Sunday Happy

Did you wake up at 3:30 because your body is used to waking up at 4:30 but we add an extra hour and now you don’t even really know what time it is for real? Yeah, that would be me. I look at my phone, at my computer, but don’t trust all the self resetting clocks. I have to check the kitchen stove to see what time it was yesterday before I can figure out the time today and then check the technology clocks to see if they really know. But woo hoo, daylight savings. I am one of those people that really likes it. I like the light in the morning, I like the early as shit dark. It suits my life (early to bed, early to rise) and also gives off a feeling of coziness that I can’t quite describe. Plus I am a slight creeper and love walking around the neighborhood after dinner when it is dark and seeing inside peoples house. Not like too creepy where I go an actively peer in, just looking in if their windows are open, checking out their decor, seeing what they are watching on tv, or what they are eating for dinner. Don’t judge, you know you do the same thing too.

This week was a blur. On Sunday we spent way to much time walking around Ikea, checking out the Christmas stuff and choosing a new duvet cover. We had time to kill before Barbs plane landed from Italy (and it was late). So Ikea was the natural waiting place. It wasn’t bad, the mr got to try the new veggie dogs, said they were absolutely fantastic and we actually did buy a duvet cover. But as soon as the plane landed we jumped in the car a drove circles around the terminal until the ladies appeared with smiles and bottles of wine and olive oil, which I have still yet to receive. Then a drive back home to where we stopped for drinks, I opened the trunk of the car and smacked my head on the door so hard I think I broke my skull. Anyway, she made it back from Italy and I am pretty sure I gave myself a concussion. Good stuff.

The week started. I spent the first half doing paperwork and making all sorts of phone calls about things that I don’t know anything about trying to gather information to make said phone calls and blah blah blah.

And then it was Halloween and we didn’t do a damn thing. We were suppose to take, at the very least, Judah out, but Coco got super sick again and landed himself a bed up at the hospital. Things got confusing and crazy and he ended up going with a family friend and their kids. We were pretty bummed, and so was he. What a bust. And we had only enough candy tor give 3 little kids so we didn’t do that either. Another Halloween come and gone. Meh. But the next day we had the littles over for a school night sleep over. Not as fun as a weekend sleep over because there is bedtime, homework, the need to shower, and waking up early. But those guys championed, did all their homework, took their showers, and brushed their teeth without a single rebuke, and we had a grand old time. They even went to bed and woke up without giving me any shit. Then after a humorous breakfast of dried cereal, eggs, and toast, they got themselves ready and I dropped them off at school, again, with out any complaining. Those littles… So good. On the way to school I tried to explain why we do daylight savings. Things got off topic a bit and I might have blamed all the time changing on Voldemort and magic and yeah. Someone is going to need to sort that out with them someday. OR not.

After dropping them off I worked at the studio for the rest of the day. Megan came to visit me and bring me coffee. Which probably saved my life. Then I pugged clay for way to long and had to have the mr come to the studio and help me take the bolts out of the pug machine so I could take it apart to clean it, or more like I pugged, he took it apart and he cleaned it. My mr, he be so nice.

Yesterday was a burn out day. Might be getting a head cold (or it’s the concussion) and I could barely keep my head from falling off, SO much pressure, even my eyes looked bleak and blue. But I did some stuff. The mr and I took a research drive, I got the grocery shopping done, did laundry, cleaned he house. And then went to bed early.

And now I am awake and it’s early. My head is still pretty pressurized, but I think it might be starting to deflate a little which is good because today the mr and I have some outdoor plans. What exactly the plans are is still up in the air. It is suppose to be sunny and slightly warmer so we need to get to and get us some woods. I almost want to try and convince him that we should go camping and I totally would if I hadn’t packed away everything and we had fire wood and if I wasn’t afraid of the bears coming to eat me. One last meal before hibernation. Haha. No, its not the bears I worry about, our bears don’t eat people here, it is the hunters I am actually worried about. I don’t own any blaze orange and I move like a graceful doe in the woods. Yikes!

Some internet stuff I read this week.

-The mr sent me this link. He thinks I am crazy because I said that I want to live the next day without the extra hour yet and take my extra hour on Monday around 2, for like a nap time or something. I think I can do it, but only if I don’t look at my phone clock. If I lived in the city, this guy could make it happen for everyone. The Man Who Turns Back New York City’s Clocks, Hand by Hand. What a badass job.

-You Can Wrap All of Your Friends Christmas Gifts With Your Face This Year. Hahaha. I hate gift wrap, think it is a complete waste, but this is hilarious

-Another reason to get your shut eye. How Sleep Deprivation Messes With Creativity

-Do you love or loathe coffee? Your genes may be to blame. Both my parents drink pretty much nothing else but coffee so I think I am made up of like 25% coffee. Now I have a 99% tolerance to caffeine. The only thing that is does to me (that I notice) is that I get a major headache if I don’t have it. But I am one of those people that could drink a pot of coffee and sleep like a baby for 8 hours. Same as the parents. Got to be genetic.

-If I lived in a brownstone in a loft in Brooklyn, this would be the one I would want.

-How Do You Move A Bookstore? With A Human Chain, Book By Book. This is just so fantastic.

-Just because it is not summer anymore and we are no longer gardening does not mean that there is any less produce out there to eat. Your Ultimate Guide to Fall Produce

-About That Monstrous Black Hole We’re All Orbiting. Just in case you want to know. Life and black holes. What are you gonna do?

-Do any of yo have a septic system and grow ferns on top?. Something I have been thinking about fo septic system landscaping purposes. Anatomy of Ferns

-Thick Strokes of Paint Create Featureless Portraits in Abstracted Paintings by Joseph Lee

Pictures from the week. I didn’t take very many, but I did get Barb eating so there is that.

Spiced Black Bean and Cauliflower Stuffed Acorn Squash

The thing with having an abundance of squash in the house, and having the abundance keep growing (we get a lot of squashes at farm share) is that I need to cook just about every meal with said abundance, which I am totally on happy to do. I welcome all the squash. I am excited about all the squash. I could eat al the squash all day, everyday. And I do. But that is me. The mr and the others the I sometimes cook for, they are not as squash crazy as me and get sick of plain old roasted squash so I am trying to change it up and make new and interesting things out of the squash so no one gets bored with it.

Yes, I know stuffing an acorn squash is hardly a new idea, but this squash is not stuffed with the usual rice and stuff, it stuffed with lots of black beans and cumin and chili powder spiced cauliflower (and a few other things). The combination of all the flavors with the acorn squash really hit all the right spots for a tasty, not boring squash meal. It is a brilliant combination of flavors that even the not so keen on squash person will love.

That is my opinion of course but it will be your opinion too after you make and eat these. We will brilliant together.

To the stuffed squash.

The stuff. An acorn squash, some cauliflower, cooked black beans, an onion, and a few kale leaves. Also need some cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper. salsa, and olive oil.

Start by cutting the squash in half and scooping out all the seeds.

Place the squash open side down on a baking sheet or in a skillet lightly oiled and then stick into a hot oven to roast.

After the squash goes in, dice up the onion and cauliflower into small little pieces.

Place the chopped stuff onto a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and toss with the cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Get that into the oven too.

Roasted, and ready. Stop, do not eat it all, but you might want too, it is so freaking good.

And once this guy in fork tender, its ready as well.

Scoop out a bit of the cooked squash from each side making the well bigger. More room to stuff.

Get everything together. Chop the kale, grab a bowl.

The black beans, salsa, scooped out cooked squash go into bowl. Add in the roasted cauliflower and onion and the chopped kale and mix.

Now stuff each side. Get as much in as you can, mound it as high as you can and place back into oven to bake for a little bit longer.

Cooked and slightly crispy in all the right ways.

These stuffed suckers are everything we all wanted and didn’t know we needed. Fantastic, and all the more when serves with extra salsa, sliced avocado, and a wedge of lime.

Go get at it.

Bye!

-C

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Spiced Black Bean and Cauliflower Stuffed Acorn Squash

Makes 2 stuffed halves. This recipe is very easy to fiddle with and can easily be double or tripled.

• 1 medium sized acorn squash

• 1 1/2 cups cooked black beans

• 1/4 head of cauliflower (about 2 cups chopped before roasting)

• a small onion

• a few kale leaves

• 1/4 cup thick and chunky salsa

• 2 teaspoons cumin

• 1 teaspoon chili pepper

• salt and pepper

• olive oil

• Avocado, lime, extra salsa (optional)

Preheat oven to 400

Slice acorn squash in half and scoop out all the seeds. (seeds can be roasted). Place both halves cut side down on a lightly oiled baking sheet or oven safe skillet and place in oven to roast for about 30-35 minutes or until the squash is fork tender.

Once squash is in oven, dice the onion and cauliflower into small pieces and place on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and toss together with the cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Place into oven along with the squash. Roast for 15-20 minutes or until the cauliflower is lightly browned and tender.

When the cauliflower is roasted and squash is cooked, get all the rest of the ingredients ready. Dice up the kale . Take each side of squash and scoop out about an inch more of cooked squash, leaving a good sized well. Place cooked squash into a bowl and kind of mash it up. Add in the beans, the salsa, the kale, and the roasted cauliflower and onions. Season with salt and pepper and mix it all up. Take filling and fill the squashes, stuffing as much as you can in and mounding it on top. Place the halves back onto baking sheet or skillet and place back into oven for 10-15 minutes until nice and browned and slightly crispy on top. Pull from oven and serve. Although not necessary, extra salsa, avocado, a lime are much appreciated.

Sunday Happy

Hello friends.

The past week is kind of a blur. There was some stressful times there where I was sure I was just going to have to stay in bed for the duration of the week and call it. But I didn’t. I was good. I got up, did what needed to be done and tried to keep my head from exploding. Nothing bad, just stressful. Life things, you know?

Besides from being a crazy person all week, I did accomplish a lot. I don’t know how, but I ended up doing like 5 loads of laundry which is like 4 more loads of laundry that I normally do a week. I unpacked all the winter stuff which we have actually needed because it has snowed a few time this week. Jackets, hates, mittens, shoes. And you would think that shoes would be needed right? Well the mr is still wearing his sandals but with socks of course , so you know. Me, I had to switch to real shoes a few weeks ago. After wearing Birkenstocks for 20 years straight, all year long, I have killed my feet and they can no longer handle any kind of cold. What else… I packed the camping stuff (one of those loads of laundry were our nasty, stinky, sleeping bags) which was kind of sad because it really means that we probably won’t be camping any more this year. I cleaned my studio space in the basement (then trashed it again). Picked up the last farm share for the summer (winter share starts in 2 weeks!) and the back porch got a good cleaning and organizing. All of my plants that were outside have been moved inside and now the house looks like a jungle. I forgot just how many plants I have. I think I am nearing 40 so just call me the crazy plant lady. Ha.

As for people, no Barb this week. She ditched me for Italy. So rude right? And all week, all month, I have been planning this pumpkin carving party. It was suppose to be me and the mr plus Barb and Miley, Judah, Coco, and Sophia. Well Barb was gone so one down. Then On Thursday I was informed that So had a Halloween party Friday night so wasn't coming. And then on Friday I get a text saying that Miley wants to go to the school dance instead and that Coco is sick…. I was so bummed. I had all this pizza party stuff, all sorts of pumpkins, rented Hocus Pocus and made cookies. I was looking forward to this night for weeks. But you know what, Judah came and we had a blast. We carved pumpkin (well he and the mr did) His pumpkin came out amazing, gourd arms and seed teeth , and all. I made pizza, We went for a nighttime walk then came home and cuddled on the couch and watched Hocus Pocus. He ate cookies and half bag of chocolate chips, and then we all went to bed without any sibling fights. Woke up, made him Judah cakes (pancakes that spelled his name), went for a walk, ran some errands, then dropped him off at home. Sure I missed the other littles, but whatever, one cool kid was awesome and bonus, my house didn’t get completely trashed!

In a few hours the mr and I are going to head to Montreal, hit up IKEA, spend some time perusing stuff that I won’t buy then maybe take a nap in a sample bed. The mr will get some hot dogs (he is going to try the veggie dogs) and then we are picking up Barb’s ass up from the airport!!! I am really excited to see the lady and hear all about how much wine she was able to throw down while in Italy. Ha hahaha. But really, how much?

Anyways. Have yourself a very fantastic week. Halloween, November, the last week of daylight savings…. We are heading into the dark months! (I am so excited!!!!)

Stuff that doesn’t suck to read from the internet

-40 Tips For The Perfect A-Frame Cabin This is exactly where my brain is spending time this week. #LIFEGOALS

-We have a few Sears houses in our neighborhood and I love them. They should return to making awesome tiny home kit houses. People would love that. Sears Is Fading, But Memories Of Its Mail-Order Homes Endure

-Rethinking the $20 I Spend a Week on Almond Butter. Yeah. I love me some almond butter, but who the hell has 20 bucks a week to spend on it. No me, although I wish.

-Hells to the no, shoes are NOT ALLOWED in my house. I flip my shit if people don’t take their shoes off.And for those who say that I walk around barefoot all the time outside and then come inside, well that is different. Lawn dirt is way different from nasty shoe grim. DO YOU WEAR SHOES IN THE HOUSE? (AND THREE REASONS NOT TO!)

-Whatever your stance on candy corn is, don’t you think they should have stuck with the name, Chicken Feed? That would have been amazing. Actually, Candy Corn Is Great. (I don’t eat candy so I don’t even remember what it tastes like…)

-Comfort Baking: Why It's Important & How We're Practicing It. Baking always helps clear my head, it’s like my mediation.

-Did you know a rusty nail can be ink. An Urban Ink Forager Explains How To Paint With All The Colors Of The Alley

-Don't Let Anyone Tell You How Many Muffin Tins You Need. I needed to hear this because sometimes I think I have way more then I need, but now I just might need to get me some more. Ha

-I want one of these rugs. Hand-Tufted Rugs Celebrate the Natural Beauty of Lichen and Mold

-Doctors in Scotland Are Literally Prescribing Nature to Their Patients. Those doctors are so smart. Nature is the best medicine.

And pictures from the week. Barb eating will be back next week. A big thanks to Judah for filling in this week, he also is a great eater.

Bye.

-C

Chocolate Chip and Pumpkin Seed Soft Pumpkin Cookies

I love making cookies. There something about having to keep a close eye on the oven, the anticipation of the perfect time to pull them from the oven. Not too early, but never to late. You have to pay close attention. A cookie is not very forgiving if left in for a minutes or two too long. Those minutes can make or break a great cookie. OS baking them is , to me anyway, like a form of meditation. You can’t be distracted, thinking about things like “who came up with the name Banana Republic and then used it for a clothing store?”, or looking up “ large metal rolling balls”. No, you need to pay attention to cookies, or else your cookies might burn. But don’t let that scare you, and really, you can totally think of all the random, but important, things you want while baking, just use a timer or think those thoughts while watching the oven.

These cookies are the cookies that you want to make. A cookie yes, but almost like little soft cakes, full of chocolate chips and pumpkin seeds and warm spices to elevate the pumpkiness of the pumpkin. A perfect cookie to bake when you are freezing and want nothing else then to sit in front of a warm oven, spacing out, and revealing in the smell of a fall kitchen.

Fall pro tip. Place outwear in the kitchen while baking. I had my jacket on a stool close by while the cookies were baking and even now, a few days later, it still smell like cookies.

To the cookies!

The stuff. Brown and granulated sugar, flour with salt, cinnamon, allspice ,nutmeg, and baking soda and baking powder. Pumpkin puree vanilla extract, canola oil, chocolate chips, and toasted pumpkin seeds.

Mix the sugars, oil, vanilla, and pumpkin puree together until completely incorporated.

Whisk together all the dry

Add dry to wet. Mix gently, until just incorporated.

A now you have cookie batter. But wait, can’t forget the chocolate and seeds.

I like to give the chocolate chips a rough chop to make the chips a bit smaller. You can skip this step or just use small chips if you want.

Chocolate chips and toasted pumpkin seeds go into batter.

After a gentle mix, it’s time bake.

Scoop the dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet (important to line or use a splat mat, or else they will stick)

Into the oven and out of the oven. Bakes to a plump golden brown perfection.

All the cookies cooling on a wire rack like all cookies should.

And then thats it.

Cookies for you and cookie to share, if you are nice like that.

Happy weekend!

-C

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Chocolate Chip and Pumpkin Seed Soft Pumpkin Cookies

make 2 dozen or so cookies

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 2 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/2 allspice

• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

• 3/4 cup cane sugar

• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar

• 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds

• 2/3 cup chocolate chunks or chips

Preheat oven to 350

In a large bowl, mix together the sugars, purlin puree, oil, and vanilla until completely incorporated. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and baking powder, salt, all spice, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Once whisk, dump into the bowl with the wet gas gently mix together until just incorporated. Do not over mix.

Dump your chocolate ships onto cutting board and give them a rough chop just to break some of the chips apart. (or use small chips) Add the chop chocolate and the toasted pumpkin seeds to the batter and gently fold them, just to even distribute them.

Line being sheets with either parchment or use a splat mat and scoop equal size ball of dough onto the baking sheets. Leave enough room for the cookie to rise and spread. Place baking sheets into oven and bake fir 12-14 minutes or until the cookies have risen, are golden brown, and a tester stuck into the middle of a cookie comes out clean. Remove from oven and place the cookies on a wire rack to cool.

Then you eat them.

Any not eaten cookies should be store in an air tight container and can be left out at room temperature for a day or two but should be refrigerated or frozen for longer storage. The mr likes to eat them straight out of the freezer.

Sunday Happy

Did you get out last week, see some trees, see some nature, take in the world? I hope so but if you didn’t, take some time today and do it, it will make you happy Promise.

Last Sunday was camping at the Queeche Gorge State Park. Stopped at a cool flea market on the way, saw some cool old stuff, almost bought a painting (I kind of wish I did. Oh well) Then off to the camp ground which was pretty empty, but man, there were a shit ton of people bumping around the gorge trails. Not bad, I just was a little surprised, but I guess I shouldn’t have been. I mean, foliage and nice weather and beauty. It brings the people out. Anyway, the hiking was good. Found a off shoot trail that no one else was on and found a tiny little brook with spawning trout. Got back to camp, made pumpkin lentils for dinner and then the sun started to set and the night got very cold. The fire was needed oh so much. I might have even melted my shoe a bit because I was a little to close to it. And when it hit that magical time (8) we jumped into the tent. I slept with a hat and hood and mittens on in my sleeping bag with a wool blanket and was just as happy as could be. Then we woke up, made coffee, packed up, and headed for the streams so the mr could fish in 35 degree weather. It was freezing but it makes him happy so it makes me happy.

After we got home the week went per usual. Work here and there, dinner with the littles, Barb up my butt about how excited and nervous she was about Italy, and could I please just hem this skirt for her? You know, the normal stuff.

I think it was Wednesday, the mr and I were out for the day so I had packed out lunches. I was eating a carrot and all of a sudden, CRACK! Spit out my carrot and there was the little stone (it happens some times) and also a big ass chunk of my tooth. Yup, the stone broke a piece of one of my molars off. Oh my was I freaking out. Called the dentist right away but my dentist doctor is out of town and can’t get me in until next week! As of right now it is fine and doesn’t hurt or anything, but I am terrified that it’s going get worse or break more or I don’t know. This and I just was there for a cleaning like 2 weeks ago. Said I had great teeth health and blah blah blah. After that happened, I have been a little on edge since. The underlying feeling of something wrong in my face, and it’s driving me crazy. Stupid tooth.

Friday morning was running around, a few chores, and a quick frosting and dinosaur making to finish off the ice cream cake and off to the studio for the day. Loaded kilns, played in the slop bucket, pugged some clay. Then ran home to get the cake and make quick to Barb for her 19th birthday hurray! There was a family crowded dinner. I brought the cake and she’s jumping up and down being crazy and awesome and was trying to keep her shit together because the next day she was getting on her first plane ever and flying to Italy! Whoop whoop.

So yesterday was basically set aside for Barb. I cleaned the house early, packed our lunches, then the mr and I picked her and her friend up and drove them over the border into Cananda and dropped their lucky tushies off at the airport. SO CUTE. I might have been a little jealous, but more then that, I was, and am, just so excited for them. Italy, haven’t been yet, but I will get there. Barb said she would bring me back a picture of an Italian toilet so that will be good enough. I probalaby won’t need to go after getting that. Ha. And so we dropped them off, headed back home and watched all the most amazing clouds in the sky. Got home, took a shower, and passed the f out.

Today is up in the air. Not exactly sure wha't’s going to happen. We have a very important thing this afternoon that is exciting to us, but other then that, not sure. Camping was talked about but none of the campground are open anymore. We were thinking of maybe sleeping in the car under a tree, but not 100% sold on that idea. It also might snow so you know, the mr is scared of the white stuff. Me, I am very excited and would love to wake up with some snow, but I get it. It is getting cold out. But if we sleep in the car, it would totally be fine, and fun. Just got to convince the mr.

Internet from the week.

-Isn’t see always right? Grandma Was Right: Sunshine Helps Kill Germs Indoors

-You Can Buy 'Golden Girls'-Themed Cereal at Target Now. What the.. Funko’s. That is just kind of amazing.

-Who didn’t read this book? I hope if it does become a movie they don’t screw it up and that the young ones still read the book. 'Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.' By Judy Blume Could Finally Become A Movie

-Good, Evil. Sugar There is a lot to the history., Sugartime. How a taste for sweetness, developed for survival, became a stand-in for everything good — and evil — about our culture

-Are Siblings More Important Than Parents? I don’t know, but there is something. Growing up as one of 9 is who I am. I con’t even imagine not having them. And my sisters are my best friends so maybe, yeah, like not more important but kinda?

-5 Mistakes to Avoid When Baking with Yeast. But it’s really not hard to use yeast. If you are intimidated, start by making focaccia.

-I would live in an old church, but only if the vibe was good and there was no history if weird shit.. Holy Homes: Inside Houses That Used to Be Churches

-Last week at the gym there was a special on the news about people called flat landers. They believe the earth is flat ans think all of evidence , things like gravity and even the moon is all a hoax. It was very strange.. 10 easy ways you can tell for yourself that the Earth is not flat

-I need a glass greenhouse. Majestic Conservatories and Cozy Private Potting Sheds Showcase the Universal Appeal of Glass Greenhouses

Pictures from the week

-C

Everything Bagel Focaccia

If you come around my house in the cold months, you will more times then not find yourself faced with fresh bread. Why? Well because I like to bake bread. But mostly, if I am honest, when I am cold, I bake. (We keep the house heat off until at least November 1. After that we keep the heat at a low 60 when it’s on.) I like the house to be kept on the colder side, but sometime, it’s a little brisk so if I am home and cold, I am probably just going to bake something, to stay warm of course. This focaccia was my first foray baking to stay warm of the cold season. It was 40 degrees out and the heat still wasn’t on, and I just so happen to be going through my spice drawer and found a batch of everything bagel seasoning that I had mixed up a couple months ago that needed to be used. Hence the bread.

Cold weather+found seasoning+I should make something for dinner=everything bagel focaccia. Or you can just make it because it is super easy and every time I make focaccia it gets gobbled right up. Especially this time. Barb and the mr ate half of it at dinner. And I think the other half was gone by the next day. To quote the mr. “This focaccia is professional”. He said it with a mouth full of bread. No shit dude. I am professional. Ha

The stuff. Flour, yeast, warm water, everything bagel seasoning, sea salt, pepper, and olive oil.

Start with getting the yeast and warm water mixed together. Let it sit for a minute or 5, just to make sure it is active (this is more important to do if you are not using fresh yeast)

Once you are sure your yeast is alive, add in the flour and mix together until you are having a hard time mixing anymore.

Dump dough onto a floured surface and start to knead. Probably for 5 minutes, until you dough looks like….

This. Kneaded until smooth and beautiful .

Place dough into a deep bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Make sure the whole ball is coated. Then cover with a damp cloth and stick in a warm place to rise for about an hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.

Once dough has doubled, grab your baking sheet (can use a pan) and coat the pan with about 2 tablespoons olive oil.

Place the dough into pan and spread it out using your fingertips. Flip the dough over if you need to and keep dimpling the dough until it hits all the sides. Drizzle on another tablespoon of oil on top.

And don’t forget the seasoning. Sprinkle on all the everything seasoning along with the sea salt and some cracked pepper. Make sure to be somewhat liberal with the seasonings too because you know that’s what you want.

Into the oven for 30ish minutes then out of the oven

Look at all the everything.

Drizzle the top of the bread with a little more olive oil, pop it out of the pan, stick it on a cutting board, and that’s it. Now watch your slab of bread disappear.

Happy bread baking. Stay warm.

-C

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Everything Bagel Focaccia

make a 9x13 slab of bread

• 4 cups all purpose flour (plus a little more for kneading)

• 2 cups warm water

• 2 teaspoon yeast (or one packet)

• 3 tablespoons everything bagel seasoning*

• 1 tablespoon sea salt

• cracked pepper

• about 1/3 cup very good olive oil

*Note To make your own everything bagel seasoning mix up equal parts dried minced garlic, dried onion flakes, sesame seeds, and poppy seeds. Or I think you can buy it now at the store with all the other spices. But it’s probably cheaper to make it yourself.

To start, place yeast and warm water in a big bowl. Mix until incorporated and let sit for a minute or two or until you see little bubble form, just to make sure the yeast is active. When your sure it’s good, add in 4 cups of flour. Mix with a wooden spoon or dough mixer until it becomes hard to mix anymore. Dump the dough onto a flour surface and start to knead, adding a little bit of flour as you go if it became to sticky, until the dough is smooth and uniform. Should take about 5 minutes. Place the kneaded dough back into bowl (scrap any of the extra bits out first) and drizzle with olive oil. Make sure the whole dough is coated. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and place in a warm spot. Let dough rise for an hour, or until it has doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 375.

Once dough has doubled, grab a 9x13 baking sheet or pan and coat with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Really make sure the pan is well greased. Place dough into pan and with the tips of your fingers, smoosh and spread dough until it has filled up the pan. Drizzle with another tablespoon of oil then take your seasoning and evenly spread it all over the top. Sprinkle with salt and add a little cracked pepper. Now pop it into the preheated oven. Bake for 30 -35 minutes or until the bread has turned a nice golden brown.

Remove from oven and right away drizzle on another tablespoon or so of olive oil. Let sit for a few minutes to absorb then pop the bread out of the pan and place on a rack or cutting board and either let cool, or not. Warm focaccia is loved by all.

Sunday Happy

Another Sunday, another week gone by.

So last Sunday I took some of the family (cousins, Dad, a few siblings and a couple littles) on a hike, a hike that I did not think would be a problem for anymore. Just a 5 or 6 mile, in and out, up a mountain hike. You know, easy. Turns out that some people are not as mountain climbing able as I thought and I might have almost killed a person or two. Oops. It was good though, actually is was freaking fantastic, and most of us made it to the top, to see the spender of the world, and we all made it back down alive so all ended well. And once were were down, everyone took off, and the mr and I headed for the campground. It was raining a little, cold as shit, but still glorious. We got there, set up, then tromped through the woods some more until we were just too cold. Headed back to camp where I chopped up a pumpkin for dinner and a little asshole chipmunk stole and ate half an apple. We then spent the rest of the evening trying to stay warm sitting by the fire. When it was finally an acceptable time to sleep, (8ish) I wore all my clothes, hat and mittens, and socks to bed. I fell asleep, woke up a few hours later to some load bros being dicks and shouting, but tyou know, that shit happens, but managed to be lulled back into sleep by the mr’s snoring. Woke up in the pitch dark, made coffee, packed the site, and off to the river for the mr to do his morning fishing thing. And then back to the world of others and not just the trees. How do I not live in the trees? Some day, some day soon.

The rest of the week was whatever. Work stuff here and there. I ripped out most of the garden which was a little sad but freeing feeling. Barb came over for dinner and I plugged in my new lamp that I found on the side of the road and found a shade for it. I made a cake, cleaned the fridge, put away summer clothes. Boring stuff. There were two days back there when it got really warm again, and super humid and I almost lost my shit. And I got caught in the rain during farm share and got soaked, but other then that, nothing to eventful.

Friday I worked at the studio all day, cleaned a shit load, loaded kilns, did the happy human interaction thing. While I Was working the mr picked Judah up from school and after a trip for hot choclate, they came back home to meet me for dinner and a hair cut. That little finally let me take a few inches of hair off his head so he can now see again. I made pizza for them, we walked, Judah punched and karate chopped everything ( mostly the mr), Shannon randomly stopped by which was nice because I don’t see here enough, and then everyone left. I assed out like a champ.

Yesterday was one of those day. I am not sick, but very tired and needed a kind of down day to just not, although it was very productive anyway. Trimmed some pots, ran chores, cleaned the shit out of the house. The mr did some fly tying and we went for a long walk. Slow and nice.

And it’s Sunday which means CAMPING! We said it last week, and the week before, but I think this might actually be the last weekend camping for a little while (I am determined to get the mr to do a little winter camping) I don’t know what I am going to do now because all week long I look forward to the taking of, going hiking, having a big fire, no house to clean up, and sleeping in the tent. I guess it’s not like we still can’t do all that, and still, it’s just maybe we don’t sleep in a tent outside anymore. Huh, maybe I might be preemptively saying we are not camping anymore.. Maybe we can just sleep in the car , do car camping from now on. Good idea me, keep it keeping on. Anyway, to the Queeche Gorge State Park today. The mr hopefully has his fishing waders, I have 2 books (one to finish, one to start), a pumpkin and lentils for dinner, and my winter mittens, extra socks, and lots and lots of fire wood.

We are ready.

Stuff you might find worth looking at on the internet this week.

-Why we need small farms. Giant farms scare me. I feel like I can trust a smaller, local farm over any big as mega farm any day.

-The Best Ways to Make a Carved Halloween Pumpkin Last Longer. I might try the soaking in water, I hear it really dose work well.

-I see it happening all the time was it scares that shit out of me. The babies know how to use a freaking computer, sometime even better then me. Craziness. Raised by YouTube

-I have got mine down. How and Why to Cultivate an Evil Laugh

-The Outrageous Master Sommelier Scandal, Explained. Oh man, would I be so so pissed if I was one of the honest test takers. That shit is HARD!

-This made me smile. Same-Sex Penguin Couple Fosters An Egg In Sydney

-Did you know Ikea had veggie dogs? In two months, Ikea sold 1 million of its new veggie hot dogs

-Definitely one of my life goals. The whole trail, one fell swoop. I might even have to drag the mr along too. What's It Like To Hike The Long Trail?

-Yes, There's a Right Way to Measure Brown Sugar. I always back as much as I can…

-Ginger Lime mule is the BEST! Polar Seltzer Limited Edition / Winter 2018 Released.

And Pictures from the wee

Enjoy the day!

-C

Acorn Squash Spice Cake With Maple Frosting and Walnuts

I have been making at least one cake, if not 3, a week for the past month. Last week I did not have a cake that I needed.to make, so what did I do? I made a cake.

I might have an alternative motive here, I have started my winter squash stash, and already it is looking pretty impressive. I have delicata, acorn, kombucha, and sugar pumpkins littered all over the house. As of now I think I have a count of about 27. Some came fro the garden, some from (and still coming, all winter long) from farm share, and some came from when they went on sale at the grocery store and I filled the shopping cart up. The cashier checking me out thought I was crazy, but I get that a lot. (Like when I buy 20 heard os cabbage.. it’s like I scare them) The alternative motive is that some of the squashes don’t have the shelf life of some of the others so I need to get on to eating the ones that don’t last as long, like the delicata and pumpkins, which I am doing, gladly might I add. So while I am eating those, I figured I would use up an acorn squash for cake because well, I don’t want to have a million acorn squash laying around and I am just too busy eating the pumpkins to get the acorn. And this is why I made an acorn squash cake.

What does acorn squash cake tase like? Basically like pumpkin cake. Every time I make any sweet thing with any squash other then pumpkin, no one really seems to notice the difference, but that is not to say there isn't one. I would say that acorn has a slightly sweeter and nutter flavor then pumpkin so you might get a more flavorful flavor out of an acorn squash. And really, if you like pumpkin, your gonna like the acorn. And people love them some maple frosting so smothering that along with walnuts on this cake, well I know made some people really really happy.

That’s the real reason why I made this cake. To make some people happy. Jeeze, I am just so nice. Ha HA!

The stuff. A roasted acorn squash. flour, baking soda and baking powder, spices of cinnamon, ginger and a pinch of nutmeg, salt, oil, soy milk, brown sugar, white sugar, and a little apple cider vinegar.

Start by pureeing your squash If you haven’t already which basically involved removing seeds and skin (save seeds to rest, eat skin, it delicious) and blending the squash until smooth.

You are now ready to cake. Add squash puree and oil into bowl with the sugars and mix until completely combined. Whisk together all the dry ingredients then add in the sugar, squash, oil mixture to the wet along with the milk and apple cider vinegar. Mix until just combined then stop mixing so you don’t over mix.

Batter then gets poured evenly into two greased and lined cake pans.

And into the oven they go.

Golden brown and smelling all nice and cozy. A tester in the middle making sure that they are cooked completely.

Cakes get popped out of pans and and placed on a rack to cool completely. In the mean time, make the frosting. Powdered sugar, salt, vegan butter, maple syrup, and maybe a splash of soy milk (you might or might not need it). And don’t forget the walnuts.

Sugar, salt, butter, and maple get beaten together until creamy and smooth.

Toasted walnuts get chopped into bits.

And now it’s cake assembly time. Place one completely cooled layer on a cake plate and spread half the frosting on top. Sprinkle with half the chopped nuts. Place second layer on, spread rest of frosting on top, and sprinkle with the rest of the nut.

And done.

Now eat.

Enjoy the fall weekend and all the squash.

-C

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Acorn Squash Spice Cake With Maple Frosting and Walnuts

makes and 8 inch 2 layer cake

For the Cake

• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

• 1/2 cup white sugar

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 1/3 cup neutral oil

• 2 cups acorn squash puree*

• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 tablespoon cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon ginger

• pinch of nutmeg

• 1 1/2 cups plant milk (I used soy)

• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

  For the frosting

• 3 cups powdered sugar

• 1/2 cup earth balance or any vegan butter

• 1/2 cup real maple syrup

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1-2 teaspoons plant milk (if needed)

• 1 cup toasted walnuts

Note. For acorn squash puree. roast an acorn squash by place entire squash into oven at 425 degree for about 1/2 hour or until fork tender. Once cooked, cut in half, let cool a few minutes, then scoop out all the seeds. Remove skin and blend the squash until smooth.

Preheat oven to 350

Place brown and white sugar into bowl along with the oil and squash puree. Mix until completely incorporated. In a larger bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda and powder, salt, and spices. Pour wet mixture into dry almond with the soy milk and apple cider vinegar. Mix until just completely incorporated then stop to prevent over mixing.

Grease and parchment line two 8 inch cake pans. Pour batter evenly between pans then place into oven for 30-35 minutes or until Depp golden brown and a tester stuck into middle of cakes comes out clean. When it’s done, remove from oven, let cook a few minutes, then remove from cake pans. Place on a wire rack o cool completely.

While cake is cooling, make the frosting. Beat together the powdered sugar, salt, maple, and earth balance until nice and creamy. If the frosting seems to thick, add a splash of milk, to thin, add a 1/4 cup more of powdered sugar.

Chop walnuts into small bits if they are not already.

Once cakes are completely cooled, assemble. Place first layer on cake plate and spread 1/2 the frosting onto first layer and sprinkle on half of the chopped walnuts. Place on second layer, spread the rest of the frosting on top, and sprinkle on the rest of the nut. And that is it. Now you just need to eat it.

Store any left overs in for a day on the counter, but any longer place in an airtight container in the fridge. I even froze a few pieces and the mr loved them frozen to if you like frozen cake…..