350 degrees

12 x 18 would work  I used a Bundt pan–greased and floured

Beat:

1 1/4 cups oil

2 cups brown sugar

Add:

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups canned pumpkin (or one 15 oz can)

4 eggs–beat in 1 at a time

Gradually beat in:

2 cups flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Bake 30 minutes or longer for Bundt pan

When cool can be frosted or left as is. I whipped up a cream cheese frosting that I could eat all by itself by the bowl full!! I tinted it orange for a festive touch!

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Post tags: Bake, baking, Bundt, bundt pan, Cake, canned pumpkin, cinnamon, cream cheese frosting, halloween, Pumpkin, pumpkin cake, Thanksgiving

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The Hoover at work!

Luckily there was still this pan full for the rest of us!

Overnight Coffee Cake

Beat the following until fluffy–

4 eggs, 2 cups sugar, 1 1/2 cups coconut oil, 2 t vanilla  (I used 1/2 coconut oil and 1/2 butter)

Mix with a whisk–

6 cups pastry flour, 8 t baking powder, 2 t salt  ( I also added cinnamon)

Add dry alternately with 2 cups of milk or buttermilk (I used plain yogurt)

Pour into 2 oiled 9x 13 pans  (I used 1 9x 13 and 1 deep dish pie pan)

Lay fruit on top ( I used a  frozen berry mixture)

Topping– 1 1/2 c sugar, 1 1/3 c flour, 2t cinnamon, cut in enough butter to make it crumbly)

Put in fridge overnight

Bake 350 for 40 minutes

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Post tags: Bake, baking, blog, c flour, Cake, cinnamon, coconut oil, coffee, coffee cake, deep dish, dish pie, double recipe, family, friends, Home, mixture, pastry flour, photo, photos, Pie, post, powder, recipe, Recipes, Thursday, yogurt

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We made a couple batches of seasonal playdough. Spiked with the scents of Autumn…Apple Cinnamon and Vanilla

Autumn Scented Playdough

1 cup flour
1 cup water
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon powdered alum
1/2 cup salt
2 tablespoons vanilla
food coloring

Mix all dry ingredients. Add oil and water and food coloring. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until reaching the consistency of mashed potatoes. Remove from heat add the vanilla.  Knead the playdough.

For the apple cinnamon batch of playdough we added red food coloring and cinnamon and cloves.

For the vanilla batch we added a few drops of yellow food coloring.

Keep this in a covered container in the fridge.

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Post tags: apple, apple cinnamon, apple pie, Autumn, autumn apple, camping, Christmas, cinnamon, cinnamon and cloves, coconut, different seasons, dough, Fall, homey, memory, photo, photos, Play, playdough, powdered alum, Pumpkin, Scented, scents, sense of smell, smell, summer, sun tan lotion, vanilla, yellow food coloring

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I turned the oven up to 450 and spread the seasoned chickpeas in a single layer onto a cookie sheet.

I roasted them for a long time–stirring them up occasionally. Kind of like making pumpkin seeds–they are wet and take a long time to dry and then roast. You can decide how dry or crunchy you like them. I took them out and tried them but thought they were just dry and not too crunchy. So I put them back in for a little while longer.

Just right! I think these will be a perfect snack for a long car ride!! These definitely need to be accompanied by a nice cold drink!

I am thinking of trying some different seasonings next time—with onions and garlic powder or hot and spicy spike or fresh herbs or even a little cinnamon and sugar…so many possibilities!

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Post tags: ChickPea, Chickpeas, cinnamon, coconut, coconut oil, Cook, dry chickpeas, fresh herbs, garlic, garlic powder, healthy snack, onions, pepper, recipe, roast, salt and pepper, seasonings, seed, Seeds, single layer, Snack, spicy, Thursday

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3/4 cup oil

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 t vanilla

2 cups grated zucchini (or more )

1/2 cup sour milk or buttermilk (I used some of my homemade yogurt)

3 T cocoa powder

1/2 t baking powder

1 t baking soda

1/2 t cinnamon

1/2 t cloves

2 1/2 cups of flour

as many chocolate chips as you want

I also I have been known to add some cayenne pepper to this chocolaty cake! Goes great with the other spices and chocolate.

Heat the oven to 350  Grease a 9×13 pan  Mix all ingredients and bake 30-35 minutes

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Post tags: Bake, baking, baking soda, Cake, cayenne, cayenne pepper, chocolate, chocolate chips, chocolate zucchini cake, chocolaty, cinnamon, cocoa, cocoa powder, double chocolate, Homemade, homemade yogurt, moist cake, photo, photos, picture, recipe, summer, Thursday, yogurt, zucchini

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So in honor of National Pretzel Day here is a blast from the past (May 2008!)

Homemade Soft Pretzels

We followed a recipe that promised Aunt Annie’s Pretzels-like from the mall.  They weren’t exactly Aunt Annie’s but not too bad either.  I used white whole wheat flour for ours-white flour definitely would have been better.  Ours were really heavy.  And as far s the amount this recipe makes-unless you are feeding an army cut this recipe in half as this makes at least a dozen pretzels and they don’t save well.

Aunt Annie’s Soft Pretzel Recipe

In a large bowl combine 1 1/2 tsp live active yeast with 1 1/2 cups 110 degree water, 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar and dash of salt.  Let sit 5 minutes

Add 4 cups flour mix well and knead for 5 minutes

Put in greased bowl and cover with damp towel and let sit 1 hour in a warm place.

Divide into 8 to 12 pieces -we divided into 16 pieces-and they were still pretty thick.

Roll into rope and shape , dip into 1/4 cup warm water that has 1 tablespoon baking soda mixed in.

Bake at 500 degrees for 8 minutes

Brush liberally with melted butter and sprinkle with kosher salt or 2 tablespoons mixed with melted butter and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar or parmesan cheese and garlic salt and serve with marinara sauce.

Mmmmmmmm!

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Post tags: Annies, aunt annies, Bake, baking, cinnamon, cups flour, flour mix, holiday, Homemade, homemade soft pretzels, national pretzel day, parmesan cheese, Pretzel, Pretzels, Pretzels-like, recipe, soft pretzel recipe, white whole wheat, white whole wheat flour, whole wheat flour, yeast

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I love Indian food. Like really love it!! And I love chai tea. I have tried several kinds at several different places. My favorite at home is celestial seasonings decaf chai and my favorite out at a coffee shop is at Global Gallery where they grind their own spices. Mmm it’s really spicy.

Today has been a rainy chilly day here in Columbus — a perfect day for tea.

I have two Indian cookbooks checked out of the library right now that are fantastic!

INDIAN HOME COOKING by Suvir Saran and  Stephanie Lyness and INDIA WITH PASSION by Manju Malhi  The chai recipe came from the latter.

chai ka masala     spiced tea

3-4   1 1/8 inch cinnamon sticks or cassia bark

6 cloves

4 black peppercorns

6 green carmamoms  seeds only

1 black cardamom, seeds only (optional)

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp ground ginger

Dry roast all but ginger for 2 minutes

Cool  Add ginger and grind to a fine powder

cool completely and store in airtight container in dark place up to 6 months

add a pinch when brewing tea  1/4 tsp flavors 2 cups of tea

add to boiling water pot of tea and milk

I found my frother–it made all the difference

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Post tags: black peppercorns, book, brewing tea, cardamom, cardamom seeds, cassia, celestial seasonings, chai, chai recipe, cinnamon, coffee shop, Columbus, cooking, fennel, fennel seeds, Food, global gallery, ground ginger, inch cinnamon sticks, INDIA, INDIAN, indian home cooking, manju malhi, Moms, pepper, photo, photos, pot of tea, rainy, recipe, roast, spiced tea, spicy, stephanie lyness, suvir saran, Tea, Thursday

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We have been eating this for breakfast and dessert this week. It tastes like a home baked treat but really it is healthy enough to enjoy any time of the day. Or even multiple times!

Apple Crumble

You will need a 9×13 pan and about 10 apples

In a food processor puree 1/2 cup of raisins (I used 1/2 dates and 1/2 raisins), 2 lbs apples (about 10 small apples) with skin on, 1 tsp cinnamon

Line the pan with this mixture

For the crumble process 4 oz almonds, 5 oz pecans, 4oz oat groats soaked 8 to 12 hrs and 2-3 oz honey or agave. Add more dry oats if this is too wet.

Crumble over top of apples.

For the banana ice cream break up 4 frozen bananas into the food processor and blend until they reach a creamy consistency. This will take a while so be patient.

We added 1/2 a scraped pod of vanilla beans and a few squares of dark chocolate for chocoalte chip ice cream. Even my picky, junk food loving, husband like this ice cream!

I have seen many different additions to this ice cream–chia seeds, nuts, fruit–frozen or dried, carob powder or almond butter. I think next time I will add some mint leaves to make a mint chocolate chip.

This ice cream is really smooth and creamy and the banana flavor is not overwhelming at all.

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Post tags: agave, almond, almond butter, almonds, apple, apple crumble, Bake, banana, banana flavor, banana ice cream, blog, breakfast, carob, carob powder, chia, chia seeds, chip ice cream, chocoalte, chocolate, cinnamon, cooking, creamy consistency, dark chocolate, dessert, Food, food processor, frozen banana, frozen bananas, homeschool, homeschool classes, honey, mint, mint chocolate chip, Mix, mixture, nuts, oat, oat groats, oats, pecans, project, puree, RAW, recipe, Thursday, treat, vanilla, vanilla beans

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I swear to heaven above that these really do taste like Sour Patch Kids. Only they are a little more healthy!

I saw this recipe on local, Columbus blogger Rachel’s,  Hounds in the Kitchen. I knew right away that I would love this sweet and Oh, so sour concoction!! And boy was I right! I barely have any enamel left on my teeth after eating almost a whole bag of these sugary, sour goodies.

You will need to mix :

2 T of honey with 2 T of hot water in a bowl. To that add grated orange peel, 1/2 t cinnamon (more or less)  and 1 teaspoon (more or less)  vanilla extract.

Rinse a bag of cranberries and add to the bowl, mixing to coat.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment and pour a mix of 1 to 2 cups of powder sugar and granulated sugar.

With a slotted spoon, add cranberries to the sugar mix and coat well.  Let sit about 30 minutes or until sugar hardens. Store in a jar for 3 to 4 days. I didn’t use a slotted spoon so  mine are still drying since this morning. But that didn’t stop me from eating them all day!!!

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Post tags: AKA Snowey, blog, blogger, cinnamon, Columbus, cranberries, goodies, Homemade, honey, Kids, Kitchen, ORANGE, orange peel, photo, photos, powder sugar, recipe, snow, Sour, sour patch kids, sugar mix, Sugared, sugared cranberries, Thursday

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Looking for a healthy breakfast cereal? Looking for a handmade gift? Homemade granola fits both bills! Store bought granola can be expensive and often unhealthy, but making a large batch at home can save you some money as well as allowing you to customize the ingredients.

We made two different granola recipes in the past few weeks. Both are really good and when put in a pretty jar make a great holiday gift.

The first recipe is taken from a new favorite cook book of mine, FEEDING THE WHOLE FAMILY

MAPLE BUTTER NUT GRANOLA

Makes 8 cups

Pre-heat 325

3 1/2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup sesame seeds

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup chopped almonds

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup maple syrup

1 Tablespoon nut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients

In a small pan melt buter, add maple syrup, and nut butter and stir to blend. Remove from heat and add extracts

Slowly pour wet over dry ingredients.  Fold and evenly coat dry ingredients

Spread on cookie sheet or shallow pan and bake until dry and golden-45 to 60 minutes, turning every 15 to 20 minutes so that it toasts evenly.

I added some of this to a bowl of pomegranate seeds and literally thought I had died and gone to heaven!!! No milk necessary.

The next day I added dry coconut and a banana to my bowl of granola/pomegranate. Equally delicious!

The kids had theirs parfait style. (In a tall glass, layered with frozen fruit and almond or coconut milk)

The second recipe is from the files of Abby, who swears she doesn’t know where she got this recipe.

MIX AND MATCH APPLESAUCE GRANOLA

3 1/2 cups rolled oats

2 cups puffed rice cereal

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

pinch ground cardamom (don’t skip this!!)

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup plain applesauce

1/4 cup maple syrup or honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

up to 1 1/2 cups chopped nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, cashews, macadamia nuts, pumpkin seeds…..)

up to 1 cup chopped dried fruit (cranberries, raisins, apricots, cherries, blueberries, raspberries…….)

Pre-heat 325 and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper (or two smaller ones)

In a large bowl combine oats, cereal and spices. In another bowl, whisk together sugar, applesauce, maple syrup, and vanilla.

Pour wet over dry, adding nuts and stir to combine.

Spread on baking sheet in an even layer

Bake 30 minutes, turning over and baking 15 more minutes or until golden brown

This recipe was great for snacking. It was more clumpy than the first recipe. The cardamom really gives this one a warm taste.

You can find some cute glass containers at the grocery or the thrift store. Add a pretty label with the recipe and you have a wonderful handmade inexpensive gift that anyone would love to receive!

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Post tags: almonds, apple, applesauce, Bake, banana, breakfast, Cashew, cashews, chopped almonds, chopped nuts, cinnamon, coconut milk, cook book, COOKIE, cranberries, cup brown sugar, cup maple syrup, cup pumpkin, cup sesame seeds, cup sunflower seeds, dried fruit, dry coconut, family, granola recipes, grocery, ground cardamom, ground ginger, healthy breakfast cereal, holiday, homemade granola, macadamia, macadamia nuts, maple syrup, oats, photo, photos, pomegranate seeds, Pumpkin, pumpkin seeds, Recipes, rice cereal, sunflower, sunflower seeds, syrup, Tea, teaspoon cinnamon, teaspoon salt, teaspoon vanilla, thrift, thrift store, Thursday, walnuts

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