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!

let them eat cake. {chocolate pumpkin graveyard layer cake}

halloween is fast approaching and we only put our decorations out last night.
yep.
we are about a week behind.

i have really felt like that lately.
like i am a week behind and cannot catch up.
like it's all passing me by in fast motion and i am stuck in slow-motion land forgetting how long tasks actually take. over-scheduling my days and falling further and further behind. and not axing things because i want to get them done. completed.

but i am burnt out.

what i need is cake.
a cake day.
a day where we make a cake, decorate it and sit around and eat it and laugh and have a good time.
i need to forget about all the things i want to do - project life, sewing projects, tv room project, wrapping christmas present {yes you read that right.}, house decorating finishing touches.
i need to forget about all this and cut a big wedge of cake and sit there and enjoy every mouthful.
right down to the last bite.
that's what i need.
now.

and making it a halloween cake is the icing on the cake.
:)

i love cake days.

chocolate pumpkin graveyard layer cake.
this cake has pure pumpkin in it {read about roasting your own pumpkin here}. tastes delicious and doesn't make you feel ssoooo guilty as you cut yourself another wedge! because lets face facts - you ARE going to enjoy a second slice!!


1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup home roasted or canned real pumpkin (not pie filling)
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup unsalted butter - softened
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
3 large eggs and one egg yolk

milano or monaco cookies
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
old fashioned butercream {recipe follows}
bittersweet chocolate glaze {recipe follows.}

Pre-heat oven to 375'F.
butter and line with parchment {butter your parchment as well} two round cake pans - 8inch or 9.
Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir the buttermilk, pumpkin and vanilla extract together in a small bowl.
In an electric mixer beat together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and the yolk and beat until well incorporated. Reduce mixer speed and alternately beat in flour mix and buttermilk mix in thirds.
evenly distribute batter between pans. {i weigh my pans.} tap lightly on counter to release air bubbles, place in oven and bake for about 35 mins or until tester inserted in middle comes out clean.
Remove from oven, place on cooling rack and cool in tray for 10 mins. Remove from pans and let cool completely before icing.
Keep at room temp in a air-tight container for up to 2 days (best) or refrigerate for up to 5 days but bring to room temp before serving.

old-fashioned buttercream icing

3/4 pounds of unsalted butter - softened {the butter from above makes this portion slightly shy of 3/4 of a pound....that's okay.}

500 grams sifted icing sugar

6 to 9 tablespoons milk

3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

gel food colouring

in an electric mixer blend butter till all nice and creamy. scrape down sides of bowl. in little bits, start adding icing sugar and blend after each addition. also start adding milk as well. when all incorporated add vanilla extract. keep tasting along the way for desired sweetness and consistency. once perfected tint away to your heart desires!

i tinted orange for this - obviously.

Bittersweet chocolate glaze
4 oz bittersweet chocolate - chopped
1 tbsp unsalted butter
3 tbsp light corn syrup
1/2 cup heavy cream

Place chocolate, butter and corn syrup in a heatsafe bowl. Heat the heavy cream over low to medium heat and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and pour over chocolate mixture. Let stand for 3 minutes. Stir gently with a whisk until all the components are blended and smooth. Let stand for 3 - 5 minutes to thicken.

to assemble this cake:
use some of the orange icing for the center. then make sure you do a crumb coat - take a small portion of the icing and spread a thin layer over the outside to seal in the crumbs. let set for about 15 minutes {in the fridge if you can.} then ice the rest of the cake concentrating more on the sides. then add the glaze. test it by seeing if it coats the back of a spoon with out too much run off. pour right in the center of the cake and let it organically run over the sides {you can give it a little push here or there.}.

the cookies:
melt some chocolate in a bowl in the microwave in 15 second increments, stirring between times. once melted pour into a parchment cone or ziplock baggie with the corner cut. pipe out your lettering and let set.

once glaze is set on cake insert your "tombstones" into the cake. your cemetery is complete!

happy halloween!!!

what to do with them all. {roasted pumpkin.}

when fall comes i rush to the store {unlike most here} buy up the ornamental and carving pumpkins and scatter them all around. this year i actually bought quite a few. maybe it was because there actually WAS  a shortage last year...vermont got all our pumpkins because their's were wiped out due to summer floods...so maybe i am making up for lost time....

it's to the point though of Tony telling me that a man came up the drive and asked how much we were selling them for......
{yes he made that up to prove his point. although for a moment he had me going....}

for me when fall hits so does the craving for the taste of pumpkin....pumpkin muffins...pumpkin scones....halloween cookie bars.....pumpkin pie....pumpkin cheesecake.....

so to address our pumpkin patch situation.....we are going to carve the carvers, i don't know what to do with the ornamental ones {any ideas?} but i did know that with my small beauties i was going to roast them to have my own pumpkin on hand.

have you seen how much canned pumpkin is lately?? and this is SO MUCH better!

roast your own pumpkin

okay so make sure you have a small pumpkin - but not too small. pre-heat your oven to 300 degrees F. cut your pumpkin in half horizontally, remove the "guts", slice off the stem. take a sheet pan, line it with foil, place your pumpkins on it face down, cover with another piece of foil - just tucking the ends under the pumpkin to secure it - place in the oven for 90 minutes to 2 hours. i did two trays with a pumpkin on each, so i roasted them for 2 hours, rotating the trays at the halfway point. when done, remove from oven and let cool undisterbed. once cool, flip over your halves and scoop out your flesh being careful not to get any skin. will last up to 4 days in the fridge covered or freeze in one cup portions for later use.

one pumpkin will yield about 4 cups of flesh.

and yes...the colour is that bright! so different from the canned...i wonder why?

do you know?

at last...dessert. {pumpkin cheesecake & pumpkin pie}

so here we are.
where is that you asked? we are at the best part of the meal. at the part, where even if your pants are feeling a little tight, you are still looking forward to that sweet treat. that hit of pumpkin and cinnamon that is synonymous with thanksgiving. the dessert that screams fall. the thing that caps off the night so well that you welcome those heavy eyelids and fall to sleep with a smile.

for us, that dessert is usually pumpkin cheesecake OR pumpkin pie. {sometimes there is both...you just never know what people are in the mood for!}. i have made many a pie & cake over the years and have come to settle on a few recipes that i think...take the cake? {too much??}

12 years ago i had my own little apartment in downtown vancouver - well kitsilano to be exact - a hop skip and jump from the beach. finally i had felt like a grown up. no more commuting from the north shore. no more feeling like i had someone to answer too {although i really didn't}. i was independent.
it was because of this that i decided to hold a proper grown up dinner party.
to host my own thanksgiving.

{i was so excited.}

i invited 10 people from different parts of my life - some knew each other, some became fast new friends.
the obstacle - my apartment was small. and it was lots of rooms - how i like it. not very conducive to hosting a dinner party but it did have a great feature - the walls between the bedroom and living room opened. so here is where i decided to rent a table and chairs + dinnerware & stemware - i wasn't messing around - i pushed my bed up against the back wall, set up the table and chairs in my bedroom and opened the wall up between my bedroom and living room and really you had no idea you were dining in my room! i brought in pumpkins and corn stalks, waxed leaves for decor, lots of candles and set the mood.
i felt like bridget jones fixing her own birthday dinner for all her friends. the catch: mine actually turned out! i roasted a salmon, made chevre mashed potatoes, glazed carrots, stuffing {of course} and brussel sprouts. but the two things i was most excited about were my desserts. i should have known then where my life path was to take me, i was just too stubborn.
it was at this meal that i was introduced to my ability to make desserts.
i made 2 pumpkin pies and a pumpkin cheesecake.

i never knew that desserts could taste like this. okay check that...i never knew that dessert I MADE could taste like that. they were wonderful and thus commencing my role as pumpkin dessert maker from that day on. and i was proud of it.

pumpkin cheesecake
crust:
2/3 cup of butter
3 tablesspoons of sugar
a pinch of kosher salt
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

filling:
3 8oz packages of cream cheese, softened
1 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of flour
4 large eggs
2 cups pumpkin puree {homemade or canned}
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
3/4 tsp of nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon of all-spice
1 1/2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract

preheat oven to 325F.
crust: combined all the ingredients together. press into the bottom {and up sides - optional} of a 9 inch springform pan. bake the crust, on a rimmed sheet, for about 10 minutes. remove from oven and set aside. leave oven on.

filling:
in a large mixing bowl, beat creamcheese and sugar together until light and fluffy. beat in flour and add eggs one at a time while neating. stir in pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, all-spice and vanilla. pour over crust.

bake for about 1 hour and 20 minutes, until the center is raised and set. turn off oven, open the door slightly and let cool in oven for about 2 hours. this prevents cracking on top. if you can't do this step ie: there are kids running around - remove from oven, put on a wire rack and let cool to room temperature. cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate {still in the pan! do not remove the side portion of your pan!} for at least 6 hours or overnight. if you do end up getting a crack down the middle put a big dollop of the vanilla whip cream you are whipping up to serve with it anyways!

pumpkin pie
for the crust i use my sweet classic pie dough.

one batch of pie dough.
1 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon of cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon of ginger
1 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree {homemade or canned}
3 large eggs {lightly beaten}
1 1/2 cups evaporated milk

1 tbsp heavy cream
one extra egg

turn on your oven to 425F.
roll out your pie dough, place it in your pie plate & decoratively pinch edges. freeze crust for 30 minutes.

meanwhile mix together the sugar, cornstarch, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, pumpkin, eggs and milk.

in a small bowl beat together the egg and heavy cream. when 30 minutes is up get your pie shell and glaze your edges with your egg mix. add pumpkin mix.

bake for 10 minutes then reduce he heat to 350 an bake for 60 minutes more {check it at the 50 minute mark - if the center is still wobbly leave it in for 5 minute increments. turn off oven and open door and allow to cool in the oven to prevent cracking. if you can't do this step ie: there are kids running around - remove from oven, put on a wire rack and let cool to room temperature. if you do end up getting a crack down the middle put a big dollop of the vanilla whip cream you are whipping up to serve with it anyways!

happy accidents.

you know when you screw up on something and you just want to start again but then think what would happen if i carried on? that's what i did and came out victorious in the end.

in my ever seeming quest to be prepared for my staring role on masterchef i am trying to memorize some key recipes that i can whip off in a moments notice. so i can watch the socks of gordon ramsey fly across the room for the three point dunk. to obliterate my competition. okay i may be getting carried away here. none the less i am trying to make more off the cuff recipes then to be chained to my cookbook.

case in point - i made my pumpkin muffins the other week {which gets cheers from the crowd...i'm not joking}and was determined to do it all by memory. i did one thing wrong. i swapped the measurement for the buttermilk and the oil. yikes. i took a moment, pondered this, then consulting on all my wisdom i decided to carry-on and see what happened. i did adjust the oil to the proper amount but went ahead with the excess buttermilk. success!

ppssstttt.....gordon? hang on to your socks.

photoed are the muffins made with all purpose flour. with the whole wheat they will look a little more rustic. i haven't been able to hang on to any lately to photo them - they are gobbled up to fast - but i did have this one to showcase!

one bowl pumpkin muffins.

this recipe is so easy and can be prepared in one bowl. you can swap out the whole wheat flour for all-purpose {exact same measurement} but i feel the whole wheat gives it a sense of depth and add some satisfaction to the snack.

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour.
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup packed golden brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar {or cane}
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground all-spice
1 cup pumpkin puree {not pumpkin pie filling}
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs.

pre-heat your oven to 375. spray or line a 12 cup muffin tin. set aside.

in a medium bowl whisk together eggs, pumpkin, oil and buttermilk. whisk in the sugars. sprinkle on the spices and whisk in. sprinkle in the remaining dry ingredients and mix together (ditch the whisk for this)  till almost smooth - try not to mix too much. spoon your mix into your tin making them all even.

bake for 22 to 24 minutes. muffins should spring back to the touch & be slightly firm. allow to cool on a wire rack till warm or room temp. can be stored for 3 days in an air-tight container - if they last past day one!

worth a mention.

now i know that i had promised you some apple recipes and now with the holidays upon us and chocolate, mint and christmas cookies about to begin their plan of world domination, we may have to wait for the new year for those; this pumpkin one though, i couldn't keep this one to myself any longer.

this is the one i have been waiting for.

when we were in the process of opening our bakery i took a break one day to clear my head and wandered over to the starbucks about a block & a half down the road. i needed inspiration and food. they were already in full holiday mode with all their festive treats in the prime displace case real estate. i settled on the pumpkin scone {i am a major sucker for pumpkin} and wow! was it ever good. i selected a few other items, hustled down to our spot and had a meeting then and there. this pumpkin scone was my main focus and it was something i was hoping we could create. needless to say with the lack of creative talent we employed in the kitchen and my busy schedule we never mastered the task {we did figure out the ginger cookie but that's for another day}. fast forward two years to me flipping through my homemade cook book, coming across this random recipe and making it for the kids.

i had the recipe the whole time!!!!!

i have been on a pumpkin streak lately so i squeezed this gem into the rotation and this is it! from what i remember this is the scone! i tweaked it a little but i can't believe i had this in my hot little hands the whole time. i found it and i am not letting go.

pumpkin scones.

i love this recipe because it is super easy and forgiving. i am not the best scone maker, gill & kate take that crown {the scones we bought from them at the market never made it out of the car they were so good! we ate all six!!}, but i have made mine two different times now and both times they were perfect - i think it has to do with grating and freezing your butter, genius! all recipes come with a story and this one i feel has a sense of achievement. play some jazz, close your eyes when you eat it {hoping to transport yourself to a local coffee shop, tucked in the back corner, soft lighting and comfy armchair}, and you may get that break you were looking for - even if you have to lock yourself in the bathroom - been there, done that.

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
3/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon of ground all-spice
6 1.2 tablespoons of cold salted butter, grated with a cheese grater and store in freezer till ready to use.
1/2 cup canned or freshly roasted pumpkin {not the pie filling}
7 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
3 tablespoons of heavy cream
1 large egg

glaze - for a little dazzle.
a little milk
a dash of cinnamon
some sifted icing sugar

grate your butter with the large holes of a cheese grater. then into the freezer until you are ready to use it. preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. in a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and all the spices. set aside.
in a medium bowl mix together the pumpkin, sugar, cream and egg. beat well until combined and smooth.
get out your butter from the freezer and add to the flour mixture. mix with a fork or pastry cutter {i used pastry cutter to start then my fingertips to finish} until you have bread-like crumbs.
then fold the wet ingredients, in 2 batches into the butter/flour mixture. use a wooden spoon or spatula. make sure to not overbeat and to get all the dry crumbly bits at the bottom of the bowl.
dust your workspace with generous amounts of flour and place down down. you will want to dust your hands as well as the dough is sticky. shape into a ball then press down on the ball to create a circle about 8 to 0 inches round. press together any cracks that may form.
dust a large, sharp knife with flour and cut the dough into 6 triangles {i then cut each triangle again for smaller kids sized scones but i think they could have easily eaten a large one}. slide the knife under the triangles to transfer them to prepared baking sheet. **at this point you could brush them with some heavy cream and dust them with coarse sugar - i did not.
bake for 14 to 16 minutes or until the scones begin to brown on top {i baked my smaller ones for 12 minutes} always check on this 2 minutes before the lowest mentioned bake time. once done remove from oven, place pan on a wire rack and let cool slightly before glazing {if you are}.
once scones are out of the oven prepare glaze. get a small bowl and place a few table spoons of milk in the bottom. fill with some sifted icing sugar and a dash of cinnamon. mix together {adding more milk or sugar if necessary} until desired consistency is achieved. drizzle in fancy patterns over slightly cooled scones. let set a little longer before stuffing them in your mouth and swooning over their deliciousness.

halloween cookie bar.

fall is upon us and with that in my mind comes desserts and cooking with pumpkin. now i can make a mean pumpkin pie {praised highly by shirley which made me feel like i had won a prestigious award thank you very much!} but i feel a bit sorry for the pie as it has been slightly cast aside. pumpkin pie. check. now what? i have been spreading my wings and actually have come to realize that the last pumpkin pie was made years ago and i believe it was the one shirley tried.

this year is no exception. with thanksgiving this weekend, pumpkin's everywhere and halloween on the horizon the scent of desserts are in the air. literally. i smell sweet desserts everywhere. or maybe i am thinking about them so much that i have convinced myself? well anyway, anyone close to me is benefiting as i am having this overwhelming urge to test, bake and savour.

with halloween looming {and me off the hook for thanksgiving} the kids and me pulled out our collection of martha's halloween magazines to make our list of crafts and sweet we are going to tackle. while flipping i came across a recipe i can't believe has ever escaped my gaze and that i have never made. well this couldn't go on any further. so...i made it and it was worth every bite!

of course with every recipe there is some tweaking and this was no exception. although i adore martha's recipes, this one i liked more for the concept and changed it to how i thought it was better suited. generally i tweak her recipe's as i find she doesn't like some things as sweet as i do or she uses ginger too much for my tastes. in this recipe i liked the richness that the pumpkin offered but changed around a few things and i think the results were top shelf.

i posted this picture on facebook of it right out of the oven, still in the pan and cooling and was flooded with requests for the recipe. so ladies...here you go!!

halloween {pumpkin chocolate chip} cookie bar.

adapted slightly from martha stewart.

these are so wonderful and casual i am snacking on one right now as i write this and you should go and make some now!! c'mon go and get ready!! i'll wait!

2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
3/4 tsp of ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice {as close as possible}
1/8 tsp ground cloves {as close as possible}
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup of salted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 large egg
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin puree {not pumpkin pie filling!}
8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
6 ounces m&m's because they are the best but you can use other coated chocolate candy if you want!

1) pre-heat your oven to 350. lightly butter & line the bottom and side of a 9x13 inch baking dish with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides.
2)whisk together flour, spice, baking soda and salt.
3) beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. beat in egg and vanilla, then the pumpkin puree {mix may appear curdled}. reduce speed to low and beat in flour mix until just combined. fold in chocolate chips.
4) spread batter in pan. sprinkle evenly with m&m's. bake, rotating pan halfway through, until the edges begin to pull away from the side of pan and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with a few moist crumbs, 35 to 40 minutes. let cool completely in pan on a wire rack.
5) using parchment overhang, lift cookie bar from pan. peel off parchment and use a serrated knife to cut into 24 squares.