Fall Favorites

PUMPKIN APPLE MUFFINS WITH STREUSEL TOPPING

I've been craving pumpkin. It still feels like summer here in Houston but I've decided to act like it's fall in the Midwest. This muffin recipe was delicious with a cup of freshly brewed coffee from our french press. I chose to forgo the oil and just added a couple of tablespoons of apple sauce.

Life is great. I'm very lucky. The school year is going well, my friends are all back from their world travels over teacher summer, my husband has a new job that he enjoys, and I have nothing to stress about. Hope you enjoy the recipe!

I'm back to being busy now

The school year has started and I'm back to being a busy bee.
No more blabbering on, just recipes I love.

Both are quick, comforting, and so yummy.

Apple Crisp
Broccoli Rice Casserole
Vegetable Lasagna

Hi Sarah. Here's the pizza recipe! :)

Add 1 tsp of yeast to a cup and a half of warm water with a pinch of sugar. Let that sit for about 10 minutes.

Put 4 cups of bread flour in a bowl. Make a well in it, add the yeast mixture and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes. Leave it in a floured bowl (covered with a damp cloth) to rise for 1 1/2 hours.

Make pizza! Once you've added topics (I use green and red peppers and onions or artichoke hearts and red onions), cook it on an oiled cookie sheet at 425 for 15-20 minutes.

Turns out making a latte is really pretty simple

You just need a french press.

Get some really good coffee. You can find Espresso varieties in Whole Foods. Grind it on a coarse setting, thicker than you would for an automatic pot.

Brew the coffee in your french press. (That just means you take some water that has been boiled and then let to sit for about half a minute, pour it in the french press container over the coffee grinds. Then you rest the lid on top. Let it brew on its own for about 4 minutes and then slowly push down the lid.)

Pour out the coffee into mugs, fill 1/3 to 1/2 of each mug.

Clean out the french press.

Warm some milk on the stove. Don't boil it. Just make it warm enough that your finger gets hot when you test it.

Put the warm milk in the french press. Move the plunger up and down to create a froth.

Pour some frothed milk into each coffee mug.

Yummy.

The Fruit of Our Travels

We're getting ready to leave Indiana and drive the last stretch back to our home in Houston, TX.
All of our visits have given me a couple of ideas. I have loved seeing family and friends but I'm also excited to get back to our own place where we control our own schedules, sleeping arrangements, activities... I like control.

• In Chicago, we tried deep dish pizza. It was great company, but I like my home-made version much better.
• Also in Chicago, Jenn made awesome grilled vegetables that I want to try. Red and yellow peppers, corn and asparagus. All heavenly. I don't know why I ever boiled asparagus.
• My mom is getting us bikes as an early Christmas gift (awesome) so I'm psyched to have no excuse. From now on, I will ride my bike the 3 miles to the co-op to get locally grown produce. I'll have to get more creative since you get what you get. The bikes will make it more convenient to get to the park where we drop off our compost too.
• Sam's grandma made a scrumptious Italian dish called pasta fasul that I want to give a try.
• I WILL MAKE MY OWN LATTE! So delicious but so expensive when you buy one at a time. I got a discount french press from Marshall's (I love that place because they sometimes have shoes that fit my huge size 11 feet) and am on the look out for a milk steamer. I hear it's just a little kettle/pot gig with a thermometer. Anyone know where I can find a very simple inexpensive version?
• Oh and we officially do not eat fish now. I used to say I was open to eating fish because my mom wanted to be able to make something that the whole family would eat. Now she realizes that you can make vegetarian dishes that carnivores, omnivores, and herbivores can all enjoy.

cross country

I ran cross country in middle school and high school. I was horribly slow and not at all competitive but it was so nice to be on a team. We had great fun together. I still run... but nowhere close to every day. Nowhere close. I wish. I should. We'll see.

We finally have our car back! I called the body shop over and over to tell them I absolutely needed it back by today and they just kept pushing it back. This morning, Sam called and they totally blew him off saying it would be "today or tomorrow" after they had told us yesterday that it would be done at 9:30am today. Reluctantly, I had to call and be really forceful today- I hated it!!!! But, surprise surprise, the car was read 20 minutes after the call. Grrr. My friend Sara is my saving grace for driving me too and from work while it was in the shop. Grace.

Cross country- We're off to the CHARMING midwest. 18 hour drive and then we'll be in Chicago to see my college friend Jenn. She's great; you should meet her. Better yet, you should go out with her in Chicago. Yay! Then it's off to Indiana to see Sam's parents at their beautiful calming and rural home. Stop 3- Northeast Ohio to visit my parents and my great ever-since-middle-school-girlfriends! I'm super excited about seeing these girls. We've been hanging out as a group since we were... 14? The interesting thing is that we're really different in a lot of ways but growing up together makes it easy to realize how great they are. Gab gab gab. Why I am I writing this? I have no idea.

Last night, Sam and our friend John cooked dinner for Sara and I because I was being a SPAZZ. They made spicy chickpeas. I had tried the recipe a few times and made it... not so well. Sam and John, being patient skillful people, followed the recipe and it turned out wonderfully. It was yummy. The end.

speaking of sam

check him out.
http://www.artbreak.com/wukusick
(you know you want to buy his art)