Pumpkin Palooza Part 3

Today I bring you yet another pumpkin adventure and this one is absolutely perfect because the temperature has dropped and I'm seating heating oil trucks all over the place making deliveries now. Soup just my be my favorite food in the entire world if you think that's an odd statement I'd suggest you get yourself looked at.

I'll be the first to admit that I couldn't get the beef to even try this, though I will also admit that I didn't push too hard because I wanted to keep it for myself.

Most of the soups I make are more of an all day project but this was quick and easy and gave me the satisfaction of having made it myself as well as a warm full belly.

If you're looking for bursts of flavor you might want to look elsewhere or find something to jazz this up (an apple?), it's very simple and comforting and isn't likely to wow the socks off of any dinner party guests.




What you will need:

2 tablespoons butter 

1 small onion, chopped 

2 (15 oz.) cans pumpkin puree

4 cups water

1 cup milk 

2 tablespoons maple syrup
Salt & Pepper to taste

What to do with it:Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat; add onion and cook, stirring often until very soft, about 8 minutes.
Add pumpkin, water, milk, syrup, salt and pepper; bring to a boil.
 Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, whisking often, or hit it with the immersion blender as I did.

What's your favorite kind of soup?

How exciting!

I'm going to attempt a more obnoxious picture when I get my new phone case. 

Oh hey look at this, you get a bonus entry today! :)

A while back I started linking up for #iPPP and I really enjoyed it because it allowed me to connect with some really great bloggers that I still follow and read up on, even when I don't bother to comment.

I felt a tiny bit like a fraud though because apparently iPPP stands for iPhone Photo Phun and I've always had a droid.

The Beef has always been obsessed with his iphone and I've always delighted in making fun of that. My favorite phone in the entire world was the Incredible 2 because it did exactly what I wanted it too all the time, it never confused me and it had a really cool name. Sadly a few months back after a long and happy life it started to kick the bucket so I went out and replaced it with a Galaxy S3 and I just hated it, it was too big, had no battery life, a shotty keyboard and didn't function the way I wanted it to.

Then all of a sudden I decided to be an adult and remove myself from the family plan I've been on since I was 16 years old and strike it out on my own. That's seriously expensive though for reasons I just cannot understand and suddenly it made perfect sense to just jump on The Beef's cell phone plan because it would only cost me half as much money.

Why haven't I done this sooner? Well, he's on a different provider and I felt loyal to mine, probably because of advertising brainwashing. Also, I knew if we were on the same provider I'd end up being talked into an iphone. I don't really care, it was just more the principle of the matter since we had our in home iphone/droid battle that was kind of fun.

So here we go, my first actual legit iPPP.

And due to some major stupidity on my part that will be fixed shortly I only have 1 picture on my phone, but I think it's worth a post all it's own.

I don't care that I'm being a dick and he's letting me know it, look at those peepers *swoon*

Behold! An extremely well deserved "you are being a total muggance" face because I absolutely was. This is now the background on my phone because he set it that way and I haven't quite gotten around to customizing anything yet, maybe I should keep it as a reminder to myself.

Books are your friends

So I've been on a bit of a reading kick lately. Not too much variety in my book choices but that's probably because b New England gets a bit spooky in the fall and Stephen King fits right in. Though as the years go on it becomes increasingly difficult for me to find books of his that I haven't read yet. Something about his story telling speaks to me and comforts me. Though I cannot be sure if it's him or the fact that I began reading his works when I was 11 and perhaps since most of the story lines are intertwined I feel like I'm visiting very old friends. I am very proud to to be a constant reader.

Either way below you will find three of my latest SK adventures and something completely different for those of you who don't adore as I do.

 

I absolutely love short stories because they give me so much to ponder when they are over and this was no exception. This story stole an afternoon of my life because I couldn't find the lull that would make it alright for me to put it down. It was a nice mix of creepy and gory with a heaping dose of WTF. 

This particular book has been on my mental "to read" list for as long as I can remember. I'm not sure what stopped me but I'm glad it did. I feel like now in my late 20s I was able to truly appreciate the story that showed real life can be so much more horrible than fantasy.

I pre ordered as soon as it was available to do so. The shining is one of my favorite books and the fact that it was getting a sequel thrilled me beyond belief. I get rather attached to the characters I read about in books and the chance to catch up with some of them absolutely did not disappoint.

And now for something completely different. 

I have a family history with Alzheimer's and every day I take care of people who have dementia. I highly recommend this book to anyone who will interact with someone who falls into either of those categories. This is a disease that not many understand and when it affects someone that you love it becomes even harder to understand because emotions can get in the way. This book puts a lot into perspective and provides the reader with an alternate way to view the disease as well as it's victim.

What are you currently reading? Anything I might like?  

Pumpkin Palooza Part 2!

I'm not sure if I'm physically capable of trying a new recipe that doesn't have pumpkin in it this time of year. I grew up on my Grandmother's monkey bread recipe that was seriously delicious and much simpler to make. Despite this recipe taking a million times longer to complete, if you have the time I highly recommend it because the pumpkin flavor is out of this world. 

What you need to make the Monkey Bread:

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 cup milk

2 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) active dry yeast

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

1 1/4 cup white sugar (separated)

1 tsp salt

2 1/2 cups white flour

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp fresh ground nutmeg

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

What you need to make Buttered Rum Glaze:

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

1/8 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 Tbsp milk

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 Tbsp rum

How To Make The Monkey Bread:

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, brown 2 tablespoons of butter, letting it bubble up and turn a dark golden brown but being careful not to allow it burn (turn black). 

Once browned, remove the pan from the heat and carefully add the milk, return to stove and heat through.

Pour the milk and butter into the bowl and allow to cool so it is warm. Once it has reached a warm but not hot temperature add the yeast and 1/4 cup of 1/4 cup of sugar and allow to proof (this can take up to 8 minutes, the top will look foamy and the liquid cloudy). 

Then add the the pumpkin, salt, and 1 cup of flour. 

Stir until combined then add the rest of the flour 1/2 cup at a time and knead for 6 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic and just slightly sticky. If the dough is too moist, add extra flour 1 tablespoon at a time.

Move dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean towel. Allow to rise in a warm place for 60-90 minutes or until doubled in size.

While dough is rising, brown another 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the 1 cup of sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg and mix well. Making sure sugar evenly absorbs the butter. Set aside. 

Next, grease and flour a 9×5 loaf pan and set aside.

When the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and flip out onto a clean floured surface and knead with hands for 1-2 minutes. Roll dough into a 20×12 inch rectangle.  

Evenly sprinkle the dough with the cinnamon sugar mixture and press into dough with palms of the hand. Cut the rectangle into 6 strips. Lay strips on top of each other and cut each strip into 6 even squares (cut in half then each half into thirds). 

Stack strips vertically into the loaf pan. 

Cover the pan with a clean towel and let rise for 30-45 minutes.

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. After rising in the pan bake for 30-40 minutes or until top is a very deep golden brown.

To prepare the glaze, heat the butter, milk, and brown sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to boil then immediately remove the pan from the heat and stir in the rum and powdered sugar.

Remove bread from pan and pour glaze over it.
Enjoy!

Think Before You Speak

I've seen the above image or one quite similar to it on pinterest all over the place for about as long as I've been using the site. The concept of thinking before you speak isn't something new, it was something my mother tried to hammer into my brain from the moment I was born. I can't imagine that I am alone in this.

When we first got engaged everyone's first question was "did you set a date yet". Honestly, it's none of their business but most people don't know what to say after congratulations and it's somehow become socially acceptable to pry for the sake of small talk.

 I this case I find the habit more annoying than offensive but that's just me. 

However, once you get married this somehow makes it alright for people to pry even further and in this instance I do find it offensive.

"So when are you having kids?" Is without a doubt the question I've gotten the most since married, I tried to keep track how many times I've been asked but I lost count around 534.

I don't know when it became alright to discuss such a private matter but it needs to stop.

"So when are you having kids?"  - What a loaded question. 

Asked to me by people I barely know, some I would hardly consider acquaintances. 

I understand that most people don't mean any harm by asking this question. They might not even actually be curious, just making conversation.

But just think for one minute, how would you feel during this conversation?

You: "So when are you having kids?"
Other person: "What makes you think that I can?"

Think about that next time you're just trying to make small talk.

The National Infertility Association 

Pumpkin Palooza!

Fall is here which means you can't turn around without bumping into something that is pumpkin flavored. So here I am to add to that with a recipe I tried for the very first time this week.

Fun fact: It is nearly impossible for me to type the word pumpkin correctly the first time it always comes out punkin, possibly because that's what my dad calls me. 

These are also completely edible and super tasty as muffins. 

(you know, without the frosting)

What you need for the cupcakes:

2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground allspice

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup canola oil

1 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar, loosely packed

2 eggs

3/4 cup milk

1 (15-oz.) can pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)

What you'll need for the Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 packages cream cheese (regular or light), softened

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened

3 1/2 to 4 cups confectioner’s sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp ground cinnamon

How to make pumpkin cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line muffin pans.
I used one 12 piece regular muffin pan and one 6 piece large muffin pan. 

In medium bowl, blend the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, baking powder, baking soda, & salt. Set aside.

In large bowl, blend canola oil, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition. Stir in the milk and pumpkin puree and blend well. Add the flour mixture into this pumpkin mixture and stir until blended. Pour batter into muffin cups, filling each cup about 2/3 full.

Bake at 350 degrees for 17-25 minutes depending on the size of your cupcakes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in pans for about 5 minutes, then remove to completely cool on a wire rack.

You can make the frosting while cupcakes are cooling…

How to make the cinnamon cream cheese frosting:

Blend softened cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Add in vanilla and cinnamon, blending everything well. Gradually add confectioner’s sugar a cup at a time, blending mixture after each addition.

Frost cupcakes when they have completely cooled. Seriously, if you do it too early it's a drippy mess.

Also, because of the cream cheese these should be refrigerated if you're saving them.

 In my opinion they actually tasted much better the next day. 

The Beef thought they were fantastic from the get go. 

Who Are You People?!

So just for shits and giggles I decided to browse some of the stats for this blog. It's not normally something I pay attention to or even care about but I'm glad I looked because I found a few interesting things.

Approximately 34% of my pageviews come from outside of the United States, with the largest amount coming from Russia. I am fascinated by this and while I'm not sure how you found me I would like to say Здравствуйте! Как поживаете? Don't get too excited though, aside from собака that's all I've retained from a Russian language/history course I took in high school.

A whopping 40% of my pageviews come from people who are using Internet Explorer.  Now, if you'd asked me I would say that I didn't know a single person who still used IE (I even upgraded my mom to Chrome) so I'm quite confused. Am I friends with closet IE users? Also, if you happen to be someone who is currently using IE, can you please explain why?

71% of my pageviews come from windows operating systems which wasn't surprising to me even though I'm futsin' with a Mac these days. What was surprising however was that under the operating systems list I found out that people are indeed viewing from their droid, iphones and in 56 cases, a blackberry. Who is viewing blogs on a blackberry? There were also a few ipad instances which is a new category for my blog viewers and 43 views from an ipod which completely blows my mind because I can't imagine using my ipod to read my own blog, let alone someone elses.

If you fall into any of these categories feel free to speak up, I'd love to hear from you.

And then came the search terms that led people stumble upon the blog. The most popular has been anything related to the NY Football Giants though I somehow don't see that number growing this season. All things pertaining to Notre Dame football also seem to lead people this way. However, it was the phrase "famous squirrels" that gave me the biggest chuckle off of the search terms list.

I'd also like to apologize to whomever it was that found their way here by searching for "spank buttons" I'm sure this was a colossal disappointment.

As far as referring sites go facebook and blogs that belong to my friends are riding high the list. Google also seems to be a big fan which I'm not surprised about because does anyone really use yahoo or bing these days?





And for whatever reason this is my most viewed post.

So basically, I don't know how you found me or why you're here or why you even keep coming back but if you've found something fun or entertaining I'm glad.