Category: Uncategorized

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

 These are my new favorite cookie… so divinely moist and fluffy and soft and pumpkin pie-ishly  chocolate. If you like those two flavors, you will LOVE these cookies.  

Ingredients:

1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil   (I used olive oil )
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)  – I don’t like them in it.

Directions:

1. Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir in. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.

2. Add vanilla, chocolate chips and nuts.

3. Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly brown and firm.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2010 Allrecipes.com Printed from Allrecipes

Spooked

  It’s a ridiculous thing I’ve been tormented by for most of my remembered life.  I LOVE a good horror movie.. a ghost story,  a haunted place.  And yet… it all  SCARES THE HELL OUT OF ME.  I still can’t watch The Exorcist all the way through, and I don’t even want to be in the same house as a Ouija board…. but it fascinates me still.    I kid you not… on Halloween I used to keep rosary beads and holy water on my windowsill so Vampires couldn’t come in, or at least I’d be prepared if they did.   Why the fear of Vampires?  I have no idea.  It’s probably not wise to tell you I finished all four Twilight books in nine days… NINE DAYS!.. but.. it put a whole new spin on the Vampire thing for me, you see. 

Thank you, Stephenie Meyer.

  What I’m really getting at is, I love Halloween. It’s my favorite holiday, and I think it’s because we get to step out of the box.   Be something, do something, dress like something different.  Anything!  The sky is the limit.  Nothing is really expected of you on Halloween.. it’s all for fun…and Candy Corn.

   This year the holiday brings with it a little sadness. My kids are beyond trick-or-treating with parents in tow.  My daughter is going to a  Halloween dance at her college and my son will be heading out with a group of his friends. Last year they were dressed as a wedding party and I at least got to buy him an old suit at the Goodwill store. He actually came with me to pick it out!   This year I asked if I could deck him out in Zombie attire and I just got an eye roll.  Alas…. the proverbial apron string has snapped.

   I already miss the evening walks with flashlights in hand, crunching fragrant leaves underfoot, and the  glorious smell of woodsmoke in neighboring fireplaces while the kids dart ahead from door to door to door.  Is it too much to ask if I still get to inspect and raid the stash when it’s dumped on the kitchen table at the end of the night?

I’m not one of those who dresses my dogs up for the holiday
 (not that there’s anything wrong with that)
These costumes, however, are awesome.

           My Favorite!

Love these too…

For those of you who are local… there are lots of spooky fun things to do in CT…
The Dark Manor Haunted House – voted CT’s No. 1 scariest haunted house attraction
Lyman Orchards Corn Maze, Thru Oct. 31
Haunted Hayride – This one made me scream like the little girl that I am no longer. 
 Great for tweens, teens, and adults especially.

October 21-23, 27-30; gates open at dusk
Corner of Ingham Hill Road and Elm Street, Old Saybrook
860.395.5550
Admission: $12; under 11, $6 ($1 discount with a canned food donation for the Shoreline Soup Kitchen)
More info: A possessed tractor-drawn wagon leads you into the deep, dark, demented woods for a 40-minute ride into the ghastly world of ghosts, goblins and ghouls. **WARNING: The haunted hayride is very scary and may be frightening to younger children; parental discretion is advised.
  

A lesson in Pie

  Last weekend while driving through the Shelburne Falls and Greenfield leg of our Vermont day trip,  we passed a church holding a pie sale.  There were several older women standing at the roadside with one pie in hand, waving to passers-by.  I knew those pies would be good, but my eager family didn’t want to stop just yet.  So on we went.

 That evening as we headed for home, we again came across the waving ladies and their pies… still smiling, still waving.  I couldn’t pass them by again.  We pulled over and  I crossed the street and approached the first waving lady, the one with the biggest smile.  I said  ” We saw you this morning and you’re still here waving and selling pies!”…  and she said ”  We’re almost out, go grab one for yourself, they are divine!  I’m smiling because I made alot of those pies and I know that I’ll be making someone happy today. My pies are that good, and our church and it’s people in need will benefit from this sale.”     With that she gave me a big hug and said “Thank you for taking the time to stop by”.

  When I got back in the car my son asked “Why did that lady give you a hug, mom? What did you say?”   I told him I didn’t say much, she was just thankful for our simplest gesture of stopping to buy one of her pies.  The money will go to a cause she believes in and we helped just a little bit for them to get to their goal.”

    That hug from a stranger warmed me.  Moments like these remind me, sustain me, fill me with hope.  They don’t come often and there should be more of them.  It doesn’t take much to contribute to the greater good of the world. I could easily fall into a black hole of despair over the state of so many things. I hate reading the news in any form, so much in the negative. What could I ever possibly do that might make a difference?   But there are things each one of us can do.. little things, baby steps, moments of kindness.

 When we arrived home I tore into that pie and boy, was it good.  I noticed something else too…. those ladies probably made about 20-30 pies each before the sale… I’m guessing there were about 200 to sell.   Notice the little leaf in the pie crust. When you’re cranking out a lot of pies… this is an unnecesary embelishment and it takes more work.   An extra detail on each pie, just because.  Another kind gesture, another hug.

    For $10  I got a heck of a lot more than just a really good apple pie.

 “Anything you do from the soulful self will help
lighten the burdens of the world.
Anything. 
You have no idea what the smallest word,
the tiniest generosity, can cause to be set in motion…
Mend the part of the world that is within your reach.”  
-Clarissa Pinkola Estes

quote taken from the book
the gift of an ordinary day, by Katrina Kenison

    

Lemon & Garlic Roast Chicken

 I get many good recipes from foodnetwork.com. This is a terrific roast chicken recipe, moist and delicious.

Lemon and Garlic Roast Chicken

Photo & recipe courtesy Footnetwork

Ingredients:
•1 (5 to 6-pound) roasting chicken
• salt
•Freshly ground black pepper
•1 large bunch fresh thyme
•4 lemons
•3 heads garlic, cut in 1/2 crosswise
•2 tablespoons butter, melted
•1/2 pound sliced bacon
•1 cup white wine
•1/2 cup chicken stock

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pinfeathers and pat the outside dry. Place the chicken in a large roasting pan. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the thyme, reserving enough thyme to garnish the chicken dish, 1 lemon, halved, and 2 halves of the garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Cut 2 of the lemons in quarters and scatter the quarters and remaining garlic around the chicken. Lay the bacon slices over the chicken to cover.

Roast the chicken for 1 hour. Remove the bacon slices from the top of the chicken and set aside. Continue roasting the chicken for an additional 1/2 hour, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove to a platter and cover with aluminum foil while you prepare the gravy.

Remove all but 2 tablespoons of the fat from the bottom of the pan. Add the wine and chicken stock and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes, or until reduced by half.
Slice the chicken on a platter. Garnish the chicken platter with the bacon slices, roasted garlic, reserved thyme and 1 lemon, sliced. Serve with the gravy.

The Nature of Color

 Krippled Warrior wrote a good post today that pondered the “nature” of color and its great gift to us.  I’ve often thanked my lucky stars that I am only hearing impaired and not sight impaired. I am constantly aware of the beauty in things we so often take for granted…. things that don’t cost a cent to enjoy. 

 

  I captured yesterday’s swirling blue sky against the changing leaves…

    And this… epic fail.  *sigh*
Houston, we have a problem.

For the Love of Old

 This little farm is a stone’s throw from here.  Its family of many years has grown up, grown older and grown away.  Holding on to the place is no longer a reasonable option for the next generation.  I asked permission to take photos a while back and today I spent an hour walking the land. It’s easy to imagine a simpler time when carriages rode up and down the long drive, livestock occupied the barnyard and the blacksmith was an occasional visitor.  It’s clear the place was loved.  My hope is that someone will love it again, just as it was before.

Makes me wonder

 I just had a blog comment conversation with a fellow blogger who’s observations on life are pretty straight up and hilarious too.  I asked what he knew about those weird rope-like neck things I’ve seen major league baseball players (and it’s now reached into little league circles, too) and the answer surprised me.

 So I googled..and I found exactly what he said…

They are necklaces embedded with titanium.  “More common in major league clubhouses than 24-karat gold chains are $23 nylon necklaces, produced in Japan and distributed to athletes looking for the latest edge. Representatives from Phiten, a company based in Japan that sells the necklaces, say the nylon is coated in a titanium solution that can help improve circulation and reduce muscle stress.”     Many players feel the necklace gives them more energy and they heal faster from muscle injuries.

These are the specs:

Size: About 20” (50cm)
Front: Nylon 100%
Reverse: Cotton 65%, Polyester 35%
Middle layer: Silicone impregnated with Carbonized Titanium     (IMPREGNATED!)

Very interesting article about this very debate…  http://www.scienceline.org/2008/10/ask-fox-phiten-necklace/

*sigh*   Have you seen them?  It’s just my personal opinion, of course, but I think they look silly.  Like grown men sporting a teen fad…remember the sharks tooth necklace, the macrame bracelet or choker that you never took off, not even in the shower?    Do they really believe these things give them an edge?  As the above article implies, there are arguments for both sides.  Power of Suggestion and Placebo effect make more sense to me than believing these necklaces weild power.

As usual, Japan’s on to something.

Hey,  I’ve got a bridge for sale………

Scenic Route 100, Vermont

  We handcuffed the kids to the inside of the truck so that we could spend some quality family time on a scenic ride up north today.   (bread and water were provided, sanity wasn’t part of the deal). 

  I can happily report we all seemed to enjoy the trip once the heavy sighs and eye-rolling and proclamation of ruination of any kind of social life subsided.  Duct tape had nothing to do with it, I swear.

Vermont’s Route 100 is  one of the most scenic roads in New England with incredible mountain views.   Running north-south, it starts at the Canadian border and ends at the Vermont/Massachusetts border.

 The water is so clear.

 We rented this log cabin once. It sits on the VAST trails… awesome for snowmobiling. 
We were thrilled to find it again and see it when it’s not under three feet of snow.
 The Silo at the base of Mt. Snow.. great hot cider and burgers.

   Two things that stood out today… the colors were OK, but not spectacular…and as we got farther up into the state it was clear we had actually missed the colors.  The other thing… and this really bothers me… is that there are so many vacant houses and so many businesses either closed or stuggling.  One of my favorite stops in the Mt. Snow area  is Adams Farm… an old family farm in business since 1865. They made great fudge, goats milk soap and syrup. There were sleigh rides in the winter and Hay wagon rides in the fall and an extensive farmyard petting zoo.  When we pulled in  I thought it looked vacant…and indeed, it’s closed and going out of business. The farm is for sale due to the down-turn in the economy. 
 I found this article online… I wish I could tell the family how sorry I am that this has happened, and that they will be missed.
*sigh*   Something’s gotta give.