Sunday Happy

I know some people are bummed that summer is over and that is has been abnormally cool and dreary this past week but I couldn’t be happier about it. I have worn some of my favorite sweaters, busted out all my comfy socks, and even pulled an extra blanket out for the bed. Yes friend, just yes.

We started the week hiking up Mt Elmore to the fire town and took the ridge to the big balancing rock. The day was gorgeous, the view was stunning, and the camping that night was good as usual, although it did rain a little on our fire and it kind of puttered out. We didn't really care, we just crawled into the tent early and were not mad about it. After a good nights sleep we woke up, packed up, and headed on into town. Did some stuff, made some bread for birthday dinner, then headed over to said birthday dinner with Miley. The girl is 14 freaking years old now and I don’t even know. When the hell did that happen? Anyway, we just hung out, Erin made her a cake, Emerson blew out the candles, we gave her a box of raisins with some money in it, Judah didn’t punch her back even though she was pounding on him, and Barb smashed a pyrex full of mac and cheese all over the floor. All and all It was a good night.

The rest of the week went by fast with work and paper work and making the lists of all the fall projects that need to get done. Then Friday after work, we headed over to Alex’s 16th birthday party. And I know, that happened too. A night of jokes, pizza, and another ice cream cake, all the while Sophia harassed everyone with her skeleton cat and Anthony broke everyones ribs from squeezing us with his massive arms. Then after Alex was sick of us, we went home.

Saturday was a wet one and because of that, the farm canceled it’s annual pumpkin day where we all get on a wagon and ride to the pumpkin patch. But my farmers being awesome and amazing told me I could walk out to the the fields if I didn’t mind getting wet. And so that is what we did. Rain jackets and boots, grabbed a wagon, and walked ourselves to the pumpkin patch. I think I enjoyed it even more then the wagon ride. And we didn’t have to see any other people. Ha! Had the first pick of the pumpkins! After that, we went back to the loft for hot chocolate and giant marshmallows and then we brought them home. The rest of the night I spent cleaning because that is what I do with my Saturday nights.

Today. Another wet one. We bounced the idea around to skip camping this week but as of right now, we have decided to preserver and just go for it. There are only a few more weekends of camping left so we figured we might as well. Plus I always think fall looks best on a rainy day. So yeah, we are going and it’s gonna be wet! Hope we can find some dry firewood.

Some internet from the week

- I just sent out a family Thanksgiving text.It seemed early but I there can be no excuses this year. @ months notice is ample time to figure shit out, no? The holidays are coming! The Atlantic Daily: Start Planning Your Holidays Now

-Mail Delivery Is About To Get Slower And Pricier Just In Time For The Holidays. Well shit. This kind of sucks.

-I have always said that I would never run a mrarthon, that I just don’t see the point. Buuuttttt… I kinda sorta have thought about it recently. 🤷‍♀️ Why do people run marathons?

-80s Fantasy Movies Are Awesomely Cheesy. DUH!

-How reading aloud can help you bond with your kids and make them better readers. Why is this not obvious to everyone?

-What Are Sichuan Peppercorns? First of All, They’re Not Peppers

-I know a lot of kids that think this. I was one of them. Kids are onto something: Homework might actually be bad

-Where Trust Grows Alongside Produce. Respect the honor system! Don’t be an asshole.

Pictures from the week

-C

Fall Spiced Banana Bread

I am not going to call a spice mixture pumpkin spice when there is no freaking pumpkin involved in the spice at all. If there is in fact some pumpkin in the whatever you are eating and or drinking, well then sure. But people need to stop referring to things as pumpkin spice if the pumpkin is not there. It is very misleading and it drives me nuts.

Sorry (not sorry) if you disagree, but friend, you know I am right.

With that said, I offer you a warm fall spiced (because there is no pumpkin here) banana bread. It is your basic, fantastic, banana-y bread with a good kick of warm fall spices to make it just a tad more fantastic. A loaf to celebrate the cool and cozy season to come. And a great way to use up all the bananas that we (me) might have forgotten were in the fridge.

And really, who doesn't want to turn on the oven now that it is a bit chilly these days, no? Banana bread will keep you warm while baking and make your house smell amazing. Win win win!! (Third win is because you get to eat banana bread.)

Now to the spiced banana bread!

The stuff. Really ripe bananas, flour, baking powder and soda, salt, brown sugar, oil, apple cider vinegar, an spices. Cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and a touch or black pepper.

Banana bread basics. Mash bananas in a big bowl until a small chunky goop. Add in sugar, oil and vinegar and mix until combined. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a small separate bowl then add to the wet. Gently fold the dry into the wet until the mixture is completely incorporated but then stop, do not over-mix.

Pour batter into a well greased loaf pan and sprinkle the tip with sugar then pop that bad boy into the oven to bake. After about an hour, once it loos all nice and dark brown and a tester comes out clean, remove pan from oven. Let cool a minutes then pop the bread from pan and place on a wire rack to cool for a little bit.

Once cooled (or cooled enough), slice it up and eat it. Make sure the slices are nice and thick, then pour yourself a hot drink (I recommend coffee or strong black tea) and go sit someplace warm and cosy and enjoy yourself a nice fall moment.

-C

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Fall Spiced Banana Bread

makes 1 loaf

• 2 cups all purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg*

• 1/4 teaspoon clove*

• 1 teaspoon ground ginger*

• 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon*

• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper *

• 1/4 teaspoon allspice*

• 4 very ripe bananas (about 2 cup mashed banana)

• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar

• 1/2 cup neutral oil

• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

• 1 tablespoon raw or brown sugar (to sprinkle on top. Optional)

*Note. If you already have a spice blend like pumpkin spice, you can just use a tablespoon of that.

Preheat oven to 375.

Grab a big bowl and throw in unpeeled bananas. With a fork or potato masher, mash bananas up until kinda smooth (some chunks are good). Add in brown sugar, oil, and vinegar and mix together. Add flour, baking powder and soda, salt, and all the spices into a separate bowl and whisk together. Then gently fold the dry mixture into the wet until completely combined but do not over mix.

Pour batter into a well greased loaf pan then sprinkle the top with raw or brown sugar (optional). Place pan in oven and bake for 55- 60 minutes or until the top is a deep golden brown and when a test poke comes out clean.

Remove pan form oven and carefully remove bread from loaf pan. Place on a wire rack to cool for at least 15-20 minutes before cutting into it, but when you do, cut thick slices and eat warm or cold or whatever.

Store bread at room tepature in a airtight container for 3-4 days or in fridge for a week. Individual pieces can be wrapped and frozen as well, but you probably will just eat it all before that needs to happen.

Sunday Happy

How you doing? The weather around here is fine fine fine these past few days. I’ll focus on that because the world has got me going and feeling all softs of ways right now and I can’t even. It is so much. But apples right? And sweaters. I pulled on a sweater for the first time in what felt like forever and it was just the best.

Another week. Started off with the usual camp, hike, kayak, and soup. (It never gets old). We found ourselves crawling into the tent little earlier then usual because it’s getting darker earlier, and fell fast asleep because it is not stupid hot at night anymore! Then we woke up, drank coffee, walked around in the dark, and came back to town.

Back to the world and I had the same thought I have every time… “Why did we come back?” I really should live in a hut in the middle of the forest. Haha, but for reals. Anyway I spent most of the week down in my studio, doing my thing, staying away from people. Everyone is getting sick and I am not having any of that, no thank you. I did have lunch with Barb though cause its Barb and I also picked up farm share, went on many walks, glazed some stuff at the studio, and ate another entire watermelon all to myself. I am getting pretty good at that, if I do say so myself.

So yeah, not very eventful in my little bubble and I am a ok with that.

It’s back to Sunday and we are going camping and feeling fine for it. Going to try and not think to much about much of anything and just take the day as it is, away from people, the news, the things and the stuff, and be happy amongst the trees. And drink all the coffee. I can already tell its gonna be a extra few cups kind of day today!

Internet from the week.

-Fuuuucck Texas and Fuuuuuuck the Supreme Court. The staggering implications of the Supreme Court’s Texas anti-abortion ruling

-I love this so much! Sprawling Paper-Pulp Mobiles by Yuko Nishikawa Suspend Whimsically Colored Pods in the Air

-This Road Trip Map Helps You Visit the 47 Iconic National Parks in the Shortest Time. Even if this country seems like a shit show right now, this is on the bucket list!

-I do it all the time. It Turns Out, You Can Store Tomatoes in the Fridge

-Just lovely. Dark, and Deep: An 1800s Victorian House in Nebraska, Restored Down to the Doorknobs

-If You Can’t Stand People Fidgeting, You May Have Misokinesia. Maaaaybe me?

-Dogs are so smart! Your Dog May Know If You've Done Something On Purpose, Or Just Screwed Up

-Oh to love or to hate the lady. I love her, I can’t help it. But believe everything, well not exactly. The Promises Martha Stewart Made—and Why We Wanted to Believe Them

-The Great British Pudding Mystery: What, Exactly, Is a Spotted Dick? And to think I thought it was just a spotted dick. HAHA!

Pictures from the week.

Pear Cobbler

My neighbor has a couple pear trees and every year, for a few weeks in August, every time I pass his house (I walk by it like 5 times a day) he jumps out at me asking if want some pears. I always say yes, even if it is just one or two. How can I pass up free pears?

The last batch of pears I got from him were a little on the meh side, like at the point were you wouldn’t really enjoy eating them raw but are still good for baking which is fine by me and the reason I made a cobbler. Well that and the mr asked me to. (#1 girlfriend here!)

So here is it. A pretty basic pear cobbler which is to say a pretty fantastic pear cobbler. It is like a pear pie but with a biscuity top instead of a pie crust. And thats it, nothing fancy, just straight up pear goodness.

You know you want it so just make it.

Now to the cobbler.

The stuff. Pears, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, plant milk, oil, noise sugar, cinnamon and alittle more flour, apple cider vinegar, and little plant butter.

clean, core, and slice up pears.not to small and roughly the same size.

Butter a baking, dump in the pears and toss with sugar, cinnamon, and a little flour. Place in oven while preheating to start the pears cooking.

Now biscuits. Mix all the dry together then add in the oil and milk, Gently fold just until the wet and dry are incorporated . Place mixture in fridge while pears cook.

Once the oven is preheated and the pears have had a time to cook a bit, grab the cold biscuit dough from fridge and carefully grab the pears from the oven.

Drop biscuit dough on top of the hot pears, sprinkle with the raw sugar, and pop it the whole shebang back into the oven for another half hour or so.

Out of the oven looking all fine and shit.

And the you eat it.

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Pear Cobbler

serves 6ish people

For filling

• 4 large or 6-7 smaller pears

• 1/4 cup brown sugar

• 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• pinch salt

• 2 teaspoons flour

• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

• 1 teaspoon vegan butter (to grease pan)

  for biscuits

• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

• 2 teaspoon baking powder

• 3 tablespoons white sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/3 cup neutral oil (or olive if you want)

• 2/3 cup of plant milk

• 1 tablespoon raw sugar

Clea, core and slice up pears. Grease a square ( 8x8 or a little larger) baking pan with the butter and dump the pears in. Add the vinegar , brown sugar, 2 teaspoons flor, and the cinnamon into the pan and toss around until the pears all all coated. Place the pan into the oven and start to preheat to 425 degrees.

Once pears are in oven, make biscuits. Mix all the dry together then add in the oil and milk. Gently fold the wet with dry just until incorporated (don’t over mix or they will be tough). Place dough in fridge,

One oven is preheated, let pears cook for about another 8ish minutes the carefully remove pan from oven. Grab biscuit dough from fridge and carefully drop clumps of dough on top of hot pears. Sprinkle with the raw sugar n then pop pan back into oven, redoing heat to 400.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until biscuits are a nice deep golden brown.

Remove from oven, let cool far a few minutes, then dig in.

Left overs can be stored in the fridge, covered, for a few days and eaten cold or reheated.

Sunday Happy

Just the other night the mr and I were having the conversations about doing the heater checks in all the apartments, what the plans are going to be for the holidays, and all the end of the year things that need to be done before, well the end of the year. It was a weird conversation because were did the year even go? 2020 flying on by through a shit storm and we are not slowing down.

Another great week that began with more fantastic hiking and camping. We were at one of my favorite places, Groton Forest, ans lucky not a whole heck of a lot of people were there. Our hikes were beyond gorgeous,the air was cool, it was quiet and calm, and the sky was clear. Just a solid A+ camp.

Then we slept, woke up, broke down camp and came home. Every week we come home is hard. The mr and I could live in the woods forever! Life goals.

The rest of the week went as usual. The mr off doing all the work he always is doing plus talking to plumbers, plaining wood with Judah, selling (and sold) Barbs car, and was getting in as much fall scootering as he could before the thing needs to be stored away for winter. Me, same same. Studio stuff. Did some glazing, made more things, trying to get super ready for the holiday season and have a good stock of stuff to sell.

Not much really in the way fo eventfulness maybe besides me and Miley made a cake for shits and giggles then had dinner with Barb. Or that the mr and I filled out our ballets and I went and dropped them off at city hall. We also took the boys for a bike/walk. I picked up my second to last farm share for the summer (winter share starts in November) Oh, and I broke my freaking favorite eating fork. I have been eaten almost all my meals with this fork for like 10 years and it was truly a fantastic fork, perfect weight, perfect angle, perfect sharp tines. So that shook me. But I’ll be ok.

Today the mr and I are heading out for our second to last camp. Already sad about it but I am trying to not think about it too much. I want to just enjoy all the trees ans colors and go for a good hike and sit by a nice fire and go to sleep on the ground. All the good things.

Internet to read if you are so inclined.

-The mr and I had this conversation a few months back. It is pretty interesting to heat and see what others think too We Asked Americans How They Feel About The U.S. Flag. It Got Interesting.

-This Kitchen.. 2 different stoves and a wood fireplace!

-I am going to be one with the cracked teeth, I have jaw problems as it is ans I don’t remember the last time I have’t clenched my jaw. Oh wait, I think it was sometime in 2016. Sleepless Nights, Hair Loss And Cracked Teeth: Pandemic Stress Takes Its Toll

-Why social media makes you feel so old. So so old.

-I never put my vintage pyrex into the oven because I am always afraid of it exploding (it has happened before and has stayed with me) What You Really Need to Know About Exploding Glass Bakeware

-How to Survive 5 Extreme Weather Scenarios. We have been caught in some pretty extreme weather. I guess we are lucky to be alive. HA!

-Ad ode to the fork. The Rise of the Fork

-What’s the Weirdest Place You’ve Taken a Call Lately?. If you haven’t talked on the phone while you are on the toilet, well then, where are yo talking from?

-Chairs. PLEASE, HAVE A SEAT.

-Kill Your Gas Stove. I have come to terms with the fact that that next time I need a new stove or am building a new kitchen, no more gas. Induction it will be.

Pictures from the week

-C