Sniffle, cough, snort, moan

{or "Boo Hoo For Me, I Have a Cold"}

I feel like crap. I have one of those colds where you can feel your brain banging around on the inside of your skull and every time you stand up you feel like you're going to faint. I'm wearing lots of layers, resting when I can, drinking lots of hot tea with honey during the day, and drinking my fair share of Nyquil at night.

A cold front moved in today and began spitting bits of snow. Tonight the real storm hits and we should have snow falling for the next three days. Sounds like a jammies-movies-crocheting-hot tea and soup kinda weekend.

Other things I'm doing when I'm not sniffing:

~ Reading "Let the Great World Spin" by Colum McCann. It's really good. Heartbreaking, but good.

~ Crocheting lots of white granny squares with no specific use in mind, just piling them up (?!)

~ Thinking about Italian Wedding soup. My friend Crystal over at The Skillet blog posted the recipe and it reminded me of my sister-in-law, who comes from an Italian family from Yonkers, New York. It's a tradition in her family to serve this soup as a first course before the big turkey dinner. She made it for us when she came for Thanksgiving several years ago and it's sooooo tasty.

~ Daydreaming about learning to quilt.

~ Listening to this song. I love Zooey Deschanel.

~ Giggling a little as I watch these poor children who think their parents ate all of their Halloween candy. I love the little kid who just drops to the ground.

What are all of you up to this week?

 

Pumpkins

I was a wee bit leery when I ordered this drink — but it was quite tasty and very "Octobery." The bartender was kind enough to jot down the recipe for me.

Pumpkin Martini Recipe
courtesy of Sean Kelly's Irish Pub downtown Missoula

~ Absolut vodka
~ Bailey's Irish cream liqueur
~ Pumpkin flavored liqueur (like Hiram Walker)
~ Splash of half and half

Combine in a cocktail shaker over ice. Cover and shake until the outside of the shaker has frosted. 

Strain into a chilled martini glass, and garnish with a sprinkle of ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg to serve.

Yum.

On a side note -  I pick my pumpkins based largely on the beauty of the stem. I love a nice twisty, curled pumpkin stem.

Muffins 101 ~ Cappuccino Muffins

This weekend I attended the first session of my self-taught Muffins 101 class (see here to find out what the heck I'm talking about). I'm happy to report that it went really well.

As a historically horrid baker I felt a bit tentative, arriving in class a bit sheepish with my hands in my pockets and my expectations low but as soon as things got underway I felt better. 

Result: Tasty, moist and light, not too overly sweet (you can adjust chocolate chips to taste - I may even leave them out sometime).

Grade: A
(I enjoy this homeschooling bit ~ when you grade yourself you always feel like the grades are fair.)

The Recipe: (copied from my neighbor Wendy, who is known by the neighborhood children specifically for her delicious baked goods)


Cappuccino Muffins 

2 cups flour
3/4 c sugar
2-1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 T instant coffee

1 c milk
1/2 c butter, softened
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 c chocolate chips

Mix dry and liquid ingredients separately then stir all together just until blended. Fill greased muffin cups 3/4 full (I used cupcake papers 'cause I'm lazy like that). Bake at 375 for 17-20 minutes.

 

Cattails & Chrysanthemum Tea

Iced Chrysanthemum Tea
(for sipping on a warm September afternoon)

• Bring one cup of water to a boil.
• Add one tablespoon of dried chrysanthemum flowers. 
• Simmer for 2-5 minutes (the longer it simmers, the strong the flavor and color). Add sugar or honey to taste (optional) and stir to dissolve. 
• Remove from heat, strain, and serve chilled. 

“September: it was the most beautiful of words, he’d always felt, evoking orange-flowers, swallows, and regret.” 

               - Alexander Theroux

 

Auntie MP's Asparagus & Garbanzos Over Rice

My dear, spunky Aunt MP lives in Virginia. She and her husband, AC, lived close to my family during my middle school years and they've made little imprints on my heart. I love them in an adoring, soft way. My Aunt is the owner of Bookwrights Design & Publishing and she and I work together on projects here and there. It's so much fun to be her niece and her coworker.

Aside from being talented in so many ways (they once built their own home with their very own hands!, my uncle plays a meeeean piano, my Aunt is a gifted writer and artist) they are vegetarian and have oodles of tasty recipes to share.

This is one I cooked up last night and I thought I'd share it since asparagus is in season and ultra-tasty this time of year. It's a loosy-goosy recipe as far as portions go, but I've found you can just wing it and it turns out marvy every time.

Asparagus & Garbanzos Over Rice 

(Basmati is best! But brown rice is good too)

A bunch of asparagus spears, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 large carrots cut into small 1/4" pieces

A pat of butter

1 can of Chickpeas/Garbanzo Beans 

Rice

1 tsp or so of Corn Starch

Soy sauce

Spices: salt & pepper, turmeric, hing powder (I don't own this so I never add, but I'm sure it's good)

1. Melt butter in a frying pan or wok, add asparagus, carrots and spices and stir fry until crisp tender. 

2. Meanwhile, cook your rice according to package directions

3. Add the can of beans, juice and all, to your stir fry and let simmer for several minutes

4. Mix a small amount of corn starch with a tiny bit of water to make a thin paste and pour into your mixture. Stir and simmer allowing the sauce to thicken. Turn to low and simmer until you're ready to serve.

5. Serve over rice. Sprinkle with a little soy sauce to taste.  YUMMY!

(This recipe served 4 good eaters but you could easily increase. It also saves nicely for a tasty lunch the next day.)