Chocolate chip pumpkin bread...southern style.

                                      

 Well, I don't know if this is authentic "southern style" pumpkin bread-I don't even know if there is such a thing. However, it was made in the south and its a recipe from the south and I like the way it sounds so southern style pumpkin bread it is. :) 

We recently spent a wonderful week in Florida at my uncle and aunt's house which included sunshine, fun, eating, swimming with manatees, sunshine, fun and more eating. I didn't think that I'd get the chance to actually bake/cook something (since 4 out of 7 days we had frozen yogurt for dessert (mm!)) but I was pleasantly surprised when the opportunity to whip together some pumpkin bread arose.

(Btw, I love this bowl, so blue and buttery :D)

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups flour, sifted

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp + 1/8 tsp. salt 

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. allspice

1/2 tsp. cinnamon 

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1/3 cup water

A little more than 1 cup of pumpkin puree

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl (preferably blue) and make a well in the center. 

(You can easily use your hands or the bottom of a glass or measuring cup).

Combine remaining ingredients (except chocolate chips) in a separate bowl and pour into the well and mix together. Lastly, add in the chocolate chips and mix just until blended.

Pour into a greased loaf pan and for 1 hour (depending on your pan, more or less-just keep an eye on it) Now that the bread is out of the oven and the house smells amazing, let sit for a few minutes then turn out onto a baking rack till its cool enough to devour. :D

*Just a side note: leftover pumpkin bread makes a wonderful, quick breakfast when you have to get ready to make a 20 hour trip back home. 

*And another side note: I'd like to thank my Aunt Kim for allowing me to share this secret family recipe with y'all. :-) 

~Maryah R. 

Apple Cookies with Maple Glaze

After a weekend filled with tons of fun, weddings, friends and laughter, you can imagine what Monday was like.... so, to help ease the suddenness of 'nothing to do' I made some apple cookies. 

*Hallelujah chorus*

                                                             

On a dreary October 3rd...they were perfect. A seasonal favorite for sure. So, I don't have much to say, just that they're incredibly good and you should make some. 

The end. ;) 

*Apple Cookies with Maple Glaze

1 stick butter
1 1/3 cups brown sugar, packed
1 egg
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
About 2 cups apples, peeled, cored, and finely diced (that would be two large apples)
1/4 cider

Maple Glaze


2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
4 tablespoons half-and-half
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon butter, melted

Directions  

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar together. Add egg and mix until mixture is creamy. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg together. Add about half of the flour mixture to the sugar mixture and mix well. Add apples and combine thoroughly before adding the remaining flour mixture and cider. 

Bake rounded tablespoons on a prepared cookie sheet for 9-10 minutes. While baking, make your glaze by mixing all the ingredients together until smooth and glossy. Remove golden brown cookies from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack. Glaze warm cookies with a generous drizzle.

*The original recipe is from www.mrsfieldssecrets.com, I simply adapted it a bit.

Enjoy!

~Maryah

A Prelude to Fall.

I love Fall. Fall holds many great wonders......including the people that were born in that season. :D I'm partial to Fall for a lot of reasons; one of them including the great food that happens in that time period. Lots of harvesting means lots of preserving, baking, saucing, juicing, and freezing. Some of my favorites are apple pies, grape juice, applesauce, and tomato sauce. Soups also tend to get popular around that time, and I'm glad that they do. They warm you to the tips of your toes. (Mine get cold too often). Speaking of soups, thats what I made, (surprise!) and it turned out very good and was perfect for warming up a chilly soul, (and some chilly feet). :)


I actually don't have any good pictures of the final result, sorry about that, but you can get an idea of what was like from the step-skip-a-step process photos. :)

 5 lbs. of potatoes.

 The steam effect.

 Sausage.

 Bowls that make me smile. :)

This is the best shot of the finished product that I have. I really wanted to take the time to do get some nice pictures but its hard to concentrate with 6 people wandering around the the kitchen giving me the "I'm hungry" look.

Ingredients

6 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 teaspoons salt

2 large cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

5 lbs skin-on boiling potatoes, diced into 1/2-inch cubes

2 quarts chicken broth

A few shakes of cayenne pepper

16 oz of kale, washed, thick ribs removed, and chopped

6 cups water

24 ounces sausage cooked, smoked sausage (such as kielbasa), sliced

Some ground pepper

Directions

Scrub the potatoes and chop into to cubes. 

Heat the olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat, then sauté the onion with the salt, pepper, and garlic for 5 or so minutes stirring frequently.

Add the potatoes, the broth, and the cayenne, cover the pot, and bring to a boil over high heat before turning the heat down to low.

Simmer for 10 minutes, then add the kale and water and cook another 30 minutes, until the potatoes and the kale are very tender. 

Meanwhile, fry the sausage in a medium frying pan until browned.

Stir in the sausage, taste for salt and pepper-maybe more cayenne. 

Ladle up into some soup bowls and make yourself happy. 

Maryah R.