Where did December go?

I just realized that I haven't posted here since November (and not even the last week on November). I even did mad baking and cooking the last week and a half in December and so many times thought, I need to sit down to a post. Not just about cooking but lots of things. And now, here it is the first week in January.

I just read some new recipes and got a new cook book for Christmas, so hopefully at the very least I can describe those here.

For the Turkey Feast

In my adult life I have cooked two full-on Thanksgiving Turkey dinners. One when I was 20, and one last year.

I can't really remember anything interesting about dinner when I was 20. I remember a lot of left over meat.

Last year I remember. I thought it turned out fairly well and pretty delicious. Except the turkey was still somewhat frozen. Even though I followed the instructions to defrost by Thanksgiving. When the turkey is still a little frozen, it makes preparation a bit harder. It takes a lot more muscle to pry things apart and dig things out. Not much fun. And, who knows how long it takes to cook a frozen turkey. I think it took 2 or 3 hours longer than I thought it was going to. But, aside from that, I thought the food tasted fine.

So this year, the decision was made to get a turkey breast only. Not as much waste, and a lot easier. Except for purchasing it. You see, I went to purchase one that is supposed to be so easy and so delicious, except I wandered the store for hours (okay, really just minutes but it felt like forever) in search of said turkey breast.  I became frustrated and gave up.

Fast forward; shopping at a different grocery store. No turkey breast. After loading up my other Thanksgiving feast delights (you know the normal, potatoes, asparagus, stuffing, etc.), I decided to give in and buy a whole turkey (at least they were on sale).

Fast forward again; not everyone is on board with a stinky, frozen, giant turkey.

So, this morning I will be headed to the food bank to drop off said stinky, frozen, giant turkey (which technically needs to start defrosting today for someone to enjoy on Thanksgiving).

And, something I tried hard to avoid, I will be headed back out tomorrow. Not for the mysterious, elusive turkey breast. We're going in a different direction. I will be getting some sliced turkey breast and cheeses from the deli, and some delicious buttery croissants from the bakery. You know what? While it might not be traditional or festive, I think it will still be delicious. (And less prep and clean up-- who doesn't love that?)

Santa in November

Santa Clause came to the mall last week. And he's here to stay-- at least until Christmas.

Why oh why does it seem earlier and earlier each year?

Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas, the season, and all of the fun things that go along with it. I just don't like getting burned out before Christmas gets here.

That being said, I did decide to "start" Christmas. If you didn't know this about me, I am addicted to lists. I will make lists of anything and everything. But, before list time, in my opinion, comes budget time. The thing is, if I don't come up with a budget and divvy it out nicely among all the people I would love to buy gifts for, I end up spending way too much-- like living on ramen and mac n cheese for the next two months too much. So, did the budget. Made the first list. And, what else to do this week but starting buying, right?
While I don't want to be involved in Christmas so early, I also don't want to be fighting the traffic and the crowds a month from now. So I decided it's worth it. Plus, it gives me time to remember things that maybe didn't make it on the list.

I think this week I got all the shopping done for the little kiddies (friends, nieces, nephews, etc). I think that's the most fun part anyway. And the easiest. Most kids like toys. Can't go too wrong there. Also, Target and Toys R Us were nice enough to throw out some pre-Black Friday deals, and I don't mind participating in those.

I also got my new Matthew Mead Holiday magazine this week. It's the most beautiful magazine I've seen. A little ambitious for me, but I can still enjoy looking at it. I refuse to start any kind of decorating though until AFTER Thanksgiving. I've got to have some boundaries (aside from the giant glass bowl on my table filled with cinnamon-scented pine cones and red wicker balls-- but that could technically be out any time of the year).

Pumpkin Cake Pops

Are you ready for this? Remember my first attempt with the basic cake balls?

Well here's the next step, turning those into pops.

I decided to start with the pumpkin ones because they appeared to be the easiest. And, if you've seen the recipe then you've seen them with jack o lantern faces. I decided to forgo the faces. Maybe I'll do faces next year. That might be fun (but I'll have to learn how to make these a little smoother).

I'll just admit that while I like how the pops turned out, my pictures aren't the best. I got so wrapped up in my project that I kept forgetting to take pictures. I wrapped them up individually and started using cute ribbon to tie the bags, but that ran out after about 8 pops so I switched to black gift ribbon, which still looked better than I thought it would.

And, I thought they tasted pretty good. Really rich, but what else would you expect from candy coated cake?

I think that finishes up my October/Halloween baking.

I was planning on turkey pops next month, but I looked at the recipe while I was doing the pumpkin pops, and I just don't know if that's going to happen. "Gluing" the feathers on just sounds like it might be too much.

Return to Sugar

I am hoping that after exactly six months off of cakes, candies, and cookies my sugar addiction has been weakened. Because I am back on.

Last year I did six months off sweets, followed by six months on, and I just ended another six months off. Can I pretend that cuts my diabetes risk by 50%?

Actually, I am not planning to keep this going in six month increments. Last year when I got back on sweets it was like a major explosion. I had no plan. By the end of the first week I was back in full frenzy addiction mode. I am going to try to not let that happen this time.

Yesterday I decided to try a pumpkin cake pop (more on that later), and I did pop a couple balls that hadn't been candy coated yet. Then, I decided to try some pretzel m&ms. Those have been calling my name for months and we had some in a candy dish. I ate about three. Not worth it. The chocolate to pretzel ratio was disappointing to me. Old me might have eaten them anyway, but like I said, my sugar addiction is slightly curbed right now. I did have a handful of chocolate covered almonds and I ended my day with a couple of candy corns. All in all, not too crazy for a sugar addict. (okay okay, it would have been a lot worse except I had exact plans for those pumpkin pops so I really couldn't binge on them or I wouldn't have had enough for all the people I had planned them for).

Now, to keep myself from that dark place, my plan is not to indulge every day, but to indulge on special occasions. Like Halloween. I am hoping to score a couple of fun size candy bars. And after that there aren't really any special occasions until Thanksgiving. Maybe then I can have a piece of pie. See? It all sounds very doable. And if not, well, the minute I turn back into a sugar-crazed fiend, I'm going to have to ban them again. I'm hoping that doesn't happen.

Pumpkin Baking

I am a big fan of using pumpkin for my baking. I wait for this all year long.

First, if you haven't tried the Pumpkin Smash smoothie from Jamba Juice, go try that right now! It's delicious. I have been getting my weekly fix and I hope they keep it around at least until Thanksgiving, which will give me the chance to suck down four or five more.

And now, pumpkin baking. With my current avoidance of most things sweet, this year hasn't been too eventful.

First, I tried a new recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread, from Betty Crocker's fall baking magazine. I have a million pumpkin recipes but I always like to try different variations.

If you are looking for something not too sweet, this is a good one. Even though it has mini chocolate chips, it's very bland (someone said he thought it was bitter, but it's someone who doesn't like pumpkin, so hard to judge).

The recipe is:

1/2 cup softened butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup pumpkin

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (and if you need this, please ask me, I bought a new one just to make this bread not realizing I still had a container from last year, and I'll never use it all before it expires)

1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup chopped walnuts (I omitted these)

After you bake this for 65 minutes it calls for a glaze. I only glazed half. Use a 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 2-3 teaspoons of milk. The gaze really sweetens it up, since you're just covering it in more sugar. So I would try it first and unless it's too bitter, save yourself some sugar and skip the glaze.

Overall, this recipe is okay. It's not to die for. I liked trying it once and I could see making it once a year. It just makes one loaf of bread, so if you don't like it you haven't wasted too much.

The only other thing I have made this season is Pumpkin Bars. I don't know where this recipe originally came from, but my dad made these once when I was a teenager and I copied down the recipe because I loved them. I didn't love the raisins and nuts, so when I make these every year I leave them out. I love these pumpkin bars and I think you should give them a shot if you're looking to try yet another of the million pumpkin recipes.

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cloves

1 cup oil

4 eggs

1 15oz can (2 cups) pumpkin

1/2 cup chopped nuts

1/2 cup raisins

Beat at low speed until moistened, then beat at medium speed for two minutes. Stir in nuts and raisins. Pour into greased 15x10x1" pan and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Cool completely, 40-50 minutes.

Combine until smooth:

1/3 cup softened margarine

3 oz softened cream cheese

2 cups powdered sugar

1 tbsn milk

1 tsp vanilla

Ice cooled bars.

I made these bars just three days ago for a Halloween party (no pictures). I had to have something to make them for so I wasn't tempted to eat the whole pan (because I am sure I could). I wanted to try the pumpkin whoopie pies from bakeat350 for the party, but I didn't have enough time. Maybe next year.

Currently I have a cake cooling. I am hoping to find time this afternoon to turn it into Pumpkin Cake Pops. I'll keep you posted.

Fall???

I would just like to tell you that I saw the forecast for today, and it says 104. Is that possible? Two days until October, and already a week into fall and we get this? It really kills my fall time buzz.

For the last two weeks I have been planning out some fall time baking. You know, pumpkin bread, pumpkin sandwich cookies, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin cake pops. You get the idea. I have been trying to wait until the first of October. And, I couldn't wait at Jamba Juice any more. On Saturday I had a pumpkin smoothie. I thought it was delicious. It tasted creamy, sweet, and delicious. Like a pumpkin pie milkshake. If you go for that kind of thing I definitely recommend it.

Also, I have a beautiful new fall dish (maybe you'll get to see a picture another time) that I am loving. I brought it out last Friday. I was planning on filling it with candy corns and pumpkins this week. But now, it seems a little out of place as the air conditioner is working full time and the sun is blazing. (And I'd rather not mention that I went fall shopping about two weeks ago to get a certain someone ready for cooler weather. All those clothes are still sitting in the bags with the tags on).

You know what I did today? I busted out the zucchinis. Welcome back summer. I made some chocolate chip zucchini bread (recipe can be found by clicking on Kathi's blog). It feels a little summerish and a little fallish, and hopefully when I drop it off tonight people will feel like eating it if they haven't sweated to death first.

I was planning on getting out the fall/Halloween items in two days. That doesn't sound right at all. Maybe by then it will have cooled off 20 degrees.

I don't mean to complain. I enjoyed swimming yesterday and if the heat overtakes me this afternoon I might just end up at the pool again. It's just that my body and mind feel confused. They were excited for fall.