weird halloween ~ let's bake!

I woke to a sea of green leaves in our side yard and patio this morning. 

A hard frost overnight stripped the trees almost completely bare.

Last year on Halloween, we had a freak snowstorm that dumped several inches of snow on us. Trick-or-treating was cancelled. This year, it's 57 degrees with a brilliant, blue sky.

And a blue moon. And a pandemic.

Spooky for real.

I don't do much baking these days, but my hubby likes an occasional sweet treat. And we both love pumpkin. This pumpkin bread recipe is different in that it's made with whole wheat flour and uses olive oil instead of butter. It's also heavy on the spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves...which make the house smell warm and cozy and fall-like.

The recipe is from the book, "Eat This Poem" ~ which is fabulous. It's filled with poems and short stories with each recipe, which emphasize the love and importance of nourishing ourselves and our family and friends. 

OLIVE OIL PUMPKIN BREAD

1-3/4 cups whole-wheat flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup turbinado sugar (I used coconut sugar)

1 T pumpkin spice mix (recipe follows)

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup water

1 cup pumpkin puree (from a can is fine, preferably organic)

2 large eggs

2 T pumpkin seeds

Preheat the oven to 350F and prepare a loaf pan by buttering or lining with parchment paper. Stir the flour, brown and turbinado sugars, pumpkin spice mix, baking soda, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl. Pour the olive oil and water into another bowl, then whisk in the pumpkin puree and eggs. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and gently incorporate with a wooden spoon, stirring just until no traces of flour remain. Scrape the batter into the loaf pan; sprinkle with the pumpkin seeds. Bake for 50 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then turn the loaf onto a wire rack to cool completely. 

Pumpkin Spice Mix

(Use the extra to add to oatmeal or pancake batter!)

2 T ground cinnamon

2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp ground allspice

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I hope that you do give this bread a try ~ it goes perfect with a cup of tea or coffee.

Happy Halloween ~ be safe and well.

💓

i wish this were a trick

This is what we woke up to this morning. The snow finally just stopped...wet, heavy, wind-whipped snow that dumped a few more inches on us. Wonder if we'll get any trick-or-treaters? We don't get many as it is.

Snow this early in the season is rare for us. Sure, it's almost November and we did cover up all the patio furniture last weekend (always makes me sad), but snow? A very cruel trick, Mother Nature.

Just a few days ago, we were still enjoying the beauty of the color change...

enjoying a bonfire in the back yard....

 and our usual walk down to the lake after dinner.

 I'm looking out my window at the poor leaves on the trees covered in snow; some branches so heavy that they're bent to the ground.

Happy Halloween ~ enjoy some treats!

decorating my front porch for halloween

With Halloween being right around the corner, I wanted to decorate my front porch in a simple way for the trick-or-treaters who come to our door. I didn't want anything elaborate or gory. Neither is my style.

(Disclaimer: As a member of the Wayfair Homemaker program, I have been compensated for this post. All ideas and opinions are completely my own.)

I gathered various pumpkins and a hay bale from the local farm stand for the basics and was wondering what I could incorporate for a fun, simple Halloween touch. Wayfair has all sorts of outdoor Halloween decor to choose from ~ anything from spooky to cute. When I saw these metal spooky cat pumpkin holders, I knew they were just what I was looking for.

I think these kitty pumpkin holders are the perfect touch for Halloween; decor that both children and adults enjoy.

These pumpkin holders couldn't be easier to use either: simply place the pumpkin into the round "body" and then stick the metal head and tail right into the pumpkin.

You could even use these cats indoors. The smaller one is the purrfect size for a side table or buffet.

 The best thing about these kitties is that their eyes light up! There's little switches on the back of the heads that make the eyes glow green from the LED lights.

These kitties will look extra cool ~ and a little spooky ~ on Halloween as it's getting dark and kids approach our house. I think they'll love it!

May your Halloween be filled with lots of treats ~ no tricks!