fall is the time for food. {pumpkin spice waffles.}

there is something about the change in this season.
from summer to fall.
the crisp air.
the wind.
the shorter days.
all it makes me want to do is eat. all i want to do is create rich foods such as chicken & barley soup {last night's dinner.}, explore the many forms & flavours of grilled cheese and load ourselves up with hearty knock-you-back-to-sleep breakfasts.

i always find a recipe starts from somewhere and this one starts with a pumpkin spice latte.
no wait...lets back up a few years...this one starts with a little girl who would eat no fruits or vegetables but who was gaga for mom's pumpkin muffins.
yes, i think that's a great place to start.

so there is a little girl who refuses all such wonderful things such as fruits and vegetables and her parents worried for her. so her mother {played by me} thought and thought about how to get these foods into without her knowing - in the meantime she was also wondering how this happened since her mother had taken the time, in her early years, to make all the little girls baby food from scratch and the little girl did enjoy all these foods once upon a time. what had happened here?  
let's not get distracted, jennifer, that's another post for another time. 

it had never occurred to her mother to create such a thing as a pumpkin waffle - the girl loved her mother's waffles and she loved pumpkin muffins.....maybe, just maybe this would be a hit. maybe this was a sneaky way to get something, other than purple apple sauce, into her little girl thought her mother.

it worked.
they are her favorite.
and that makes her mother smile from ear to ear.

pumpkin spice waffles.
i added raspberries on top of mine this weekend for the first time and i don't think i could ever not do that again. over the top!

1 3/4 cups of milk {any kind - soy works too.}
1 cup of pumpkin puree {not pumpkin pie filling.}
1/4 cup of vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract 
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups whole wheat flour {you can use regular but whole wheat is better!}
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
3 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 1/2  teaspoons of nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon of all-spice
1 teaspoon of salt

Combine milk, pumpkin, oil, vanilla and eggs in a mixing bowl.
Whisk till smooth.
In another bowl {or i sometimes just layer it on top of my wet mix} add the remaining ingredients and combine.
Add the liquid mix to the dry and whisk together till smooth. your batter will be quite thick.
let sit for 5 minutes.
Preheat your waffle maker. Once your maker is ready to go pour the batter on and enjoy!

don't forget the maple syrup!!!
makes approx. 24 square waffles.

ps: your house will smell divine - like you are swimming in a pumpkin pie!

sunday food. serious food.

around here we take our food very seriously.
as you probably can tell.
but nothing rivals sunday.
sunday is our day for food.

when planning out our week we have theme days - which i am sure everyone does...what?? you don't?
c'est pas possible!
it's sad that it is a little predictable around here but it sure helps to plan the week!
monday - wild card night.
tuesday is always pasta.
wednesday you will most likely be greeted with a stirfry.
thursday is usually some kind of egg dish.
friday - pizza.
saturday is mostly something fun...burgers, ribs, steak, wiener roast or recipe testing {remember the onion ring fiesta??}.
but sunday. ahh sunday.
that's when the big guns come out - all day long.
that's when we have the all-out-sit-down traditional sunday night dinner.
with all the trimmings.
roast beef, roast chicken, beautiful fillet of fish. 
3 - 4 vegetable sides. a starchy side. a salad. a magnificent dessert. a whole day of planning for this one meal. so worth it and completely enjoyed.

Where I come from the meal is the result of reflection and study. Menus are prepared in advance, timed to perfection. It is said that without the culinary arts, the crudeness of reality would be unbearable.~leopold, movie: kate & leopold.

best of all - we have sunday breakfast.
i love sunday breakfast.
we try new things.
we perfect old favorites.
we go all out.
it always involves eggs, some kind of breakfast meat, fruit and something long the lines of my secret pancake recipe, pumpkin or regular waffles {pumpkin recipe soon} or french toast.
yum...french toast.

last sunday was no exception - the only change was i made a proper french toast. not french toast using up what is left in the bread box. i got the bread specially. i used real butter. a splash of cream. and of course, pure maple syrup.
i will, hopefully, never have any other french toast again.
ever.

best french toast ever.

{yep that's what i am calling it - straight to the point.}

i have always heard of using challah bread for this {a twisty egg bread} but never went that far in my commitment for this dish. i will now ALWAYS go this far in my commitment. this bread made it awesome - if you can find it get it. IF YOU FIND IT BY ACCIDENT, get it. i left it on the counter for a couple of days before throwing it in the freezer till needed - i had bought it the previous sunday. you always want your bread to have that day old feel but if frozen take it out the nigh before - you want it thawed. also in this house we have only skim milk and heavy cream on hand. therefore that's what's used here...you could always swap in half and half for ALL the dairy if you want. this recipe is a guideline - add more milk if you want, swap out the cinnamon in favour of traditional nutmeg. have fun with it!
also i tend to make the whole loaf as i have found popping them in the toaster a couple days later is a wonderful and unexpected week day treat.

1 large loaf challah bread. sliced.
6 eggs
1/2 cup skim milk {these are just guidelines - if you want it milkier please add more in..you won't wreck it!}
1/4 cup heavy cream {add more or less if you want!}
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon, or to taste
2 pads of butter
pure maple syrup {optional}
homemade raspberry preserves {optional}

heat a griddle or fry pan to medium. throw in butter and let melt.
whip together in a shallow bowl, or casserole dish, the eggs, dairy, vanilla and cinnamon. dunk your slices one at a time in the custard mix to coat completely then throw on your hot pan. repeat till pan is full. i always find the first dunked side of the bread has more cinnamon than the other so here i give the second side a dusting of cinnamon while the first sizzles away. check after one to two minutes then flip. cook on the other side then toss on a plate complete with bacon and strawberries. drizzle freely with maple syrup or spread with preserves.
**i always seem to run out of the mix three quarters of the way through the bread and feel i have to make a mix on the fly. do it. 4 eggs, splosh in some milk, a drip or so of cream, a tad of vanilla and a sprinkle of cinnamon. whisk quickly, as to make sure to not ignore what is currently going on on the stove, and start dunking your bread again. voila!

maple pecan scones.

this time we picked sunday morning. recipe #2.

the day was greeted with maple pecan scones. they were absolutely perfect and delectable. again to mimic all the sentiments from the lemon scones post only swap in maple flavour. i was prepared this time for the messy half-time show but that was not so much the case here. i definitely swapped ingredients around here to make them work for us as we are more pecan rather than walnut people - and as mentioned in an earlier post, i had pecans on hand and didn't want to buy a whole bag of walnuts solely for this.

they were not the husbands favorite - he preferred the lemon - but i loved these and will definitely be making them again!

maple pecan scones - adapted from baked: new frontiers in baking.
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, cubbed and chilled
1 large egg
1 cup buttermilk + 1/4 cup
2 taspoons maple extract - i used clubhouse.
1 cup toasted pecans
1/4 cup raw sugar (i used organic sugar cane)

preheat oven to 350 degrees f. line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

in a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. whish until combined.

add the butter. use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until the butter is pea-sized.

in a seperate bowl, whisk together the egg, 1 cup of the buttermilk, and the maple extract. slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and then gently knead the dough with your hands until the dough starts to come together. add the pecans to the dough and knead gently to incorporate. move the dough to a lightly floured surface. use your hands to shape the dough into two disks (about 1 1/2 inches in height). do not overwork the dough.

cut each disk into 6 wedges. place wedges onto the prepared baking sheet. brush each scone with the remaining buttermilk and sprinkle with the raw sugar (i had some of both of these left over). bake in the center of the oven for about 25 to 30 minutes (rotating the baking sheet halfway through the baking time) or until the scones are golden brown. (i wish i had done mine to 35 minutes to get a real nice golden, crunchy sugar top - next time!)

transfer the scones to a cooling rack; they can be served slightly warm or completely cooled.

for the maple glaze

1/2 cup confectioners sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons plus two teaspoons maple syrup

to glaze the scones:
line a baking sheet with parchment paper. place the wire rack with the cooled scones over the baking sheet.
whisk togeether the sugar and maple syrup until the mixture is smooth - i added a touch of water as mine with too thick. slowly pour the glaze over each scone in a zigzag pattern.
allow the glaze to set (about 10 minutes) and serve immediately.

scones can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days. (our were fine for 4 days then they were gone - poof!)

mess to success.

sour lemon scones. these almost made it to the messes section but quickly became a success.

what a hit! these went over so well - and especially with the one who hates everything - she asked for more and for them to be made again.

and they were surprisingly quite easy. they do require some planning in the ingredient department but once that is all tackled it comes together nicely.


scones have always been hard for me - i never could seem to get them. it's the butter the size of peas and don't overwork the dough. what type of peas are they referring to? should there still be crumbly bits? here is where i have to use my judgement as i am fully self (and a little mom) taught.

maybe they were not all the same size but they held together, got cut, put on the tray and topped.

you could smell them instantly. sweet lemon wafting through the air. my mouth was watering and i was already reaching for my plate, knife and jam. you are supposed to rotate the tray halfway marker so at that point i opened the oven door and - oh no!! they were swimming in butter!! there was nothing in the guidelines about this happening! my heart sank. my stomach rumbled. i yelled to the husband, showed him and pouted. i decided to soldier on and maybe at the 30 minute mark i would be able to salvage something and create a new dish from the mess. i rotated, shut the oven and walked away defeated.

the buzzer rang and i returned expecting to find a complete mess on my hands when low and behold - they were gorgeous! they must have sucked all the buttery lemony goodness backup into themselves. beautifully browned on top and bursting with the aroma of lemon.

saturday morning breakfast at it's finest.

sour lemon scones from baked: new frontiers in baking.
yields: 12 scones
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon of ginger
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, cubed and cold
1 large egg
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup grated lemon zest (from about 3 lemons)
2 tablespoons raw sugar - this can be organic sugar cane or a larger grain sugar.

preheat oven to 350 degrees f. line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

in a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, ginger and salt. whish until combined.

add the butter. use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until the butter is pea-sized.

in a seperate bowl, whisk together the egg, 3/4 cup of the buttermilk, and the lemon zest. slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and then gently knead the dough with your hands until the dough starts to come together. move the dough to a lightly floured surface. use your hands to shape the dough into two disks (about 1 1/2 inches in height). do not overwork the dough.

cut each disk into 6 wedges. place wedges onto the prepared baking sheet. brush each scone with the remaining buttermilk and sprinkle with the raw sugar (i had some of both of these left over). bake in the center of the oven for about 25 to 30 minutes (rotating the baking sheet halfway through the baking time) or until the scones are golden brown.

transfer the scones to a cooling rack; they can be served slightly warm or completely cooled.

scones can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days. (our were fine for 4 days then they were gone - poof!)