Catching Up

Well, it's been quite a while since I posted anything. I've been traveling for the new j-o-b while trying to stay on top of emails, emails, emails.

Here's what's been going on...

I've been seeing more and more white falling from the sky. The dogs are loving it!

Even with the temps dropping and some white on the ground, radishes were hanging on strong.

I've finally finished my office. After finishing my desk, James put together a quick DIY shelf. We found a plank of wood on our property, and I found these two brackets for $20 at an antique store. And there you have a shelf for scarves and bags. We found the big cedar chest in North Carolina at an antique store. It's great for sweaters and other bulky items that take up space in drawers.

One other DIY project that James and I did together is a coat rack. We needed a place for hats, rain gear and heavy coats. I found this old piece of fence on our property and we cut it down smaller with a skill saw. (My first time using a skill saw! It kind of makes you feel like a bad ass.) Then, we screwed on some rustic curtain rod brackets that I found for a $1 each. I love this $4 project.

We're off to Flagstaff to visit friends for Thanksgiving!! One of the many benefits of living out west...we get to see great friends that were once too far away.

Have a great week!

B

Check it out

It's funny to look back to a few years ago when "blog" was a somewhat foreign word to me and now it is a part of my everyday vocab. I love them. I love reading them; reading about people and things from all over the country from everything from recipes, to decorating, to budgeting, to family life, etc. Some of the writers I know, but most I don't. 

Blogs are a part of my everyday life. I get giddy when I stumble across a new one and it captures my attention for minutes or hours. This morning, I stumbled across one that I immediately had to send out to some friends and I wanted to send it to everyone I knew so I thought I would share it here before I got too email happy.

All Things Farmer

Check it out. You have to. If nothing else, just scroll through the pictures. There is something effortless and cozy about the posts and pictures to me, yet creative and elegant. 

I've already grabbed a few recipes to try, such as this Raspberry Black Bean Dip. I've never heard of such a thing.

I hope you check it out and find it inspiring.

A

Wait, don't throw away that

PUMPKIN! 


Remember this guy? Well his parts have a new home. I have been debating about using his insides in numerous ways and after work today I just went for it. I've been so busy with him that I didn't even stop to get my camera and take pictures.

After I took his top off (get your mind out of the gutter), I gutted him and dropped his goop and seeds in a bowl full of water. While the seeds were soaking, I cut the entire pumpkin into sections and put them inside side down in a glass baking dish. I had to use four. Oh and the oven was preheating to 450. No oil, no seasonings, no water, it just went straight in the oven for 1 hour. Once it was done cooking, I laid the pieces on cooling racks inside side up to cool. I let them cool for oh a good hour I would say, and I just finished scooping out the flesh and putting it all in a bowl. Tonight or tomorrow I plan to puree it and freeze it. This will be my alternative to canned pumpkin. I already know I will be making multiple Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Breads with it and who knows what else.

I baked the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread this weekend (with canned pumpkin) and it was a big hit with Wes. Here's the recipe and I remembered to take a picture! I can't remember the source and I changed it a little so it is now mine. :)

Ingredients

1 cup sugar

1 cup pumpkin (canned or fresh)

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 eggs

1/2 c whole wheat flour (or all purpose)

1c all purpose flour 

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 heaping cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Combine the first five ingredients and mix well. Add remaining ingredients. Mix together and pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.  Keep an eye on the bread and if the edges are browning too much, cover the bread loosely with foil until done baking. 

*If you can, wait for it to cool before tasting. It is so much better at room temperature than warm.

As for the seeds, they just finished roasting. While the seeds and goop were sitting in the bowl of water, I swished everything around to remove the goop. The seeds then went onto a baking sheet and were blotted to remove as much water as possible.  After drizzling a little bit of olive oil and sprinkling with cinnamon, I tossed them to evenly coat and into the oven they went. After 10 minutes, they were stirred and then finished after another 15 minutes. 

Yum!

A