Farmer's Market adventures

Since we found out that we'd be having another child, I've been trying to create daily or weekly rituals for Jack and me. One of these is our weekly visit to the farmer's market. We're so lucky to live in California, in the wine country no less, because we get beautiful seasonal produce all year. Our farmer's market is popular in the community, so going there is a great opportunity for us to people watch and be reminded of the kind of community we live in. There's always live music and picnic tables set up, even a little playground for Jack to play on.

We have one rule (that sometimes sticks, other times...not so much.) We have to get one healthy thing each, and then one sweet or unhealthy thing to share. Most times we get apples to munch on while we search for a huge muffin (like the chocolate cherry one above) but other times Jack surprises me and gets a pomegranate or a persimmon. Once he actually chose a basket of organic strawberries as his 'sweet treat.'

I'm hoping we can keep up this weekly tradition after the baby comes, it's such a positive way to learn about where our food comes from and a simple activity to celebrate the changing seasons...

Handmade Halloween costumes

Here are a few ideas for cute homemade Halloween costumes I found over at Martha.

I think this last one would be great for a very-pregnant lady like myself, I was thinking of expanding on it and going as a black widow. Hmmm....

Pumpkin bread with cream cheese filling and homemade vanilla extract

Seriously, this looks so good I think I'm going to make it for dinner tonight.  Find the recipe here

I also made some homemade vanilla extract a few weeks back. I found the recipe in this awesome book that I got for Christmas last year.

The homemade vanilla is relatively simple to make, and pretty inexpensive when you consider how much a tiny jar of extract costs. This recipe makes a ton (about two cups worth) and uses just five vanilla beans (about $3 at Whole Foods) and two cups of vodka (the cost depends on the quality of vodka you use, I had Smirnoff on hand.)

To make it, you just gather a mason jar (mine held 16 oz. filled up to the very top,) some vanilla beans (5) and rum or vodka. Open and scrape the vanilla pods, stuff the seeds and the pods into the jar and fill it up with your alcohol.

Then let it sit for a few months before using, shaking every week or so. Mine should be ready around Thanksgiving, before I begin all my holiday baking. And I seriously go through a lot of vanilla, more so than liquor (especially now that I'm pregnant!) The flavor of the homemade variety is supposed to be much better. This is what mine looked like after I made it, but it's already much darker now after just a few weeks.

Pear bread and Liberace pumpkins, ahh...Fall is here

We have a lovely pear tree in our front yard that dumps pears every year from August to October. We let the deer eat lots of them, we share them with friends and eat plenty on our own, but I wanted to find a good recipe for baking with them. I made pear pie last year, which was yummy, and have tried out different crumble recipes, but this pear bread was really tasty. It's similar to zucchini bread, but with a somewhat more grainy, pear-like texture. Very moist and flavorful, great for breakfast and afternoon tea.
Recipe here.

In other news, aren't these the cutest/most gaudy Halloween decorations? I'm making one...or five. Directions here.

Thanksgiving round-up

We made this cute homemade turkey centerpiece with a few pieces of construction paper, a big pine cone, some white glue and a few beads. I just glued the leaves onto the pieces of the pine cone.

And these pumpkin pancakes are seriously the best I've found, and I love pancakes.  I also really love pumpkin, people, so I'm picky. These suckers are a great way to use up any of that leftover pumpkin you may still have in your fridge from that pie... They are creamy and dense with a great spice flavor, but don't be afraid to add more spice. Find the recipe here.

Handmade Christmas: Part Deux

I had myself a little candle-making party today. I'm sorry, but the best thing about working in education is these long breaks. A week off for Thanksgiving? Yes, please.

So in my quest for great handmade gifts, I'd remembered seeing these on Martha's website. I had a huge (I mean silly big) candle and this cute set of teacups, and all I really needed were the wicks. These took longer to find, but I finally found them at Michael's.

I did make a huge mess at one point (melted wax all over the table) but these were totally worth it. I think they make cute gifts and when the candles are spent, the recipient can just put the teacups in the freezer and the remaining wax will just pop out. Voila! New cup. Martha's are quite cute. Directions here.

Pumpkin pudding

Found myself craving pumpkin pie yesterday and was feeling absolutely unwilling to wait until Thanksgiving to get some. I'd seen this recipe over at Smitten Kitchen a few days earlier and was considering making some of these when I ended up talking to my sister who told me she'd just made them.

Luckily, she told me to amp up the flavor a bit. I added additional salt, sugar and spices and followed the recipe for cooking the pumpkin on the stove top first, although I didn't put it in the food processor like the recipe suggests.

 
Anyway, they are crazy good. They're like pumpkin pie without the crust. I made them in a cupcake pan, with liners and just eat them from the cups. And while we didn't have any gingersnaps to eat them with (also as suggested) I found that the graham crackers we always have on hand do the job just fine.

Homemade Christmas gifts

This year, I and (some of) my family have decided to go all handmade on the gift-giving. I'm excited because it's always something I've wanted to do. And with the Occupy protests going on around here, it's a natural choice to forgo the frenzied dash to buy and rather, make.

I have so many ideas: homemade sugar scrubs, potholders, children's smocks, bags, aprons, blankets....and on. I've decided to organize my projects here on the blog, and gather cool ideas for future works.


For Jack, I'm making a boy version of this smock:


 

And I was thinking a pillowcase:

Source: Mousy Brown

And that's all I've got so far. In other news, Jack and I made an autumn mobile from things we gathered at the park.

And I made another one of my grandma's recipes, these Cranberry Almond cookies

The cookies were delicious when they first came out of the oven, but they softened up quite a bit over the last day; maybe it's the fresh cranberries. I've been storing them in plastic, perhaps waxed paper would keep them more crisp. Very balanced flavor though and the almonds and cranberries are great together. 

I'm cooking my way through my grandmother's recipes, I inherited them when she died a few months ago. It's such a personal experience, holding these cards that she wrote in my hands.

Hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful fall...

Roasted chestnuts

Jack and I like to visit a particular park here in Santa Rosa around this time of year because it has three glorious chestnut trees that drop these little babies. We spend time looking for good, shiny nuts beneath the trees and maybe even pick some from the trees and husk them for our collection.

Well, yesterday we weren't alone in our chestnut gathering. A man showed up all prepared with a plastic bag to collect some too. Luckily, there were more than enough to go around. Now, onto roasting.


I've never actually roasted my own chestnuts before. The first time I ever had them was while walking the streets of Rome in winter, where they are sold in the infamous paper cones. People just drop the shells in the street. I remember wondering how all the Italian women, in their amazing high-heeled boots didn't trip on them. How do European women navigate those cobblestone streets in heels?
I've seen chestnuts roasted in a coffee roaster...those were good, but the ones in those street 'ovens' seem to do the best job.
I've found lots of simple directions for roasting these babies in the oven. I've excerpted some directions from a Smitten Kitchen recipe below.


Preheat oven to 450°F. Cut a small X on the top of each chestnut with a very sharp knife. Don’t be afraid to cut into the “meat” of the chestnut a little; I found that the the ones that were the most easy to peel start with a deep enough cut that the skin peels back while roasting. Roast chestnuts on a baking sheet for about 20 to 30 minutes, until a darker shade of brown and the X peels back to reveal the inner nut.
Cool on tray and then peel.
 I'll let you know how they turn out...

More cute handmade costumes!

I know, I must stop! But there are so many cute ideas!

Directions here

Directions here

My son would love to be a car! Directions here

Cute handmade adult mini-costumes

These are so darned cute and look so fun to make. Since I became a mom, I haven't wanted to 'really'

 dress up for Halloween, it makes sense for Jack to take center stage now, at least for a few years. The little 'hat-ettes' would be perfect and look so fun to make! For directions, click here

But last year, I made this and wore it while Trick-or-Treating around with Jack.

Homemade Halloween costumes

I really enjoy making beautiful costumes to dress my son in at Halloween. I found some great ideas online for this years' creation.

Source: here

Another sweatsuit costume idea

You can buy this sew-your-own dinosaur here on Etsy.

I love this one!

 

Find directions for the gnome here.

Next, the Superhero!

Directions here

This wouldn't be that complicated, if you could just find a fuzzy sweater/onesie like that to start with.

The owl costume can be purchased here

Seitan Bourguignon

Saw this dish prepared on Martha today. It looks seriously deelish, something that should probably wait until the weather is a bit cooler though. Bring on autumn!

Find the recipe here.

Appliqued knee socks

These are so darn sassy, I had to post them. For directions, click here

Some Fall inspiration

What a great idea for celebrating Fall. This website is amazing for beautiful craft ideas.

 I mean really, look at this amazing 'playscape.' So cool.

And an old sweater recycled into a scarf? Radical!

King (and Queen) of the Forest Crowns

I

(Jack wouldn't model this, so I had to. Luckily, it's big enough to fit the both of us.)

On our morning walk, we collected some leaves to make a crown in honor of the coming Fall. I saw this and thought it would be a great project to do while Jack did his morning coloring.  All you need is some felt, ribbon, leaves and a hot glue gun. It would be a great addition to a last-minute Halloween costume too, very Puck-like.