Pumpkin Spice Bread

Stephen is SO my son. Something vaguely resembling a report card was sent home yesterday, where-in we learn that the kid has a 4th grade reading level (that's my boy!!) and also has a bit of trouble respecting teachers... (um, unfortunately, also my boy...) He's already starting to speed-read like me, and already starting to decide that he is smarter than his classmates and has better things to do than listen. Ack. I so deserve this. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree indeed!! If I wasn't being challenged at school, I would completely disregard my teacher. I had such an attitude... well, at least I can relate to him, right?? We gotta fix this!! Or he'll turn out like meee. Oh wait... I didn't turn out so bad... :)

You'll never believe what happened yesterday!! Our first SNOW!! Only an inch or two, but undeniably, snow. Now, there is a fabulous warm holiday drink I was going to share with you in honor of the first snow, but it just doesn't feel right till November at least!! So instead, I will finally jump on the Fall recipe bandwagon, and share with you the best pumpkin bread ever.

Pumpkin Spice Bread (makes 2 loaves)
Printable Recipe

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
 3 1/3 cup flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 Tb cinnamon
1 Tb nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 can of pumpkin
2/3 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease/line 2 loaf pans.

Whisk together all dry ingredients (including sugars). Add all wet ingredients and mix well. Pour into prepared pans, and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean, or with a few crumbs.

This is the one recipe that I can make any time I want, with no grumbles from Stephen. He loves when I bake, but is much more health conscious than I, and gets tired of sweet baked things long before I do. (It takes a looooong time for me!) I love making this batch, and giving one loaf away; it's always a hit.

It's easy as pie! Easier, actually. Dump stuff in a bowl, mix well, and you are rewarded with high-rising, deep golden brown beautiful loaf that makes your whole house smell delecteable! Soft and moist, deep layers of rich spices and pumpkin, and a crisp outside crust (that's the brown sugar!) It took me years of tweaking to get it this wonderful, and it was worth it!!

Want to make it even more scrumptious?? Slather on some of this delicious cream cheese spread. Mmmmm...

1/2 stick salted butter, softened
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 Tsp vanilla
1 1/2-2 cups powdered sugar

Combine all, beat till smooth.

Stephen likes his best with butter, and I usually don't make the spread, but it is soooo good, I had to share it.  Of course, the bread IS still wonderful just with warm, melted butter too!! It's addicting, when I make some I usually eat it for breakfast for days...

I'm baking with pumpkin; Fall is Here!!

Blog Swap!

Guess what! This is my first ever blog swap!! My new friend Amanda is going to be posting here today, and I am posting some seriously yummy Orange Almond Muffins at her place. (Thank you, Amanda!) I love her style, and she has some projects going that I am absolutely going to try! Go see!
~  *  ~
Hello! I am Amanda and I blog at mommy is coocoo.

I'm thrilled to be doing a blog swap with April  today!

~ My blog is all about fun! ~

Whether you are laughing about the realities of marriage and motherhood or being inspired to make your everyday surroundings lovely, regardless of your budget. I'd like to share a few projects near and dear to my heart.  I hope these project inspires you!

If it's not Christmas Time or Valentine's Day

You'll definitely want to check out Nanny's Coffee Tables-here.

~Red and Blue Chandelier~

~Black and Hot Pink Damask~

My Peacock Blue Kitchen Table

See what the table used to look like and my

How to Glaze Furniture Tutorial here 

~ My Antique Door ~

 now Free-Standing Door w Mirror

~ a  ($20) fairytale before & after story ~

Read here to see how I turned it from this to this...

You might also enjoy my hoop wall art.

I made this Beautiful Embroidery Hoop Wall

with fabric remnants.

~My book wreath~

~Decoupage Anna Maria Horner Dresser~

~my families priceless artwork ~

{notice how Mr. coocoo and I are holding hands!  wow!  something good is sinking in}

Read here about how you can turn your kids drawings into treasures you'll be able to keep forever.

Thank you so much for swapping with me today April.  This coocoo momma couldn't be more grateful.  If you like to see more of my projects or learn more about the whole coocoo family head on over to mommy is coocoo!

Dutch Oven Artisan Bread

I have a love/hate affair with my Dutch Oven at the moment. I know I posted about the wonders of Dutch Ovens a little while ago, and that all still holds true! It's just mine. I need a new one. I went for cheap, which was totally worth it, but after 2 years... it's all brown on the inside and cracking chunks of ceramic off the outside. Recommendation: Avoid Tramontina if you care how your Dutch Oven looks. I picked it after reading Cooks Illustrated reviews, it was much cheaper than the classic Le Creuset. I will say it still does it's job flawlessly, I'm just not a fan of its appearance over time. Anyway!! I'm still trying to convince you all to go get one. I've heard great things about the ones from Costco! Maybe I'm just mean to mine...

Reason #2 to get a Dutch Oven: Dead easy, no-knead, 4 ingredient, fabulous Artisan Bread!! Yes, I said no-knead. This is the easiest bread you will EVER make!! And: it's perfect.

Dutch Oven Artisan Bread (adapted slightly from Frugal Living NW)
Printable Recipe

6 cups bread (recommended) or all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1/2 tsp instant or active-dry yeast
2 1/2 tsp salt
2 2/3 cups cool water

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, yeast, and salt. Add the water and stir together until all the ingredients are well mixed; the dough should be wet and sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest 12-18 hours on the counter at room temperature. (Start it the afternoon/night before you want to bake it.) When surface of the risen dough has darkened slightly, smells yeasty, and is dotted with bubbles, it is ready.

Lightly flour your hands and a work surface. Dump dough out on work surface and sprinkle with more flour. (It will be very sticky and stringy) Fold the dough over on itself once or twice and, using floured fingers, tuck the dough underneath to form a rough ball.

*Updated* Dust a sheet of parchment paper with flour, and place the dough seam side down on the paper. and dust with a bit more more flour. Cover with a clean cotton dishtowel and let rise for about 2 hours, until it has doubled in size.

After about 1 1/2 hours, preheat oven to 425-450 degrees. Place a 6-8 quart Dutch Oven (or 6-8 quart heavy covered oven-safe pot) in the oven as it heats. When the dough has fully risen, carefully remove pot from oven. Take the towel off the dough, and use the parchment as a sling to lower the dough into the Dutch Oven. (The parchment will stay in the Dutch Oven. This is much easier than the towel-flipping method!)

Cover and bake for 40-50 minutes. Uncover and continue baking about 5-10 more minutes, until a deep chestnut brown. (The internal temp of the bread should be around 200 degrees. You can check this with a meat thermometer, if you're worried. I didn't bother :)

Remove the bread from the pot and let it cool completely on a wire rack before slicing. (Till it stops making fabulous crackly sounds) Note: This recipe makes a HUGE loaf. We're lucky we had missionaries over! Next time I think I would half the recipe, it's best eaten on the first day. Warm leftovers in the oven or microwave for a bit to soften it up a little.

Voila! The easiest, most perfectest bread ever. And it practically made itself! You can make cuts in the dough before you bake it if you want it even more perfect looking, but I like this crust.

It's light and fluffy, with the tiniest bit of an almost-sourdough-tang. You can play with it and add herbs, or cheeses, or brush some olive oil over the top... I haven't tried this yet, but you bet I'm going to!! I'm thinking rosemary Parmesan...

Mine turned out just an itty-bit gummy, but that's because I was much too impatient, and cut into it before it completely cooled. I thought it was because I forgot the extra two-hour rising time, but have discovered that if you are in a hurry, you can easily skip that!

That crackly golden crust is absolutely my favorite part. Joe didn't like it, the rest of us adored it!! Smear it with butter and send yourself to fresh-baked-bread Heaven. 

So, have I convinced you to get a Dutch Oven yet? No? Well, I have a few more up my sleeve, just you wait and see!

**UPDATE: Since posting this, I have discovered that there are ways you can substitute, if you don't have a Dutch Oven! (Though I still recommend them whole-heartedly!) You can use any large, oven safe baking dish, or a stainless steel bowl, covered with foil. (If your dish isn't deep, make a foil dome!) I've also heard of people using a baking stone with an oven-safe bowl/dish up-ended over the top. Of course, if you halve the recipe, your dishes wouldn't need to be huge. If there is enough room for the dough to double, you're set!! I hope this helps, I wouldn't want anyone left out!**

Shared at Tutorials, Tips, and Tidbits at Stonegable and Foodie Friends Friday

PS: I have been replying to all comments by email, and just realized that some of you aren't getting them!! If you are purposefully a "no-reply blogger", enough said, I still love you. If not, and haven't been getting my replies, check out this link if you are using a Blogger profile:  http://familycorner.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/no-reply-blogger.html (it's pretty simple) or this one if you are using Google+ : http://jenniffier.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/google-profile.html
If you don't want to change anything, but would like me to just reply to your comments on my blog, and would rather check back to see them, let me know!! Cuz I WILL!! :)

Vegetable Cheese Chowder

Ugh. Yesterday just plain sucked. Yeah, I know, that isn't the most pleasant terminology, but it REALLY did!! We woke up at 5:45 to take Stephen to work so I could have the car. Got lost on the way back, so I barely had time to drive the boys to school. (no walk) Then I had a busy morning, (no more exercise) went to run errands, and thought it would be fun to go out to lunch with Joe! The first place I looked up turned out to be a bar... then I spent an hour looking for the other place... drove away from it, then passed it twice... Luckily, it was very good. I even ordered a delicious salad! Feeling all healthy! Until it arrived... with a side of fries!! Who does that?! And of course, they were scrumptious... so I ate them all, and brought the salad home. So much for good intentions. Then had to go get Stephen (little) but it was HOT!! So I drove. No walk. Multiple downtown driving disasters later, we were on our way home, I was sniffling, hot, bloated, cranky, tired, and feeling really, really stupid. Just one of those days. 

Today is better! We walked to school (yay!) gave Bracken a run around in a field, and now I'm going to get to work on this apartment! Time to tidy! And time to share one of my favorite childhood foods. 

What else, besides pumpkin, does fall just beg for?? Soups!! Nothing quite like a hot, homey soup on a chilly day. I looooove soup. Sometimes I think I could eat nothing but soup for about a month! It's also a great way to indulge my borderline-vegetarian-ness. This was one of my favoritest comfort foods growing up. We didn't have it often, but when we did, I would try to claim ALL the leftovers!

Vegetable Cheese Chowder (adapted from Christmas Recipe from the Lion House)
Printable Recipe

4 cups cubed red potatoes (peels on or off, I leave them on)
2 cups diced carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1/2-1 cup minced onion
5-6 cups chicken broth
10 oz frozen broccoli (or 2 crowns fresh)
3 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp dry mustard
1 lb (16 oz) processed cheese (Velveeta)

Place all veggies except broccoli in large pot with the broth and 1 tsp salt. Bring to a boil, then lower to medium-low to simmer for 20 minutes. Add broccoli and milk, raise heat to BARELY medium.

In separate pan, melt butter, and add flour. Stir over medium-high heat until it darkens and smells toasty. Slowly add this (roux) to the soup, whisking LOTS while you drizzle it in. Stir for a few minutes while it thickens. Do not raise the heat, do not let it boil!! Patience is important, otherwise your soup will turn grainy.

Once the soup has thickened a bit, cut the cheese into cubes and add it to the soup. Stir until cheese has melted. Serve warm. (When you reheat leftovers, again, no boiling!!)

Like the chipped bowl? :) It's the only bowl left from the dish set we registered for when we got married! Two people gave us the whole set, and we kept both! So out of 8 bowls... this is the only one left. Still have most of the plates though...

Anyway! Food! Soup, to be specific. I am NOT a fan of Velveeta, but I adore this soup! It's smooth, creamy, perfectly thickened, and the veggies get soft and tender... it doesn't taste just like Velveeta, just like mild cheddar fabulousness!

Vegetarians, rejoice!! Vegans, not so much, but still; it's a great way to get your veggies. :)

Quick question for everyone: I've been replying to comments through email. Are you getting my replies??

Baked Apple-Cinnamon Oatmeal

Well, looks like I jumped the gun a bit on that link party! No entries yet. Sigh. Oh well! I'll shelve it till I have more readers!! I'll leave this one open, just in case.

Stephen finally started work yesterday! I love having him around, but it's nice to have a schedule again. I have to re-learn all my household chores, he's been doing them ALL to keep his mind off his nervousness, and I've become a blogging-woman-of-leisure! My favorite part about this new schedule is definitely our walks to and from school. We get to follow a lovely path along a river, even under all the main streets! Joe and I explore a bit on the way home, looking for tiny side trails and bridges. What is it about bridges? Somehow they are special... you could easily imagine them leading you to magical places... or maybe that's just us. :) The fall colors are starting to take over, and we love the gold and red bits appearing in "our" woods. Joe has inherited his Grandpa's deep love of golden aspens. He calls them "sparkly trees". Bracken loves the exercise too, she's getting a bit roly-poly! In honor of our crisp, cool morning walks, here is a fabulous breakfast for fall mornings! Oatmeal has always meant School Days to me, my mom was wonderful about getting up before us and making us breakfast at least a few times a week, and I have always loved oatmeal on those cold, dark dawns before school. To be honest, sometimes I even miss school!

Baked Apple-Cinnamon Oatmeal (adapted from The English Kitchen)
Printable Recipe

120g of old fashioned rolled oats (1 1/2 cups)
2 Tbs butter
375ml of boiling water (1 1/2 cups)
375ml of milk (1 1/2 cups)
4-5 Tb brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp ginger
pinch of salt
3/4 cup apples, peeled and diced
(optional: cranberries, nuts, etc)

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter/spray a square glass baking dish.

Measure the oats into a large bowl. Add the butter, and pour the boiling water over top. Let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in the milk, apples, brown sugar, spices, and salt. (You could add dried fruits, like cranberries, other spices, maybe even chocolate chips! Hmm, what would that be like...)

Pour into the baking dish. Cover tightly with foil, bake for 35-40 minutes. Remove the foil, and bake for 10-15 minutes longer, till thickened.

Serve with milk or cream and more brown sugar and/or cinnamon.

The small Stephen and I topped ours with candied ginger too! It was scrumptious!! Sorry about the lack of other pictures, I'm going to have to make this again, and take LOTS more!! Either way, trust me that this un-photogenic oatmeal is spicy-yummy-warm-and-homey Autumn breakfast at it's best. Enjoy!

(PS-If you're brave, go for the cream. It goes from delicious to positively decadent!!)

Nibbles and Novels Blog Party

Welcome! Thank you for coming to the very first monthly Nibble and Novels party! We're going to have so much fun, sharing my two favorite hobbies: reading and cooking! So, grab a treat and a sip of something yummy, and make yourself at home; I'll go first! I've been reading almost since before birth. I know that isn't possible, but who cares. I was devouring chapter books out of kindergarten and first grade, whipping through them lickety-split with my own version of speed-reading, living in my own little literary world and getting in trouble in school for reading during class!  Jane Eyre is my favorite book of all time. The language, and emotions, and images in that book just give me goosebumps! But my favorite character, hands-down, no question, is Anne Shirley. I wish I could be her!! I wish I could live in Nova Scotia (if I can't live in England!) with those beautiful woodsy places she wanders through. I wish I was slim and tall and red-headed with starry grey eyes... well, maybe not tall, Stephen wouldn't be a fan. I've always tried to emulate her rapture with life, and I think I do have a glimmer of her talent there!   I read the whole series at least once a year. Can't help myself. I'll be in the mood for a little Avonlea... but they're like potato chips - I can't read just one! As I have gotten older and had children, I desperately wanted to be the kind of mother she is. She never gets angry, or annoyed, or dismissive; she is always sweet, and kind, and SO in tune with her children! It may seem silly, but my failings in comparison caused many tearful nights. Finally, one day, horribly guilty over my latest explosion on my poor boys, I confided my wistful yearnings to a very good friend. She looked at me sympathetically, then said, "But Anne had a Susan!!" Ohhh.... I felt so silly. Not only was I measuring myself against a fictional character (however real Anne may always be to me!) but she was right! How much easier would life be if we all had someone to do all the hard stuff for us? Someone ELSE to make dinner, clean the house, deal with the children... it would be so easy to always be pleasant! Well, that was my reality check, and now I just try to do my best, and instill some "Anne" into my voice when I start to roar.  Now, my inspiration!! "On the table reposed a nut cake which she had baked that morning... a particularly toothsome concoction iced with pink icing and adorned with walnuts." ~ Anne of Avonlea Do you remember this cake? It's the one she takes to cranky Mr. Harrison after she accidentally sells his cow! I love the words "toothsome concoction", don't you?? Now, a few months ago, before I was a food-blogger, I stumbled on this picture:

I immediately thought of Anne's cake. Sure, the frosting may not be pink, but isn't it a "toothsome concoction??" I spent the rest of that week, and the next (while in the hospital) reading nearly every recipe on this blog, The English Kitchen. It was my inspiration to start blogging, and it is only fitting that at my first blog party, I gave the fabulous Marie her credit! *applause* We are now fast friends and kindred spirits, and the rest is history. And it is time to make this cake!! Allright, time for you to link up (at the bottom) and see MY toothsome concoction! *Rules: Link up posts that are inspired by Books! Recipes, fashion, projects, or just thoughts. As long as you tell us about the literary inspiration! That's all! If you, by any chance, would like to co-host, awesome! Let me know!* And grab a button, if you like! <center> <a href="http://dimplesanddelights.blogspot.com/"><img border=”0″ src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWsUK_Sfg6KVP5L9pXumk3owGgpQiTJNQsy2cjikpz8wxTY3W4ODjd_pPEfVpuYdUcVzysl7Ep44cH56o6V2F1Y5nqV4_g3Ct7WCnOqm4sJZf6Bq4QrTV1hCY5OVD1UQCK2FqPFVB2uwKH/s1600/Untitled-1.jpg" /></a></center>

Iced Coffee Walnut Cake (from The English Kitchen) Printable Recipe

1/2 cup plus 1/2 Tb of whole milk

1/3 cup of butter, cut into chunks

1 tsp instant coffee granules 

heaping 1/2 cup of caster/ultrafine sugar

1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts, plus extra whole walnut halves to decorate

1 medium egg, at room temperature and beaten

1 1/3 cup (slightly heap the 1/3 cup) self-raising flour

Coffee Buttercream Icing:

7 Tbs butter, room temperature

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/3 cup powdered sugar, sifted

1 tsp instant coffee granules, dissolved in 1 tsp boiling water (I used 2 Tb heavy cream)

spash of milk, if needed

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter and line a loaf tin with parchment paper, then butter/spray the paper.

Combine the milk, butter and coffee granules in a large saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until the butter is melted and the coffee granules dissolved. (mine didn't dissolve: I discovered I had used the wrong kind! If yours don't dissolve after a while, pour it through a wire strainer)  Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar and chopped walnuts with a wooden spoon. Stir in the egg until thoroughly combined. Stir in the flour gradually, until just combined. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and smooth the surface with a spoon.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until well risen and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan 5 minutes, then remove to cool completely on a wire rack. This loaf doesn't rise REALLY high, so no worries. :)

Dissolve the coffee granules for the icing in 1 tsp boiling water, then let cool. To make the icing, beat the butter and vanilla together until pale and creamy. Gradually beat in powdered sugar, a little bit at a time, until well combined. Beat dissolved coffee into the icing. If it is too thick, add milk, 1 tsp at a time, beating well after each, until you reach your desired consistency.

I didn't make coffee icing, because I HAD to dye it pink :) And brownish-pink just isn't pretty...

I also didn't put nuts inside... Stephen grumbled... sigh. I am going to have to make another one, ALL for me, FULL of nuts!! I was weak. Put nuts in!!

Regardless, it is delicious. I don't drink coffee, but I love the smell, and love coffee-flavored things! This cake isn't smack-you-upside-the-head coffee, but it makes itself known. I love it!!

By the way, that is also a wonderful icing recipe. I can never seem to get icing right, but this was perfect!

Light and moist, smokey coffee-flavored buttery cake... tis scrumptious. And inspirational. And I am going to make another one, full of nuts, with better instant coffee. Just to see if it can get any better... :)

Thanks for joining my Nibbles and Novels party! It will be open for 2 weeks, so link up anytime!