Defeated

This year I was ousted as Pumpkin Champ. :(  My first mistake was letting John see my technique for guessing the weight of the pumpkin. My strategy was to have Cherub and Thumbelina sit like pumpkins and then pick them up which they thoroughly enjoyed.  The second mistake was not going with my gut instinct guess of 37.5 pounds, Cherub's weight.  John guessed 36.5 and I guessed 33.   The pumpkin weighs 38 pounds.

The victor was overjoyed as you can see from the photos.  I will rally again!!!!!
We've been making pumpkin spiced lattes using this recipe and saving lots of money from it.

Falling

Although we got gypped out of a summer here save for the last couple of weeks of August, I can't help being excited about Autumn.  The thought of cool evenings and changing leaves, piles of pumpkins and baking pumpkin bread and soup gets me in the mood for this fun season.  I've been thinking about Halloween costumes for the kids.  We don't dress the kids in witch, ghoulish or scary costumes, but there is a VERY cute witch costume that would be darling on Thumbelina, because, well sometimes, she's a bit of a witch.  Hey, I am, too, so I can't judge her harshly.

During this season, John and I compete for Pumpkin Guesser of the Weight Champ.  The prizes are a coffee of the winner's choice paid by the loser competitor and bragging rights.  Last year's champ was a charming and delightful (and humble) person, if I do say so myself.

So, it's time to push the '66 Valiant out of the garage so that I can climb into the attic and get out the fall decor. It's time to buy some pumpkins and make this delicious soup. It's time to post some photos and recipes on the new blog.  Since I'm the only sister in the Northern Hemisphere, I'll be posting autumn dishes, while Mary and Kate will most likely post summer dishes. Or maybe not. We haven't posted anything yet.  Either way, I hope you'll join us over there and send us your own favorite fall recipes.  We'll post them!

Photo taken at one of my favorite stores near work.  

Cranberry Coffee Cake

Last night, after the kids were in bed, I decided to bake something using what we had in the freezer/pantry. I've had 2 bags of cranberries in the freezer since November.  A couple of weeks ago I used some in muffins.  Coffee cake sounded good, so I googled 'cranberry coffee cake' and found a gem from Joy the Baker.

Shortly before starting, I realized that I had no brown sugar. Joy the Baker to the rescue again.  Homemade brown sugar is fluffy and delicious! I happened to have a bottle of molasses in the pantry for ginger biscotti that I never made.

The cake turned out well, and the strudel top is delicious.  If you have extra cranberries around Thanksgiving, or have a bag in the freezer like I did, give this recipe a try.

Good Eats

In the last few weeks, I've had a chance to enjoy some good cooking--and most of it wasn't done by me. A few weeks ago, at the Gourmet Club dinner, we had a delicious hummus. The recipe can be found here. What gave this hummus a great subtle taste was adding a couple of mint leaves and a little Greek yogurt pulsed in with all the ingredients in the food processor.

The tabouli was also delicious. The large amount of parsley in it gives you not only good nutrition, but also a very fresh taste.

Since I had a lot of chick peas left over, I made this soup. It was earthy, cheap and nutritious.

Finally, a few nights later, I made these chick pea burgers with tahini sauce. The sauce was divine.

The best part of all of these recipes is that they are healthy, delicious and MEAT FREE!!!

Gourmet Club-Mediterranean Night

This past Saturday was the third Gourmet Club dinner. It was started last year by my sister-in-law, Christina, after she went on a cruise and took a gourmet cooking class. The twelve students prepared a gourmet meal together and then shared it afterwards. Around that time she also saw “Julie and Julia” and this further inspired her cooking. She enjoyed the class and the movie so much that she wanted to start something similar with friends. The idea is that one person agrees to host the meal at her home, decide on a menu and buy the ingredients. We all pay $25 to cover the cost of the ingredients and wine.

Christina's menu was French cuisine from Julia Child’s book “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” In December, another friend hosted and did a Williamsburg Christmas meal. I was the third to host, and we made a Mediterranean meal. Besides enjoying delicious meals, we have the chance to spend time together and get to know people better. What makes the gourmet club fun is that the personalities are as unique and different as each recipe. Enjoy the photos!

Veggie Burgers with Tahini Mayonnaise

Trying to eliminate meat from my diet, I have been looking for healthy recipes with some protein packed in. Last Saturday I was watching "Everyday Food" on PBS. Margot Olshan was making veggie burgers with bulgur wheat and pinto beans with some spices and veggies chopped in.

They looked really good, so I decided to make them. I added salt and pepper to taste, as they were not in the recipe. Bulgur wheat can be found in bulk at both Fred Meyer and Central Market (down the street from my work) and is inexpensive. The recipe makes 4 good sized and very filling patties which got me through 2 dinners and 2 lunches. You can find the recipe here.

A college friend also told me that his wife makes delicious red lentil rice cakes. I'll try these this weekend as I have a nice new bag of lentils in the pantry. :)

Also, we get to pick up our first box of veggies from the farm next Wednesday, so it will be fun (and healthy) to try vegetables which I've never or rarely bought.

St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake

This is a delicious St. Louis treat that we had growing up. Gram Mahler made the best Gooey Butter Cake! Don't eat a lot of it, or you'll have a gooey butter body.