamie's birthday!

Putt Putt golf with the whole family

fro-yo

Chilly mornings with warmer afternoons

Saturday morning dance classes

Knitted:

I knit this cardigan with finch clay yarn from Quince & Co. This was my very first cardigan, my first sweater and it was a very fun knit! The shoulders are a little large on me, which is the case with most things, but I love the positive ease on this knit. It's soft and warm, perfect for a fall evening. I wore it to play putt-putt golf with my family!

Friday Senses.

Making: This cardigan. my very first!

Seeing: Road and road and more road. We drive far for pointe shoes around here. 

Hearing: friends planning their wedding, what an exciting time!

Smelling: soup, lots of chicken noodle. trying to kick the sickness here. also, ginger shots... yes a shot of pure ginger.

Tasting: Dandelion chocolate. so tasty!

Feeling: Cozy in a cardigan, it feels like fall!

Loving: a relaxing weekend, it was a busy work week for me. 

Reading: Ratio a loan from the lovely Kirstin.

Praying: for health.
Wishing: For Jamie's birthday!!

on bees, or maybe wasps.

Top: Charming Charlie, Skirt&Shoes: Thrifted, Glasses: Bonlook, Necklace: aerie

This picture was taken prior to the 3 bee/wasp stings I would encounter while babysitting.
By far, the worst time I have ever had while playing with children.
Two of the three girls were each stung once but I was the target evidently.
So me, two screaming girls, a baby and three bees spent the evening together.
I shut the little ones in a room while trying to kill the bees that came in on our clothes (what???) all the time wishing I was locked up in that room too, with a blanket and some chocolate milk (my comfort food).

To end the night TWO hours later, I felt something scratching my shoulder, only to peel back my sweater and button down, to find a bee crawling around in my shirt........ ah! These bees were really making it personal.