Curtains & Christmas Lights

I thought I would post some photos of our living room once we got our new lovely curtains hung, at last (on Nov. 30th). Kevin took down the old (awful) curtain rod and we patched up the wall in a few spots. Someone had put the middle 'brace' for the rod completely off center over the window so we patched that spot and had to touch up the paint a tiny bit. Then we (Kevin) drilled fresh holes and mounted the new curtain rod - and actually *centered* it correctly over the windows. The little bit of OCD in me is rejoicing. ;) 

I got this curtain rod at Garden Ridge for $19.99 ... here, Kevin is making some adjustments to it on the wall. We're waiting on the curtains to steam in the washing machine.

And here are the lovely curtains, hung at last. The furniture is still in flux at this point but I had to snap a photo. I'm SO pleased with the height of the curtains; they are absolutely just right. I wanted them nearly brushing the floor, but not. It looks a little weird in the photo - I think the cats had already messed them sitting in the window or something.

I thought, while the couch was in the middle of the living room, it might be nice to just rearrange the room. I had been thinking about 'flipping' everything and putting the couch where the chairs were. I think it looks better this way, at least for now; I will probably get sick of it in another 6 months and come up with an entirely different way of arranging the furniture. But for now it's great. I think the chairs (especially the orange swivel one) look great against the light blue curtains.

Here's a photo of the couch in it's new spot. I think it looks nice. =)

Also, our Christmas lights are up! Kevin and his brother put them up one afternoon (Dec. 2nd) and I came home from work not quite recognizing my house! It looks great but completely different. Somehow all those small bulbs, en masse, light up the house like daytime and make it look sort of (dare I say) magical and just a little bit charming.

Here is a close up at our front door. I love being able to see the tree through the door. (Perhaps it's time to move the pumpkins??)

If anyone asks for me, tell them I've died and gone to pumpkin heaven.

It's official: The pumpkin has now been elevated to divine status. The pumpkin is no longer merely an orange and cheerful squash that is carved into a Jack-O-Lantern or eaten in pies with Cool-Whip. No. No, it's much more than that. It is now ethereal and mystical and magically delicious.

The pumpkin is now ... a beignet. *queue flashing lights and triumphant orchestral tune*

This must not be passed up; you simply have to try it. Whoever thought fried beer was a good idea (It was a Texan, of course) apparently had drunk a few too many before bellying up to the frier. The pumpkin, however, is delicious in any application: baked, pied and now, fried.

Here is the recipe, as passed down by the gods on Mount Pumpkin, no lie. (Ok, fine; I actually borrowed it from this person.)

In a large mixing bowl, combine the following:

3 c all-purpose flour

2 T baking powder

1 t salt

1/2 c granulated sugar

cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and a pinch ginger; sorry, I never measure these spices.

In a small mixing bowl combine the following, then pour over the dry ingredients and stir til combined:

1 c milk

1 egg

1 c pumpkin puree

1 t vanilla

Once all the ingredients are combined, start a pot of vegetable oil on the stove over medium-high heat. I don't have a thermometer for this application, but if you do it should read about 325 degrees. Otherwise, just sprinkle in some flour and if it sizzles immediately, your oil is hot.

Spoon the batter into a large tablespoon and then push it into the oil with a second spoon. Let the beignets fry for about 5 or 6 minutes. Test with the first batch to make sure they have cooked long enough - the centers should be cooked through and not gooey. The oil temperature will fluctuate and this can make the batches come out differently. A few of mine were a little raw in the centers...this is my first time 'deep' frying something, so I guess I'm still a novice.

Dusted in powdered sugar, perfect with my mug of Earl Grey on this Halloween night.

Pumpkin Bread: Take 2

A new day. A new recipe. And a delicious loaf of pumpkin bread, at last. Good ole Martha came through for me. The only changes I made were to replace the Ginger with Cinnamon and Allspice and to decrease the sugar.

Preheat oven to 375.

Whisk together dry ingredients in a medium bowl ...

2-1/2 c all-purpose flour

2 t baking powder

1 t salt

2 T cinnamon

1 t allspice

Mix sugar and wet ingredients, then add the dry ingredients ...

1 c brown sugar, packed

1/2 c granulated sugar (recipe called for 1 c)

1 15 oz can pumpkin puree (plain pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling)

3 eggs

12 T butter, melted and slightly cooled

Once all the ingredients are combined, pour into a greased bread pan (I had enough batter leftover for 6 muffin tins) and bake for 55 minutes til toothpick comes out clean (muffins were done in about 25 minutes). Cool for a few minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a cooling rack.

A cute way to serve this is on a cake pedestal with a small pumpkin in the center and then surround it with halved slices of the bread. The cake stand I used is blue (you can see the base of it in the photo below) -- it contrasted nicely with the warm orange tones of the bread and the baby pumpkin.

Time for the season's first batch of pumpkin bread!

The poll on my blog has officially closed. The tied-for-first winners as your 'favorite thing about Fall' is 'pulling out your cold-weather wardrobe' and 'the smells and flavors of the season'. Seeing that it's currently 70 degrees here in big D, my cold-weather wardrobe will have to hang out in storage a little longer. But the warmth won't stop me from baking some pumpkin spice bread to coax the cool weather into coming back - and sticking around this time!

I borrowed the recipe from my own personal foodie crush, Alton Brown. I cannot go wrong following his lead in the kitchen. I followed the recipe almost exactly, but I nearly doubled my Vanilla, bumped up the Cinnamon, and sprinkled in some Allspice. Also, the recipe calls for 3 cups of fresh pumpkin, but I used a can which is about 3-1/2 cups (not to mention easier and faster than carving and baking a fresh pumpkin). My last modification was to decrease the sugar from 1-1/2 to 1 cup.

NOTE: Allspice is native to Central America and southern Mexico and is NOT a combination of multiple other spices. It's a berry, harvested unripe, sun-dried and then ground into the powder form usually used in cooking and baking applications.

Pumpkin Spice Bread 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Combine the following dry ingredients:

2 c All-Purpose Flour

2 t Cinnamon (I think I used about 1 T)

1 t Baking Powder

1/4 t Baking Soda

1/2 t Salt

Mix the following ingredients in a separate bowl, then pour and mix into the above dry ingredients:

1 c Sugar (the called-for 1-1/2 cups sounded like a lot to me, so I used only 1 cup; I tasted the batter after everything was mixed together and it was sweet enough for my taste and didn't overwhelm the pumpkin and spice flavors)

3/4 c Vegetable Oil

3 Eggs, whisked

2 t Vanilla (again, I doubled this - Alton only called for 1 t)

Prepared batter, before adding the pumpkin.

 Once all the above ingredients are combined, fold in ...

3 c Pumpkin (You can get canned Pumpkin or canned Pumpkin Pie Mix; get the plain Pumpkin)

Love having this in my kitchen again. =)

Loaf and bundt pans ready for the oven.

Pour batter into prepared (read: sprayed with non-stick spray such as Pam or buttered and floured) loaf pan, muffin tin, bundt pan, etc. (The recipe made enough batter for me to fill a regular loaf and almost-fill a bundt pan - I think the bundt might make a nice snack for the co-workers tomorrow!) Bake for about 1 hour, 15 minutes or until (say it with me!) a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the bread cool in the pan for a few minutes then turn out to a cooling rack.

Bundt loaf ...

... and traditional loaf, cooling on the kitchen table.

I enjoy pumpkin bread shmeared with a little cream cheese, but it's also good toasted with a little butter, or a drizzle of honey, or plain or eaten with a cup of tea. However you like it, just enjoy lots of it and experiment with your recipe, too. I thought about trying my recipe out with some chopped pecans, dried cranberries or raisins.

Feel free to share your favorite recipe or ideas for yummy add-ins to a basic pumpkin bread recipe. Thanks for reading!

PS - Speaking of pumpkins, isn't this Pumpkin Dutch Oven fantastic? Too bad it's $150 and wouldn't be used for more than a few months a year (unless you are a die hard pumpkin fan).

Well hello, Fall. *There* you are. =)

Fall is here. I am so happy. The feeling is indescribable; irreplaceable; irresistible!

I have a few Fall decorations around the house - just a few - because I love the warm colors and fragrances of this season so much. Tonight, I got some mini pumpkins and gourds for the porch; now all I need is a wreath for the wall just above the arrangement (it has a sturdy nail in place, just waiting for a seasonal wreath!) and I'll be good to go.

Inside, I have some little ceramic pumpkins in assorted colors (they are actually individual soup bowls). I have a few on the coffee table along with a delicious Spice Cake candle (So delicious! I just lit it last night for the first time) and some nesting baskets. Also in the living room, I have a few metal tea light holders with large, medium and small pumpkins on the front.

And on the kitchen counter/island, I have just a few assorted things I'm not quite sure what to do with yet - a Caramel Pecan candle, Bergamot candle (gotta get my Earl Grey in there somehow!) and a mini ceramic pumpkin. Also there is another of the larger ceramic pumpkins that lost his cap (same as the ones of the coffee table) that I filled with the rest of our Salt Water Taffy from the State Fair.

Our windows are still wide open to the cool air, though it was hard getting up this morning since it was SO cold - in the 50's! Maybe it's time to pull out the flannel sheets and start replacing the clothes in my closet with the clothes in my cedar storage closet (such a nice way to store 'overflow' or out of season pieces).

Tonight is pizza night. Not homemade. Though that is on my list of things to try! I have yet to make a homemade pizza crust, but I have found some that are yeast free and I'm wondering if that will help achieve a thinner crust, which is what Kevin and I prefer. We'll see.

Warm pizza, cool night air, and a movie with my hubby. What a nice way to spend this Fall Monday evening.

How do you decorate for Fall? Do you like Harvest or Halloween decorations? Let me know how you celebrate the season!