Pumpkin Applesauce Muffins

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I'm ready for fall.  And though the calendar says it is exactly two weeks away, I'm in denial and pretending it is here right now.  

In the spirit of all things fall, I baked Pumpkin Applesauce Muffins for an afternoon snack.  My middle Love is now eating vegan, so I tweaked a recipe in The Vegetarian Family Cookbook by Nava Atlas. 

Next time I will use gluten free flour as that is my newest adventure, eliminating as much gluten from the diet as possible.  I should have used gluten-free flour today, but I often cook on auto-pilot and I'm still accustomed to grabbing the big flour bin (maybe I'll switch out the contents and put gluten-free flour in it now).  

The muffins are tasty, not too sweet, and definitely fallish in nature.

Pumpkin Applesauce Muffins
vegan

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Line a 12 cup muffin tin with liners (I had pretty fall ones left from last year)

Stir 1 tablespoon chia seeds into 1/3 cup water (let stand a few minutes to "gel")
If you aren't interested in making this vegan you can substitute an egg for the chia seeds (no water necessary).

In a large bowl combine:

2 cups flour
1/3 cup natural sugar (you may want a tad bit more if you like sweeter muffins)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 heaping teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

In another bowl mix together:

chia seed mixture (or 1 egg, lightly beaten)
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup applesauce
1/3 cup almond, rice, soy or  "milk" of choice
2 tablespoons cooking oil of choice
1 tsp vanilla

Stir liquid mixture into dry ingredients just until combined.

Optional add-ins:
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
( I used walnuts this time only because someone had eaten all the chocolate chips! Next time I'll add both.)

Bake for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick comes out clean.
Cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy with a cup of your favorite tea!

I love all sorts of apple and pumpkin pastries and I've pinned a bunch of new things to try on my Autumn Ideas Pinterest Board.

What is your favorite fall treat to bake?

Love,
Catherine Ann

The Grace of Giving (and a recipe)

Grace is given to us freely by a loving God.  We extend grace when we freely, joyfully give to others. Giving love, friendship, hospitality, and sharing our own gifts and talents with others are ways we can share grace in today's world.

Since it is October, which means all things pumpkin to me, I'm sharing a recipe for Pumpkin Pie Bars with you today.
I'm thinking I'll bake a batch of these and share them with friends and family along with a note of grace and encouragement.

How and where are you sharing grace today?


PUMPKIN PIE BARS


Preheat oven to 375.

Crumb Crust:

1 ½ cups rolled oats
1 ½ cups unbleached flour
¾ cup sugar
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
dash of pumpkin pie spice
¾ cup butter, melted

Combine the above ingredients.
Pat ½ of the mixture into a greased 9×13 inch pan.
Bake 8 minutes.



Filling:

1 15 oz. can pumpkin
2/3 cup milk
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract (optional)

Blend well. Pour into the crust.
Sprinkle the remaining crust mixture over the top.
Bake 25 minutes .
Cool and then cut into bars.  Refrigerate.
Enjoy!


Grace and Peace.

Love,

Catherine Ann

Simple Breakfasts- Muffins

During the busyness of this season, simple meals are a must.
And because my family members morning routines are all different,
it helps to have something that can be eaten when hunger strikes or there is a free moment to sit down and have a cup of coffee or tea and a bite to eat.

One of our favorite simple breakfasts is muffins.  

I can quickly stir together a batch of muffins and have them ready to eat in less than half an hour.

They are infinitely adaptable it seems, making it easy to make them from whatever I find in the pantry- white flour, whole wheat pastry flour, cornmeal, chocolate chips, raisins, dried cranberries, nuts, fresh, frozen, or canned fruit.  You get the idea.  

Below is my basic muffin recipe, which gets tweaked in various ways.
These muffins are just barely sweet, this is breakfast after all; but you can add more sweetener if you prefer a sweeter pastry. 

Muffins

2 cups flour – 1 cup whole wheat pastry

                     1 cup unbleached all-purpose

2 tsp. baking powder (Rumford)

Pinch of salt

1 egg, beaten

¼ cup agave nectar (or honey)

1 cup non-dairy milk (I prefer unsweetened soy) *see note below

1/3 cup oil (safflower)

1 tsp. vanilla

½ cup nuts, dried or diced fresh fruit, chocolate chips, etc.- your choice of add-ins 

Note:  You will need about 2 cups total liquid ingredients, so add more 'milk', apple sauce, etc. if need be.

Preheat oven to 425

Grease, spray, or line muffin tin with paper liners

Mix dry ingredients in medium bowl

In separate bowl, mix egg, sweetener, oil, non-dairy milk, and vanilla

Add liquid mixture to dry ingredients and mix just until well-combined

Gently fold in nuts, fruit, etc.

Fill muffin cups to about 2/3  full.  I use an oiled ¼ cup measure and it works well.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned and a tester comes out clean.

Cool on wire rack.

Makes 12 muffins

For a savory muffin, mix in shredded cheese, sauteed veggies, and/or ham or cooked bacon.  I leave out the sweetener in these, though some might want to leave it in.
I like this version made with part cornmeal.

More simple breakfast ideas:
skillet granola
yogurt topped with fruit and/or granola
fruit with cheese- cottage, cheddar, whatever you prefer
peanut butter and honey rolled in a tortilla and slightly warmed in the microwave
green smoothie
leftovers from the night before (cold pizza is one teen daughter's favorite!)

What is your favorite simple breakfast?

A cup of coffee or tea and a Christmas cookie (or 3)  is mine these days!

I pray you have a JOY-filled week my friends.

Blessings and Bliss,

Catherine

Bread and Wine

Bread & Wine a love letter to life around the table, with recipes

by Shauna Niequist

This is a collection of essays about family, friendships, and the meals that bring us together.  It's about the way God teaches and nourishes us as we nourish the people around us, and about hunger, both physical and otherwise, and the connections between the two. ~ Bread & Wine, p. 11

I have thoroughly enjoyed both reading and making recipes from this book.  

First of all, Shauna writes from the heart, with an honesty that is refreshing and real.  Her stories made me both laugh and cry, sometimes at the same time.  

It's about what happens when we come together, slow down, open our homes, look into one another's faces, listen to one another's stories.  ~Bread & Wine, p. 13

It happens when we enter the joy and sorrow of the people we love, and we join together at the table to feed one another and be fed, and while it's not strictly about food, it doesn't happen without it.  Food is the starting point, the common ground, the thing to hold and handle, the currency we offer one another.  ~ Bread & Wine, p. 14

As someone who spends a lot of time reading food books and cooking (a friend and ministry partner says 'You are always in the kitchen!' which is mostly true), I found the recipes in Bread & Wine approachable- dishes I really want to make for my family (Breakfast Cookies), to take to a friend who had  tumors on her thyroid removed (Simplest Dark Chocolate Mousse), to put on the table  Tuesday evening when we gather with friends to pray and share food and life together (Bacon Wrapped Dates).  

I made Breakfast Cookies (Yes, cookies for breakfast, which made my children very happy.)  as my first trial recipe.  I started with these because:

1.  I had all the ingredients on hand (always a plus, no trip to the store for some exotic ingredient)

2.  They are healthy (no butter, eggs, sugar)

3.  Cookies for breakfast, what other reason do you need?

 Bread & Wine along with ingredients for Breakfast Cookies

Breakfast Cookies mixed up and ready for the pan

Breakfast Cookies cooling on the rack

My husband, a notorious food brat (though he denies it) whose Grandmother was the pastry chef at a local tourist stop and hotel for many years, is the reason I now can cook, if for no other reason than I got sick of hearing, "That's not how my Grandma made it.".  Mr. Picky pronounced Breakfast Cookies 'Excellent'.  That is high praise, I tell you.  I don't know that I've ever gotten an 'Excellent' for cookies before.  Thank You Shauna!  

Since those went over so well, I baked Goat Cheese Biscuits to serve with lunch the next day.  I was somewhat skeptical about these, because 

1.  I don't really like goat cheese

2.  My youngest 2 kids are every bit as bratty about food as their dad, and well, the goat cheese again ...

Except for the goat cheese, I again had the ingredients on hand.  The recipe was easy to put together and the baked biscuits easily slipped out of the pan and onto the plate.

 Goat Cheese Biscuits fresh from the oven

 Need I say more?

My littlest Love ate 3 of these, and I'm convinced if she hadn't snatched the last one from the plate, she would have eaten more.  They really were very good, even though I didn't exactly love the goat cheese, no one else had an issue with it.  I will definitely make them again, but substitute a cheese more to my own liking next time.  

In conclusion, I love this book.  Seriously.  It inspired me to be even more intentional about gathering those I love, and those I need to love more, around the table with me.  It gave me new recipes to try, which won't get lost in the ever-growing Recipe Pile because they are handily contained in this very earmarked and underlined book.  And last but certainly not least, Bread & Wine got me an 'Excellent' from Mr. Picky.  

Bread and Wine is a great book, read it and see for yourself!

Note:  I was given a free copy of Bread and Wine in return for writing this review.  

Apple Cake

September is always apple month at our house. We eat apples and peanut butter for snacks, make caramel apples, bake apple crisp, apple pie.   Someday I’m going to try making apple dumplings.

We used to read lots of lovely picture books all about apples, but my girls seem to think they’ve outgrown those. Perhaps I will just read them to the cat this year.



Or maybe I'll just enjoy them all by myself no matter what everyone else thinks! It would be a sad thing to outgrow picture books, don't you think?

Below is my Kitchen Adventure version of an apple cake recipe that was in our local paper last fall. It is quite tasty and simple to make, and I plan to bake it again soon.

Philadelphia-Style Apple Cake

6 cups peeled and thinly sliced tart apples such as Granny Smith (about 3 large)
1 1/2 cups plus 5 tablespoons sugar, divided (I use Organic Cane Juice Crystals)
4 tsp. cinnamon
dash of cardamom (optional, but delicious)
3 cups all purpose flour
1 Tb. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
4 eggs
1/2 cup light brown sugar (I just use the same Organic Cane Juice Crystals)
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup orange juice
3 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350.
Grease and flour a 10 inch bundt pan.

Combine apple slices with 5 Tb. sugar and 4 tsp. cinnamon. Set aside.
Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside.
Beat eggs with remaining sugars.
Add in vegetable oil, orange juice and vanilla. Beat well.
Gradually add in flour mixture and mix until well blended.
Pour one third of the batter into the pan.
 Top with half the apple slices.
Pour in half of remaining batter and top with the rest of the apple slices.
Top with remaining batter making sure the apples are covered.
Bake 50-60 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let cool in pan 10 minutes.
Turn out onto wire rack and cool completely.
This cake was actually better the second day.

* I will make a few changes when I bake it this time - less sugar for one, substitute at least part whole wheat flour, add some cloves, allspice, and nutmeg to the cinnamon … and I think it needs a few walnuts, too! 

What is your favorite apple recipe and/or picture book?
Please share them!

Autumn Apple Crisp

Autumn and apples just seem to go together, and this delicious recipe is a fall favorite at my house.  (And though I know it isn't officially autumn yet, I am ignoring the calendar and pretending it is already here.)

Apple Crisp

Preheat oven to 375.
Lightly grease a 2 quart baking dish.

Apple mixture:
2 1/2 pounds apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tbsp. lemon juice
2 tbsp. sugar
Toss apples with lemon juice, sugar and cinnamon to coat.
Place in baking dish.

Topping:
6 tbsp. butter cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3/4 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup flour
1/2 cup rolled oats (or 1/4 cup oats, 1/4 cup chopped nuts)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cardamom (optional)

Use pastry cutter or your fingers to mix butter into other ingredients until you have a coarse, crumbly mixture. Sprinkle over the apples.
Bake until bubbly and brown, about 1 hour.
Serve plain or topped with ice cream, whipped cream or yogurt. Enjoy!

First Day of Fall Treats

When I saw this recipe today at HomesteadBlogger, I just had to tweak it a bit and give it a try for the first day of fall. 
Super simple and very tasty ... my kind of recipe! 

PUMPKIN PIE BARS


Preheat oven to 375.

Crumb Crust:

1 ½ cups rolled oats
1 ½ cups unbleached flour
¾ cup sugar
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
dash of pumpkin pie spice (optional)
¾ cup butter, melted

Combine the above ingredients. 
Pat ½ of the mixture into a greased 9×13 inch pan.
Bake 8 minutes.



Filling:

1 15oz. can pumpkin
2/3 cup milk
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract (optional)

Blend well. Pour into the crust.
Sprinkle the remaining crust mixture over the top. 
Bake 25 minutes .
Cool and then cut into bars.  Refrigerate. 
Enjoy! 

Apple Cake

September is always apple month at our house.  We eat apples and peanut butter for snacks, make caramel apples, bake apple crisp, apple pie ... someday I'm going to try those apple dumplings.  We used to read lots of lovely picture books all about apples, but my girls seem to think they've outgrown those.  Perhaps I will just read them to the cat! 

Below is my Kitchen Adventure version of an apple cake recipe that was in our local paper.  It was quite tasty and simple to make. 

Philadelphia-Style Apple Cake

6 cups peeled and thinly sliced tart apples such as Granny Smith (about 3 large)
1 1/2 cups plus 5 tablespoons sugar, divided  (I use Organic Cane Juice Crystals)
4 tsp. cinnamon
dash of cardamom (optional, but delicious)
3 cups all purpose flour
1 Tb. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
4 eggs
1/2 cup light brown sugar (I just use the same Organic Cane Juice Crystals)
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup orange juice
3 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. 
Grease and flour a 10 inch bundt pan.

Combine apple slices with 5 Tb. sugar and 4 tsp. cinnamon.  Set aside.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside.

Beat eggs with remaining sugars.  Add in vegetable oil, orange juice and vanilla. 
Beat well. 

Gradually add in flour mixture and mix until well blended.

Pour one third of the batter into the pan.
Top with half the apple slices.
Pour in half of remaining batter and top with the rest of the apple slices.
Top with remaining batter making sure the apples are covered.

Bake 50-60 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let cool in pan 10 minutes.  Turn out onto wire rack and cool completely.

This cake was actually better the second day.

* I will make a few changes the next time I bake it- less sugar for one, substitute at least part whole wheat flour, add some cloves, allspice, and nutmeg to the cinnamon ... and I think it needs a few walnuts, too.

Recipe Fun!

Make a Smilebox recipe

Quick Christmas Cookies

This "recipe" is for those days when you simply must have cookies, and in a hurry! We made some yesterday. The girls were begging to make cookies, and I was too busy to get the real Christmas Sugar Cookie dough made and pre-chilled. They had fun, and they are pretty tasty, too.

Cake Mix Cookies
1 cake mix (your choice of flavor)
2 eggs
2/3 cup cooking oil
Mix, roll into 1/2 inch balls and bake at 400 degrees until just beginning to brown (8-10 minutes).

We used a butter cake mix and flattened the little balls a bit and added colored sugar, sprinkles, dried cherries, walnuts, etc.

Christmas cookies in less than an hour!

Christmas Cookies

These shortbread cookies are my husband's favorite, so I always make them at holiday time. They are super simple and only use 3 ingredients, which means I can usually make up a batch without the dreaded trip to the grocery store for missing ingredients!

Catherine's Version
of
SCOTCH SHORTBREAD

1 cup butter
2 cups organic unbleached flour (or whatever flour you prefer)
1/2 cup Cane Juice Crystals (or regular granulated sugar if you prefer)

Preheat oven to 300. Mix ingredients with pastry blender until crumbly. Work with hands until it makes a large lump. Press flat into a 9x9 pan, about 1/2" thick. Prick with a fork thoroughly. Bake for 50-60 minutes until set and very pale gold. Cut while warm into 36 squares. Enjoy!

Note: I usually bake mine and then cut; but you can make your little squares first and then bake, they come out a little "neater" looking that way.



This simple recipe in my mind just begs to be dressed up a bit for Christmas! Perhaps with a topping of melted chocolate, or by adding some finely ground nuts and/or dried cranberries to the dough, perhaps some crushed candy canes sprinkled over a drizzle of glaze...maybe a bit of dried lavender, lemony herbs and a bit of lemon glaze... Yum!

S'More Cookies

These sound soooooo yummy, I'm putting the ingredients on my shopping list!
No, I don't think they qualify as whole food, healthy food,...or even real food, but I just know they will taste great!

1 jar Marshmallow cream
24 graham cracker squares
3 bags chocolate chips

*my note- That would make a lot of cookies, so if not planning on giving as gifts, perhaps just start with a few graham crackers and one bag of chips.

Spread thick layer of Marshmallow cream between 2 graham cracker squares. Melt chips and dip sandwiches into chocolate, covering all sides. Cool on waxed paper and enjoy!
I copied the recipe from a neat book, but I can't remember the title at the moment...I'll dig it out of the library basket and post it later. It has lots of recipes and gift ideas, even gift tags to copy for your gifts!

In my efforts to eat healthy, I often try to tweak a recipe to make it more wholesome, so...
here's how I would change it if so inclined:
carob chips or at least cane juice sweetened chocolate chips
homemade graham crackers and marshmallows- Mary Jane's Idea book, Cookbook, Lifebook has recipes for both!
But, for now, I'll just enjoy the junk food version and try to do better next time !

Simple Chicken Salad Tacos

Chicken Salad Tacos

Here's one of my "Kitchen Adventure" creations.

It got rave reviews from my 3 taste testers this weekend.

I just made this out of a little of this and that in the fridge,
so I'm "guesstimating" the amounts used.

2 cups diced cooked chicken
1/2 cup grated cheese
1 avocado, diced
1 Roma tomato, chopped
Mayo, just enough to moisten
onion powder
garlic powder
cumin
chili powder
salt & black pepper- a shake or two of each, to taste
juice of 1/2 lemon or lime

Warm chicken slightly in microwave. (Mine was frozen, so I had to thaw it).
Add all other ingredients and mix together.

*I would add sliced green onions, too.

Enjoy!

I served this in fried flour tortilla "taco shells",
topped with a little chopped spinach and tomatillo salsa.