It’s here. It’s finally here!
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Doesn’t it feel like last Thanksgiving was yesterday, and now we’re doing it all over again? And has anyone come to the realization that Christmas is in 30 DAYS? How about Hanukkah in just 26 DAYS? Craziness! And now while we’re counting days, let’s see: has it really been two months since my last post? Yes, I agree: I am quite the untimely blogger. And while I said last time that I probably wouldn’t be blogging very much because of how crazy school’s been lately, that doesn’t mean I don’t have loads to tell..
Let’s start with school: I consider it a major accomplishment that I survived the past two months. I mean, between all the drama and projects and Homecoming stuff and the ACT and tests and community service commitments and clubs and Finals…yeah, I’m a bit shocked that I survived. Homecoming (as fun as it is) can be a rather large stressor for a teenage girl, like when you can’t find the right dress or when your hair doesn’t cooperate the night of or when your boyfriend makes you laugh in every picture you take or when you forget your ticket at home, after you’ve already left. [I know: white suburban teenage girl problems. Woe is me.] Alas, all was right after arrival. Except, of course, for when the DJ sucked but hey, dancing was still an option and dance I did. With a particularly good dancing partner, that is.
Anyway, Homecoming ended and soon after the long haul began. Now, it’s finally Thanksgiving break, which is why I’m finally getting the chance to write again. And of course before break, teachers insist on giving their plethora of exams: maybe it’s to burn us out completely so that during break, we can properly rejuvenate for our next set of classes of the year, just 6 days later. I can’t complain: there’s no better way to recover from long, exasperating study sessions and lethal final examinations that make you want to pull all your hair and then some out than to sit and do nothing for 6 days straight. (Well, do nothing and eat until the waistband on your pants is begging for mercy. But that’s a given at Thanksgiving dinner.) Regardless, I survived the examinations, acing both my Health and A.P. Psychology finals. Physics (oh, I can guarantee rants on it in the near future..) was not nearly as bad as I feared, my final grade being a solid “B” in the class (as opposed to the bloody “E” I was expecting). My C+ in Algebra, on the contrary, didn’t sit so easily with me: especially when I don’t take getting anything lower than an “A” too kindly. But, all is over with: there’s no point in sitting sulking about it when there’s so much more to tell about, now is there? I mean, it’s a little hard to sulk when you get accepted into National Honors Society, or when the club you dreamed about starting gets funded and begins to take off, or when you score a 26 on your ACT when you were absolutely positive you got nothing higher than a 19 on it. Yeah. Life can be good sometimes.
And in my world where school isn’t always the focal point of my life, there were also some other highlights of Octomber. For example, my trip to the Apple Orchard, Halloween parties, anniversaries and birthdays, and my first internship at a bakery were the few memorable parts of those two months. The Apple Orchard was a fun time, with lots of lovely sights to take pictures of and an abundance of delicious apples to go around. Next came Halloween, in which was celebrated the weekend before [teenagers apparently don’t see the fun in actually trick-or-treating the night of anymore]. I, on the other hand, still see the fun but could not partake in it, for I had to babysit my sick sister. As fun as that was, the holiday ended quickly and then came my internship soon after, which made me actually question my future career as a pastry chef. I won’t lie: it was a fun and extremely interesting experience to see how things actually run behind the scenes at a bakery. At the same time though, it was exhausting: managers and store owners appear to have one of the most stressful, difficult careers out there, so I’ll be keeping that in mind for the future. But until the day comes where I’m making treats for complete strangers, I’ll be here: making triple chocolate cupcakes for the birthday of close friends or putting together white chocolate truffles for people who create important milestones in my life [6 month anniversary, anyone?].
In addition to the craziness of all the other parts of my life comes the culinary side: the side always full of surprises, lessons, mistakes, and rewards. To my dismay, I didn’t get much of a chance to visit this side during Octomber, but when I did, it was a marvelous time. To the satisfaction of my friends, I’ve finally perfected my brownie recipe in which I’ll most likely be reposting about on here soon. Then came the blondies, the muffins, the chocolate cakes, the pastas, the meatballs, and the sweet potatoes. Oh, the sweet potatoes. Those posts will come soon, but for today, I feel another ingredient is far more important: pumpkin!
Since trying my first taste of pumpkin a few years back at Dunkin’ Donuts (pumpkin donuts = life. Seriously.), I’ve been hooked. Anything pumpkin (breads, muffins, cookies, cakes, scones) satisfies my love for it, with the exception of pumpkin pie (still warming up to pie…). So being that it’s finally fall, my craving for pumpkin has peaked, and as most people know, my baking reflects my cravings. I’d been dying to make something with pumpkin for the longest time, so for my friend’s pre-homecoming party, I decided to take the muffin route. I had quite a few recipes I could try, but ended up going with one from Gourmet, and it worked splendidly: both the first and second time.
This recipe is the definition of easy: because it’s a muffin, there’s no creaming of butters and sugars, no fluffing of egg whites, and sadly, no frostings necessary (although icing is always a delicious addition). It’s packed to the brim with a handful of spicy fall flavors (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice: are you sweating yet?) and the pumpkin flavor is anything but subtle. They’re moist, fluffy, and the perfect thing to have with coffee after your Thanksgiving Leftovers dinner; you know, if you have room for ‘em.
Strangely enough, this recipe works for a muffin or a cake. After running out of butter yesterday during my Thanksgiving baking marathon, I decided to make the muffin batter (oil for the win!) and just bake it in a cake pan for a single layer pumpkin “cake”. It came out lovely, and the rest of the batter was used for little muffins which, when placed in a bowl (hot) and covered in vanilla ice cream, resemble the magic that is cast upon your tongue when eating hot apple pie and ice cream. Genius, right?
I don’t advise: I demand these muffins (or this quick bread, or this cake, or whatever you chose for this to be) be made asap. Whether your fridge is full of Costco’s amazing pumpkin pies or your pantries are stocked with ginger snaps and cookies for the kids, these need to be made. Trust me: you won’t regret them one bit.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
♥
Pumpkin Muffins [or Bread. Or Cake.], adapted from Gourmet Magazine
Makes about 3 dozen muffins, 2 9x3x5 loafs, or 1 round cake (standard spring form pan, 12x5 inch)
© 3 Cups All Purpose flour [or 1 ½ Whole Wheat and 1 ½ All Purpose: This works great too!]
© 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
© 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
© 1 Teaspoon Salt
© 3 Teaspoons Cinnamon
© 2 ¾ Cups (White or Brown) Sugar
© 4 Large Eggs
© ½ Tablespoon Vanilla
© 2 Heaping Cups Vegetable Oil
© 2 Heaping Cups Canned Pumpkin
© 2 Tablespoons Milk
© ¼ cup cinnamon sugar (optional)
- Preheat oven to 350º. Line muffin tin with papers, or spray pans with non-stick spray.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar (if using white), spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a medium bowl whisk together eggs, oil, vanilla, pumpkin, sugar (if using brown) and milk.
- Add wet ingredients to dry: mix thoroughly, but do not over mix! Over mixing will result in tough, chewy muffins.
- Add batter to pans. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over tops of muffins, bread, or cake (optional, for a slightly crunchy topping). For muffins, bake 15 to 20 minutes. For quick bread loafs, bake for 25 to 35 minutes. For cake, bake for 30 to 40 minutes.
- Remove from oven. Cakes or loafs should be left to cool for one hour or so, and then flipped. Here, I topped my cake off with a quick icing (about half a cup of powdered sugar with little drops of milk added until I got the right consistency), then I dusted with it cinnamon. For muffins, remove them from the pan and let cool on cooling rack, or enjoy hot with vanilla ice cream. (I prefer the latter.).J
Happy Baking!
♥
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