to grandmother's house we go

Often a meal never lasts long enough for my taste. I linger with friends and family around a table wishing the flavors would continue to erupt on my tastebuds and the laughter would carry on until my face cramps from smiles.

But the foods themselves remain. I'm not talking about that moldy bread sitting on the counter.... I mean the recipes that one generation passes to the next. So satisfying is the feeling of biting into one of my grandmother's sweet treats and instantly being transported to her kitchen with the tacky daisy wallpaper and flower pots with flourishing plants. 

So here's to Grandmom. All of these recipes are in honor of her!

Grandmom's Brownies

Ingredients:

2 c sugar

¼ c cocoa

1 c butter (melted)

4 eggs (beaten)

2 t vanilla

1 ½ c flour

1 t salt

Preheat 375. Mix sugar & cocoa. Stir in melted butter. Add beaten eggs & vanilla. Beat well. Sift together flour and salt. Add cocoa mixture. Pour into greased casserole dish. Bake for 25 minutes.

Icing:

½ box powdered sugar

¼ c evaporated milk

3 T butter

3 T cocoa powder

Combine all ingredients. If too thick add more ev. Milk, if too thin more pow. Sugar.

Grandmom's Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients:

2 pkg yeast (2 ¼ t)

¼ c warm water

1T sugar

1 c oil

½ c sugar

2 c boiling water

2 eggs

6 ½ c self-rising flour (try adding more till dough not quite as sticky)

3 T butter, melted

½ c sugar

1 ½ t cinnamon

Dissolve yeast in warm water; add 1 T sugar & set aside. Combine oil & sugar, add boiling water & mix till cools. Beat in eggs. Add risen yeast mixture. Add flour & mix well. Cover in bowl for 45 min or till double. Punch down. (can refrigerate at this point if want to)

To make rolls: roll dough flat on WELL floured surface. Melt butter & spread with melted butter. Mix cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle on top of rolled out buttered dough. Roll dough into long roll (roll long ways & can cut in half to make more manageable). Slice in ½ inch segments. Place in GREASED, round CAKE pans. Bake at 375 for 20-30 min.

Icing:

2 c powdered sugar

3 T milk

2  t vanilla

Mix till thick but still runs off spoon slowly.

seeds

punkin seeds!!!

super easy snackable treat.

Step 1: get a pumpkin
Step 2: carve it out
Step 3: separate the seeds from the stringy pumpkin goop and rinse 'em off
Step 4: pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees
Step 5: coat pumpkin seeds with 1 t olive oil, spread them on a GREASED baking sheet, and sprinkle either cinnamon sugar or salt on them
Step 6: bake for 10 minute, remove and stir, and bake for another 10 minutes
Step 7: eat them all in one sitting!

Sugar and Spice...and pumpkin delight

What says fall better than pumpkin?

So in honor of this glorious orange produce...let's have some lattes!!!!

Pumpkin Spice Lattes

Ingredients:

1 c milk

1/4 cup pumpkin puree

1 t pumpkin pie spice

2 T sugar (brown, white, sucanot, Splenda, or whatever floats your boat)

Method:

Make some strong coffee. Wisk milk, pumpkin, spice, and sugar together. Microwave for 1-2 minutes to get warm. Pour some into the coffee. It is supposed to make 2 lattes, but if you like it not as strong, you can split it 3, 4, or even 5 ways and add some more milk.

ENJOY!

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

I hadn't had a good slice of Cinnamon Raisin Bread in forever. Almost nothing beats the cinnamony goodness with the occasional burst of sweet raisin and a cold glass of milk. Definitly makes my morning spiffy (or my lunch or the afternoon, let's face it, it's good anytime!). Sooo....I decided to make my ownhealty version!

I have been dreaming about this for weeks, so when I got home for fall break, I got to it. But my first attempt failed epically. The loaf didn't rise (note to self: Do not substitute whole wheat flour for white flour in breads. It always ends up dense.). Literally, I could have saved that thing and used it to knock out a burgular.



So, TAKE TWO. I found this recipe and decided to try it! It doesn't have the artsy-fartsy swirl, but the taste makes up for it!

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Ingredients:
3 c whole wheat flour
2 1/4 t yeast
2 T sugar
1 t salt
2 T cinnamon
1 c UNsweetened applesauce
1/2 c water
3/4 c raisins

Method:

Soak the raisins in warm water for 10-15 minutes.

Combine 1 1/2 c flour, yeast, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and raisins.

In separate bowl, combine water and applesauce and microwave for 1 minute. This warm mixture will activate the yeast.

Mix wet and dry ingredients. Then add remaining flour, little by little.

Once well mixed, cover dough with towel and let rise for 1 1/2 hours.

When the dough has doubled, punch down and knead. Then place in GREASED loaf pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

Once it it done, slice and enjoy!!!

books.
as delectable as any food.
savor this quote from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

"They say Aslan is on the move - perhaps has already landed."
And now a very curious thing happened. None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do; but the moment the Beaver had spoken these words everyone felt quite different. Perhaps it has sometimes happened to you in a dream that someone says something which you don't understand but in the dream it feels as if it had some enormous meaning - either a terrifying one which turns the whole dream into a nightmare or else a lovely meaning too lovely to put into words, which makes the dream so beautiful that you remember it all your life and are always wishing you could get into that dream again. It was like that now. At the name of Aslan each one of the children felt something jump in its inside. Edmund felt a sensation of mysterious horror. Peter felt suddenly brave and adventurous. Susan felt as if some delicious smell or some delightful strain of music had just floated by her. And Lucy got the feeling you have when you wake up in the morning and realize that it is the beginning of the holidays or the beginning of summer.

hmmm...i wonder what i would feel? i must ponder this :)