Gym Christmas Day 9

Gym Christmas Day 9!

Work out: long walk with John. He thinks it was about 2 miles or so, but I didn't measure. Definitely at least 30 minutes. And then I did some stretching because, GAH, I'm still sore from Iron Strength. Back to running tomorrow. 

GYMGO!!!! AT LAST!!! I needed one more walk to get a GYMGO up the diagonal from the lower left corner. Woo hoo! Also, I predict I will have another by the end of the week.

Djillian posted this on my wall to celebrate.

Bonus picture and thing I've eaten today: Spicy Pumpkin Soup from Make it Naked and Vegan Cornbread from the PPK. Both recipes make for a quick and tasty weeknight dinner.

Gym Christmas Day 2

Gym Christmas Day 2!

Work out: 30 minutes on the stationary bike at the rec center, and then about 5 minutes of stretching. It was supposed to be a day completely off from exercise, but three days in a row without running just made me want to work out somehow.

GYMGO: checked off another "Grab Bag" square, top right corner.

Photo: Viryta (pronounced VEER-tah), a sweetened and infused whiskey beverage that the Lithuanian side of the family always makes at the holidays (recipe here). I'm told the appropriate word for toasting with a drink like this would be "Sveiks!" I got the urge to make viryta this weekend. And I'm storing it in old mason jars, because I'm a hobo. 

What's for dinner: Spicy Pumpkin Soup, from a blog called Make It Naked. Looks tasty!

American Thanksgiving 2012

Last week, we had our third annual American Thanksgiving Dinner with our friend, Gwen. John helped me reign in my excitement and only plan a very large meal, instead of a crazy big one. Like previous years, we made a Thanksgiving dinner without meat, but in this case, a large amount of dairy, and somehow, no soy products.

We set the table for four, and unfortunately one of our guests got the stomach flu the day before. He kindly stayed home, instead of spreading his virus to us. 

Yes, I was that person who made the little pears with name tags on them, an idea I saw all over the internet this year. It was actually really easy and kinda fun, even though I felt silly making fake little name tags and tying them on to pears. 

Here are some links to the recipes we enjoyed. 

Basic Cranberry Sauce from MarthaStewart.com (the sauce in this photo is in progress, of course). John said he didn't like cranberry sauce, but that this recipe converted him. I had no idea it was so easy to make! Berries + sugar + lemon zest + water + heat. Done. 

Our sick friend was supposed to bring pie, so at the last minute, John and I decided to make a pumpkin pie from scratch (who are we?!). Actually, we practice "cutting in" all the time when we make biscuits, so John handled the crust recipe like a pro. 

Here's the pie before it baked: voluptuous vegan pumpkin pie, from Vegan Pie in the Sky, from the geniuses at the PPK.  

This pie turned out 50% awesome, 50% not quite right. First, I subbed tapioca flour for agar powder, which was probably an error. The consistency wasn't quite right for pumpkin pie. Also, we under baked it, so the crust on the bottom was a little chewy. Still, the spice balance in this is great, and it's not very sweet. To make the filling, you just combine all the ingredients and dump them in the pie shell, much easier than cooking them on the stove first. Making the crust was somewhat an epiphany for John, since he didn't realize it was so simple. I think this pie has him pretty excited, and that this will be the Christmas of Pies. 

We also made this Pear and Pecan Cornbread Stuffing, also from the PPK. 

This stuffing is delicious. It dries out easily, so be generous with the stock, especially when you reheat it. I think it needs about 2 cups of stock from the start, and we've added more with the leftovers. It's so flavorful and good, I can't wait to make it again at Christmas.

This picture of John maniacally stirring is the only one I got of the mashed potatoes. We didn't follow a real recipe here, just cubed and boiled potatoes, mashed them with chopped rosemary and a bunch of butter and cream. It's basically potatoes+fat. We use red potatoes and leave the skin on for a little color. 

I made brie en croute with the cranberry sauce pictured above. I loosely followed a similar recipe using apple compote from Annie's Eats, just to get the general idea of how to wrap it and how long to bake it.   This brie turned out beautifully, because, how could it not? Brie oozing out of puff pastry? If you don't like that, then I can't help you. Once it came out of the oven, we started eating it so fast that I didn't snap a picture, but take my word for it that the finished product was really pretty and presented well. We ate it with some cranberry-pumpkin seed pita chips from Costco, which I would highly recommend. You need a firm cracker to stand up to all that brie. We meant to also use green apple slices, but it completely slipped my mind when the time came.

You'll notice from the picture that I didn't really wrap it in any kind of systematic way. I just gathered the pastry up around the brie a bit at a time and kind of knotted it at the top. John and Gwen literally exclaimed "Oooh! Ahhh!" when I took it out of the oven. Can't wait for Christmas when I can make this again. 

Here is my plate. Clockwise, from 1 o'clock, you have the cornbread stuffing, then mashed potatoes, blanched green beans (just so we could say we had a veggie, and for something green on the plate), then the actual "main" course: Apple Walnut Lentil Loaf, from Oh She Glows. As predicted, the loaf was a big hit and we gave some to Gwen to take home. It would definitely please any vegetarians, vegans, or omnivores you serve over the holidays. Just make a little extra glaze for dipping.

No post-bake photos of the pie, since we covered it in whipped cream and stuffed it in our faces. I hope you had a Happy American Thanksgiving, or a regular Thursday, depending on where you are. Here's to a delicious holiday season!

Pumpkin French Toast

**Update: I stumbled upon the recipe on the PPK site, so I've linked to it below. This recipe is meant for the world to see, obviously.**

If you've read basically any post here, you know of my deep and abiding love of brunch. 

This weekend, I got a particular kind of brunch craving. I knew I wanted to have a Thanksgiving-related brunch food, but that we'll be busy on American Thanksgiving Day with cooking an enormous meal to compensate for how we're not eat someone else's enormous meal. Instead of interrupting my live-cam stream of the Macy's parade (easier to find on the internet than you might think) and my cooking marathon, we decided to have a small brunch today with just the two of us. I also realized that I had everything on hand to make the Pumpkin French Toast from Vegan Brunch, which I have to say is my all time favorite cookbook. Everything in it is a winner, from the scrambles to the entrees, to the muffins, to the other sides. I have plans to make the vegan sausage pastry puffs and the smoked almond gravy as Breakfast For Dinner later this week (drool). 

We decided to pair the french toast with a bottle of Rogue's Bacon Maple Ale that Kira gave us back when we ran the half marathon in Fort Wayne. She told me that it was kind of a novelty beer, but that it paired well with brunch, and I thought, "Sold."

Unfortunately, I have to report than neither of us liked this beer basically at all. The smoky flavor is really strong, but it's also pretty sweet. It was fun to try, but I wouldn't seek it out again. However, if you love smokey beers, then this might be your thing. You can read a more in depth but also more negative review over on Cheaper Than Therapy. I think my favorite moment while drinking it was when John said, "Man, something about this beer reminds me of kindergarten." It's the combination of that bacony, greasy, but also syrupy smell that he apparently associates with his elementary school cafeteria. I feel like there is someone out there who this beer is made for, who loves that sausage-waffle-smokey taste.

The french toast was pretty great, and typical of Isa Chandra. The pumpkin takes the place of eggs in the batter, and her spice blend was particularly savory. We both felt like the slices benefitted from a generous sprinkle of confectioners sugar and some syrup. I'm pretty sure we'll make it again over the holidays.

Also,

IT'S THANKSGIVING THIS WEEK WHICH MEANS THE HOLIDAYS ARE HERE! FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now that my fall races and conferences are over, I can devote the rest of my blog posts in 2012 to all things HOLIDAYS. I'm getting excited.

Squirrels Gond Wild

I have so much to write about all of the sudden! My good friends' wedding and the half marathon are at the top of the list. But first, a note about fall.


The squirrels that live outside of our house have absolutely lost it.

This picture doesn't convey the drama going on. Every morning, we wake up to the sound of large acorns hitting the side of the house, the metal overhang on our porch, and the wall AC unit. It sounds like the squirrels are hurling the biggest nuts they can find at our house, like they're trying to send a message. When we come outside, I often see several waddling off in terror, their mouths as full as possible. Somehow, in the process of stuffing their faces, they have begun to strip branches off the tree - you can see the scattered limbs in the picture. Why is this happening? Are they gnawing on the branches? Our yard is a dangerous place, since you're in danger of being pelted with either a stick or a nut while trying to get from the car to the house.

Meanwhile, inside, we made our first chili of the season, and washed it down with a pumpkin beer and a cheesey-beer biscuit.

John and I have tried a whole bunch of pumpkin beers, and we're quickly learning why so many of our beer aficionado friends are down on them. They can be kind of terrible. But both the Nightmare on Mill Street and the Mill Street October Fest are fine, autumnal beers. They come in a seasonal sampler pack, and we were glad we tried it. 

This chili calls for some pumpkin beer, and we used another Ontario pumpkin ale that neither of us liked at all, but the chili still tasted good. You can find the recipe for the chili here: Pumpkin Black Bean Chili, from Veggies by Season. 

In a last minute attempt to use up the pumpkin ale that we didn't care for, I did a quick internet search for "Beer cheddar bread" and came up with these biscuits. The only thing I'd change for next time would be to forgo the muffin cups and just butter/flour the pan. They stuck slightly to the paper, but they were light, flakey, and buttery on the inside. John and I tried hard not to inhale these little cheesy bites: Cheddar Beer Bread Muffins, from The Beeroness (a website I think we'll use again). 

Happy Fall! Anyone else have a massive squirrels-gone-wild party in your yard?

Summer Running Recap

 Running post! Those of you who don't care about running can check out now. See you next week.

This summer my primary running goal was to train effectively for the Fort 4 Fitness Half Marathon. It's in Fort Wayne on September 29. When I say "train effectively," I had a couple of particular things in mind:

• learn how to consume calories both before and during running. 

In the past I've had GI problems and heartburn from eating as little as a banana within 2 hours of running. But I knew that had to change in order to train for and run the Half. Thankfully, I've more than accomplished this goal. At first, I would just eat a few bites of banana before running. Then I started wearing my fuel belt, even on relatively shorter runs, to get used to drinking water with a small amount of the low-calorie (G2) Gatorade mixed in. For each weekly long run, I increased the amount of Gatorade, and now I can safely consume two 10-oz hip flasks of it during my long runs - no heartburn or fear of it coming back up. SUCCESS.

I've also tried putting half an electrolyte tablet (Nuun) in each hip flask, after the Gatorade runs out.

I'm a bit on the fence about this product. One the one hand, they are small and easy to carry in the storage pouch of my fuel belt. They're easy to use and I think they do help me feel better.
But damn, they taste like chalk. Chalk with a hint of lime. The low sugar content is good for my sensitive stomach, but I don't really enjoy the chalky taste.

As for pre-run eating, I can eat as much as a whole banana  + a "mini-thintini" with a scant spread of peanut butter on each half. The first time I did this, it not only stayed down easily, but I felt SO MUCH BETTER! Wow! Calories make a HUGE difference when running for 2.5 hours. I was shocked, but in hindsight, not eating enough in advance kind of explains why some of my long runs were such a struggle.

(This is a mini-thintini, in case you weren't sure.)

My second big goal: 

• learn how to run really far without having a mental or physical breakdown. 

This has also gone about as well as it could have. I spent some time in physiotherapy (that's physical therapy to you Yankees) to help my right foot. It has some kind of tendonitis, and I've done a ton of exercises to help strengthen that entire side of my body, since it's not just a foot problem. Apparently I have a weak right hip and butt, but the exercises are helping a lot. I've also made some form adjustments that added a lot of mental frustration to the whole process. Just, you know, re-learn how to run. No big deal. It actually has made a big difference, but it's a lengthy process.
I was concerned with the mental challenge of running for that long, since I take breaks during my long runs, and it sometimes feels like it takes forever to get through them. I don't listen to music when I run (too afraid of being snuck up on), so it's just me providing myself with company and entertainment. Running several comparable distances to the Half, including now two 13 mile runs, has really helped. Next week is my last long run before the taper (!), and by then I will have run three 10 milers, three 12 milers, and two 13 milers (I like to call these the Tour of London runs, because I run all over the city). I feel like I know at least somewhat how I'll feel at the 12th mile. And I can only hope that I'll feel better in the race environment, especially since Kira (aka, Mama K) will be with me!
Since I've made it this far into the training cycle without (additional) injury or a lot of crying, I'm going to call this goal mostly achieved. I still have a few weeks to go!
After that, I have a couple of fall races at shorter distances on the agenda. Fall is the best for running.


A couple of other random things that came into my life this week:

Omg y'all, the masala hummus (store brand, no less) is so good. It would probably be very simple to make, if you have all the right spices on hand. I have high hopes for the spicy hummus.

Also, a delightful collection of seasonal gourds.

Happy Fall!

November Foods 2011

Instead of a bunch of separate food posts, here's a round up of recipes we tried and enjoyed this fall.

First up: Vegan Broccoli Cheese Pasta Bake from Daily Garnish.

















It's amazing how blended tofu turns into a creamy sauce for this dish. You can use pretty much any shaped pasta and whatever green veggies you had on hand, though broccoli works extremely well. Our only complaint was that this didn't reheat very well the next day. The tofu on the pasta gets kind of hard, even though it was totally creamy the first time. But if you're feeding a large group, I would recommend it.

Next: Sweet Potato and Rosemary Soup from Giada (Food Network).

















My friend Katie sent me the recipe for this and I knew we'd both love it. It's basically a lot of sweet potato and broth, but then you mix in marscapone and it turns into magic. I think subbing almond milk and some Earth Balance would be a good way to make this vegan, and I almost tried it (but then I wanted to buy the cheese, so...you know what happened). We will definitely make it again.


ON TO DESSERT!

Numero 3: Peanut Butter Chocolate Pillows from the PPK.

















These. are. amazing. I made them for a get together at Bryn and Djillian's house, and they were gone well before I left. I think next time I would make them a little smaller, since some of them were quite large. They are only slightly more involved than a regular cookie, in that you have to roll the peanut butter part into balls and then cover it with the chocolate to make one giant ball, but really, it's pretty fool proof. I'm looking for another excuse to make them because, seriously, these are the best cookies I've made all year.


Four: Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.
























This recipe isn't on the PPK site, though they do have three other cupcakes up there. I suspect that if you google it, you could find the real thing. They have corn flour and almond meal in them and it gives them a little bit of a gritty texture. The cayenne pepper also gives them a little kick - nothing strong, just a bit - because apparently that's what Mexican hot chocolate tastes like. I've made a couple other recipes from this book, but these are by far my favorite.


Cinque: (Vegan) Pumpkin Pie Brownies, also from the PPK.

















I baked these a little longer than the directions called for, and I'm not sure if it made a difference. The final direction is to chill them for an hour and a half before serving, and at that point the pumpkin layer on top was fully set and DELICIOUS. I love these brownies! One of the taste testers said that they have the consistency of a cheese cake. I kind of went on dessert overkill last week, so I froze individual servings of these brownies. I'm optimistic that they will still be good after being frozen.

Six: Mashed Potatoes with Sage and Rosemary and White Gravy from Daily Garnish.
















Not a dessert, but I did serve these and the brownies along with a few other items on American Thanksgiving. We had a couple friends over for a casual meal and these potatoes were a hit. They have mashed apples in them that add the perfect amount of sweetness. We will probably make them again at Christmas!


And finally, chocolate dipped shortbread cookies.

























This recipe is from the America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook and I first made it the day after we got El Mixo 3000 from Costco (we've been through so much since then, El Mixolito!). Unfortunately I baked them a few minutes too long and they were a little brown. Normally this wouldn't stop me from eating them or giving them away, but they were for a church fundraiser, and they're supposed to look nice so people will buy them. So I did what anyone would do - combine a little melted chocolate with a little milk, dip 'em, and cover them with Christmas cheer. Done and done. I think they sold well!

That's that for fall foods. I'm so proud that this list even includes two non-dessert recipes. It's that time of year again. I have lots more Christmas stuff to write about. In the mean time, it's after December 1st, so crank up the volume on the Christmas music!

American Thanksgiving, 2010

Naturally, John and I don't get a day off for American Thanksgiving. Since I'm doing an independent study this semester, I can feel like I have a "day off" any time I want, except that then I would feel really guilty and behind my imaginary deadline. This year, we marked the American version of Thanksgiving by staying at home to work on papers and cook fairly normal, American Thanksgiving fare.

Since John and I don't really buy meat in Canada (because of the expense), we went with a meatless Thanksgiving and ended up using a few different vegan recipes from this website, which I love. The author over there had a couple different tofu preparations that looked delicious, and I ended up choosing the one I did because it involved making gravy, that was too goo to pass up.

So here are the things I made, some of which were for that day in particular, and some for other occasions.

Pumpkin Chocolate Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take over the World.





Delicious.












Those were meant to be dessert after the holiday meal, and I think I'm the only one who had any room left to eat them. Also, they're great heated up in the microwave the next day.


Molasses Spice Cookies, from America's Test Kitchen Family Cook Book.



















Don't believe the recipe when it says this makes 2 dozen cookies - it made more than 2 and a half, and they weren't small, neither. I gave half of it to a local holiday bake sale and brought the other half for my students on Black Friday. One of my colleagues said these are better than the same cookie at Starbucks. Ahem.

Then we set the table and our friend Gwen came over for dinner.

















With just three people to feed, I tried not to let the menu planning get out of control (as I'm wont to do). We had three dishes, gravy, and the cupcakes. It was kind of perfect because I stuffed my face (especially with potatoes) but I didn't eat my weight in three kinds of potatoes.




















Here's what we served:

• Steamed green beans, with margarine, sea salt and pepper
• Crash Hot Potatoes (I could eat these every. day.)
• Pan-Fried Tofu with Mushroom Gravy, from fatfreevegan.com.
  

It was sort of hard to explain the tofu recipe to John until I made an analogy to chicken-fried steak. Then he was on board. This was a delicious recipe, and it reheats in the oven well. The breading is delicate, since it's just flour and some herbs. Our guest (who told me in advance that she would try anything once) said if I hadn't told her ahead of time, she would have thought it was chicken. The chicken seasoning is a pretty crucial ingredient for making it so good. I seriously couldn't wait to have this again the next night.

As for the gravy, our guest also told us that mushrooms are the one food she absolutely abhors, so we left them out of the gravy. Still, it was delicious and came together easily. I think if you added some finely chopped and sauteed celery, and maybe some bread cubes, it would taste just like regular stuffing. The mushrooms would make it even better and I hope we try that again. John and I were putting the gravy on everything on the plate by the end of the meal. I was concerned that it all might taste overly like soy, but it didn't at all.

I have no illusions that what we ate was "healthy" just because it was vegan. Fried and breaded tofu may not have have as much fat as similarly prepared beef, but it's still high in fat. I just figured it was a cheaper (and just slightly healthier) thing to eat in place of making a turkey or buying a cut of meat. This meal was a good example of how vegan cooking can still be somewhat indulgent and super flavorful when you want to splurge on the calories a little. We won't make it again right away, since you know, it's fatty and for a special occasion, but we will definitely make this tofu again.

I know I'm late, but I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, whenever you might have celebrated it!

Mexican Pumpkin Soup

Despite the supposed pumpkin shortage of 2010, my mom sent me home from Canadian Thanksgiving with several cans of pumpkin. I've baked my usual pumpkin goods with it, of course. But after a while, I start looking for ways to use up pantry items in something other than a cookie or a muffin.

















This soup was the perfect thing. It's pretty simple - canned (or fresh) pumpkin, potatoes, black beans, some broth. It didn't take long to put together, and it was even better with the avocados that were on sale that week.

I didn't realize that soy milk could make a regular vegan soup so creamy. Combined with the starch of the potatoes, this was a really creamy, smooth soup with some subtle fall flavors. The pumpkin isn't overwhelming at all. In fact, next time I might add some more pumpkin to boost that particular flavor.
















Mexican Pumpkin Soup
from Fat Free Vegan

1 large onion chopped
4-5 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
4 cups vegetable broth
2 cups pureed cooked pumpkin or 1 cup canned pumpkin
1 16-ounce can chili beans*
1 tbsp. seeded diced jalapeño
5 medium red potatoes, diced into 1/2 inch cubes
1 tablespoons oregano (we omitted this, we're out)
pinch of cayenne or other red pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/3 cup soy milk
salt, to taste
cilantro or parsley

Heat a large pot. Sauté most of the onions (reserve a few for garnish) over medium heat until they soften; add garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Add in the broth, pumpkin, chili beans, jalapeño, and potatoes. Stir in the oregano, cayenne, and cumin. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer.

Simmer for about 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes. Stir in the soy milk, add salt to taste, and serve immediately garnished with cilantro or parsley and onion (and extra diced jalapeño, if desired).

*We used a can of red beans and added 1 tsp chili powder. We also upped the cumin to 1 tsp. If you prefer spicy food, I would add more cayenne and maybe another jalapeno.

Whole Wheat Crepes

You may sense that I'm posting even more infrequently than before, and that's because school is happening. Oh, it's happening.

But I still want to keep posting about once a week or so.

Good story, Abby.

Anyway, last week, after I made the pumpkin butter, I decided it would make an excellent filling for crepes. A quick internet search led me to these babies:



















They were really simple to make, and for the most part, they didn't even tear up into a bunch of scrappy crepes. I will definitely make these again and try to halve the recipe, since I was stuffed to the gills after eating them all myself. For two people, the recipe would make the perfect amount. I filled half with pumpkin butter, and half with almond butter. Both were delicious.




















Whole Wheat Crepes
from Mr. Breakfast.

• 1 cup low-fat milk (or soy milk)
  
• 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 large egg
• 1 additional egg white (I skipped this and used two whole eggs)
  
• 1 Tablespoon sugar (I added 1 tsp agave nectar)

In a blender or food processor, process the milk and egg until will mixed, but stopping short of creating foam. Add flour, sugar (if desired) and any spices you want to try and pulse until just mixed.* The batter should be quite thin. Add more milk as neccessary.

Heat a lightly-greased medium skillet over medium heat.

Scoop batter 1/4 cup at a time. Immediately swirl the pan gently to distribute the batter in a very thin layer. Cook the crepe until the surface appears dry -- about 1 minute.

Stack completed crepes on a plate, separated by wax paper. **

Fill crepes with filling of your choice.

*I just did this by hand with a fork. It was very easy to put together.
**I assembled (re: ate) them quickly as I cooked the next crepe, which was a little rushed, but it generally worked fine.

Pumpkin Butter

Sometimes I feel really uninspired to write a blog post, even though I have recipes and pictures and things to write about. Let's call it the Back to School Blahs.
To ease myself back in to blogging, I'll share this recipe for pumpkin butter.




















I posted on the facebook that I was enjoying pumpkin butter, and I've been surprised to learn that a lot of people (especially Canadians) have no idea what I'm talking about. So I say, "It's like apple butter." (crickets). "Do you know what apple butter is?!"

My undergrad roommate Kelly and I would always make a trip to Li'l Nashville, IN (Just east of Bloomington) in the fall to wander around, make fun of stuff in all the stores, and buy some apple and pumpkin butters. It's a fall staple! And I'm thrilled that I found this very easy recipe to make it. After making pumpkin muffins last week I had just under a cup of spare pureed pumpkin and this the perfect use for it. I'll show you what else I did with it later this week, but for now, just know that pumpkin butter goes with everything, especially toast and biscuits.




























Homemade Pumpkin Butter
from AllRecipes.

Ingredients

• 1 (29 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 3/4 cup apple juice (I added water instead)
  
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar (I subbed in about 3 tbs agave nectar and 1 tsp brown sugar. Maple syrup would also work well).
  
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1. Combine pumpkin, apple juice, spices, and sugar in a large saucepan; stir well. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes or until thickened. Stir frequently.
2. Transfer to sterile containers and chill in the refrigerator until serving.

Pumpkin Muffins

This week the smell of fall really got to me and the muffin kick continued. I decided to use the one can of pumpkin puree that I didn't use last year to make some pumpkin muffins.

This recipe was a little harder to find and tweak than I expected, but I was able to come up with something that I liked. I'll note my edits below.
These muffins were fairly spicy and flavorful. Next time I might halve the recipe, since these little guys are rich and moist, and I'm afraid they'll get moldy before they were eaten. I might also adjust the allspice, since it's pretty strong and sometimes a little bitter. But all in all, these muffins are great when spread with almond butter and they made our apartment smell like Thanksgiving.

Note that I made it past September 5th before making a pumpkin baked good this year.





















Pumpkin Spice Muffins
adapted from All Recipes

• 2 cups canned pumpkin
  
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
  
• 1 cup wheat flour
  
• 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
  
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 tsp agave nectar
  
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cloves
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.

2. In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and salt. In a separate bowl, beat together 2 cups pumpkin puree, vegetable oil and eggs. Stir pumpkin mixture into flour mixture until smooth. Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups.

3. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

As I type this, I'm working on an experiment with the leftover pumpkin from the can I opened to make these muffins. If it works, it will be pumpkin butter. I'll let you know what happens.

The Great Pumpkin Drop

This semester, I've had the pleasure of taking a class on Feminist and Queer Theory here at Western. It's got that magic mix of all great seminars: great topics, great students, and a wonderful teacher. The discusions are lively and at every class I feel like I've learned a lot.

Last Thursday, the awesomeness of this class reached new hights. One of the students asked our instructor, Cris, if we could take our normal break about an hour early in order to watch the pumpkin drop (I'll explain that in a sec). While Cris is normally rather indulgent, she hesitated to sanction such a silly activity. Fortunately (and perhaps ironically given the class subject) Cris gave into peer pressure and let us go to this important UWO tradition.

What is the pumpkin drop? I'm glad you asked! Every year the school organization Engineers Without Borders holds an annual fundraiser featuring the destruction of a large Corcubita Moschata (Latin!). People gather and watch as a freakishly large pumpkin plummets to the ground, pelting people, pedestrians and pets with its sundered particles.

In the past I have felt a great deal of animosity towards schools stunts like this. But since we've been in Canada, things have been different. I really wanted to go to homecoming, and was sorry to miss it. Hockey games call my name as never before. And watching a five hundred pound pumpkin fall to the ground, explode with a resounding WHOMP! and throw gooey pieces all over people was totally awesome. I don't know if being in a different country changes my perspective or what, but I'm digging all the fun cliche things related to my new school.