Ornaments placed on the tree, Vince Guarldi serenades me, as stockings hang above the fireplace. Little girls dance while taking orders for steamed milk & Americanos. As the winter nights take residence, our home lay warm & snug. A little family bundled in jammies & cozy blankies…this is what December is made of. Gingerbread housesContinue reading “Sauteed Pear Gingerbread Loaf”
Tag Archives: cinnamon
Brown Butter Pumpkin Cake with Honey-Cinnamon Frosting (grain free & refined sugar free)
Do you know that I love to bake? After my miscarriage, I found so much solace in the baking realm. Not everyone does, but there is always that one thing in which our souls were meant to do. It’s where our abilities & creativity collide. Tsh from Simple Mom was one of the Keynote SpeakersContinue reading “Brown Butter Pumpkin Cake with Honey-Cinnamon Frosting (grain free & refined sugar free)”
Thankful with Sweet Potato Goodness (& so much more)
The words that penetrated my soul the most, “my sons were hungry and the only thing I could give them was water.” This was part of a guest speaker’s story. She was a small Honduran woman, measuring a mere 4 feet and 9 inches, but she made up for it with tremendous heart & conviction. Her name, Danubia Orellana Lopez, and she is apart of the Agros village of Brisas del Volcan.
Danubia was the speaker at the Agros International fundraiser dinner Ben and I attended at the end of October. It seemed fitting that we attended just days before we plunged into doing this 30 day challenge. Agros is an amazing organization, who seeks to empower people in Central America & Mexico through micro loans to purchase land. Many of these people, like Danubia, lived in the slums and had to wake up at 2:30 am to walk 2 hours to get to the farm (to which she & her husband worked for someone else), work an 18 hour day and only get paid $.40 a day. She recalls the times when payday arrived and the owner of the land wasn’t there to pay her & her husband. Those were the days when all she could offer her children was water to fill their bellies. She also recalled a time at the age of 14, when her mother only had 3 eggs to feed the 14 kids….I am truly blessed.
I can’t imagine that world. To feel absolutely defenseless and unable to give your children a basic necessity. Agros seeks to extend both physical means to these people who are willing to work REALLY hard to till their land; but, also give them emotional/spiritual means. They come in to teach the people how to cultivate the land, how to educate themselves, how to make financial deals, etc. What Agros does, is tell these people like Danubia, that if they are willing to want something more, then they can have it. More importantly, what Agros does & says to them, “You are worth it! You have value!”
Danubia spoke of telling her mother that she wanted to be a nurse when she grew up. Her mother said, “Danubia, people like us don’t dream, because our hearts just get broken.” After Agros came in to empower Danubia, her family & community, she and other women worked together to make the men realize that they are just as important & valuable as them. And you know what, after the women worked just as hard, the men realized that these women, their women, had dignity & value.
When I think about what Evangitality means–this is it. This is the global representation of it. It’s finding value, dignity & worth in each individual, because they are created in God’s image. It’s empowering them by giving them a hand up, and not a hand out. It’s not entitlement, because there are many people who choose to stay in slums so they can keep their TV or refrigerator. Instead, it’s for the people who want something more, who want to dream. Life without dreams isn’t a life worth living, and Danubia knew this.
Walking back to the hotel that night, I told Ben, “You know, the poor in America aren’t that poor. They still get assistance. They’re not putting their children to bed without food.” It has made me more thankful than ever. And that’s why I give thanks before my meals. I thank God that I have more than enough to fill my family’s bellies. So when I’ve been cranky during this 3o day challenge, or hear people whining about, “Oh, I ONLY get meat, vegetables, limited fruit & nuts, and eggs,” I’m reminded of Danubia’s words, “my sons were hungry and the only thing I could give them was water.” Oh how I have nothing to complain about, and everything to give thanks about.
I’m thankful for simple meals too. So simple it seems almost too good to be true.
A Year Ago: Brown Sugar Cupcakes with Sea Salted Caramel Frosting & Oatmeal Carmelitas
Cinnamon Sweet Potato Goodness (printable recipe)
This is for one sweet potato, but you could easily increase the amount and play with the ingredients. If you’re not a cinnamon fan, sub some nutmeg (but go easy on it) or add some smoked paprika.
Ingredients:
1 sweet potato
1 tsp coconut oil
dash sea salt
2 Tb pecans
sprinkle cinnamon
Directions: Bake a sweet potato on 350 for 30 minutes or so (check a source, I’m that person who pops it in and doesn’t worry about it). Do this the day before if you’re having it for breakfast. Remove the skin and cut up the sweet potato into chunks.
Heat up coconut oil in a skillet on medium heat. Add the sweet potato & salt. Stir around letting it get a bit golden, about 3 minutes. Add some chopped pecans & a sprinkling of cinnamon. Cook for an additional 1 minute or so. Serve and enjoy!
Sour Cream Apple Crumble Bars
I will continue to love Autumn more than any season, and I don’t think it will ever leave, to which I’m grateful. The vibrant colors alone rap my heartstrings (doesn’t take much). And nothing says Fall quite like the wafting aroma of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger & cloves. Puddle jumping never seemed so invigorating. Then, there’s the visit to the pumpkin patch or apple orchards, while bundled up in “sweater weather” with the crisp air and crunch of the leaves with each step. Oh Autumn, can you stay like this well into late November? Autumn seems to call out, “come inside, bundle up, sip some cider by the fire, and be.”
How they smile for the picture
With the busyness of summer feeling a bit nomadic, Autumn let’s us know that it’s okay to be sedentary, to regroup and develop a game plan (fitting that football is in the Fall) of where you’re going next. I’m reminded of traditions being rekindled or brand new ones beginning. I know our family has been like running one 800 meter to the next without a time to catch our breath, much less time to ‘know’ one another. This season reminds me of how I can make room for the new college student who has moved to town as well; but, it reminds me that if my family is on a constant chase without any reprieve, then it’s pointless.
I rarely make dessert specifically to be eaten after dinner, but sometimes having dessert planned with dinner when you’re not having guests over can be…well, special. And I think making a dessert for my family, unannounced communicates that I think they’re pretty darn special. These Sour Cream Apple Crumble Bars are perfect for that. Plus, they taste better the next day. So, you don’t have to be in the kitchen making dinner & dessert all for the same meal. They’re wonderful, and these little gems are sure to procure you praise for at least a couple of days (reason enough to make them). I would love to hear what you do to usher in Autumn!
A Year Ago: Rarely for the Planned
Sour Cream Apple Crumble Bars (printable recipe)
This recipe is adapted from The Good Cookie cookbook. It reminds me of an apple pie baked from Dutch Mothers in Lynden, WA, but without having to deal with the rolling & chilling that comes from making a pie crust. The key is to let it cool to get the best overall taste.
Crust:
1 1/3 cups unbleached flour
1/3 cup unrefined evaporated cane juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 large egg yolk
2 tsp cold water
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
Apple Filling:
1 pound Jonamac apples; peeled, cored, & sliced into 1/2 inch slices
2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 Tb apple juice or cider
2 tsp cornstarch
2 Tb brandy
4 Tb unsalted butter
1/2 cup rapadura sugar
Topping:
1 cup unbleached flour
1/4 cup unrefined sugar (evaporated cane juice)
1/3 cup rapadura sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
Sour Cream Mixture:
1 large egg
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
Directions:
Make the crust: In a food processor, add the flour, sugar, & salt, combine 30 seconds. Scatter the butter pieces over the flour mixture and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, pulse 6-8 times. In a small bowl, combine the egg yolk, cold water & vanilla. Then, with the food processor running, add the liquid and combine for 15-20 seconds. Dump the dough into a 9-inch square pan and pat it down evenly with your hands. Bake in preheated oven of 350 for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool.
Make Apple Filling: In a medium bowl, combine the peeled/cored/sliced apples, lemon juice, cornstarch, brandy, & apple juice. Toss it around and set aside.
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the butter is melted, add the sugar to cook. Stirring constantly until there are no more lumps. Add the apple mixture and bring to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes, or till the apples are soft on the outside but still slightly crunchy inside. Empty contents into a bowl and allow to cool completely.
Make the topping: In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, sugars, cinnamon & salt. Add the melted butter and mix with a fork, stirring until the dry ingredients are all moistened. Set aside.
Make the Sour Cream Mixture: In a small bowl, whisk the egg until well blended. Add the sour cream, cinnamon & salt to the whisked egg and whisk till combined.
Assembling the bars: Take the sour cream mixture and combine it with the apple filling. Stir well and spread evenly on the baked crust. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the sour cream apple mixture. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until golden brown around the edges and set. Cool the bars completely before serving. You can dive right in if you’d like; however, they taste so much better when they’re completely cooled.
Brown Butter Pumpkin Cake
I just love food magazines, but what I love even more is having an excuse to buy one. We went to Vegas for my sister-in-law’s wedding and if traveling with two children under the age of four isn’t excuse enough–I have no clue what is. We spent the night in Seattle to make it easierContinue reading “Brown Butter Pumpkin Cake”
Swedish Tea Ring (Vetekrans)
What was Christmas morning like in your family growing up? Waking up at the crack of dawn, scurrying to see what booty hung from the stockings, and a candy frenzied gaze after all the gifts were opened might be a typical American memory of a not too distant past. There’s also the spiritual side in the retelling of the Christmas story. Where a young girl, chosen by God, is to carry the Savior of the world in her womb. Having found favor with God, but is in the least of finding favor with her fellow neighbors, as I’m sure they snickered and cringed as she passed since the idea of a virgin birth was less than plausible for them.
As the only daughter, middle child between two brothers, Christmas morning turned from the coveted, “let’s just open our presents,” to drawn out expectation, but not due to a spiritual exercise. My father turned the one morning of glory into a full fledge DMV line. We would awaken bright and early with “OOO’S & AWWW’S” and running to our parents bedrooms to waken them from their slumber, in hopes of opening our presents. My mom would shuffle into the living room with half opened eyes & gingerly sit on the couch. On the other spectrum was our dad. Although he would rarely eat a full course breakfast the other 364 days of the year, he thought Christmas morning was the perfect morning to do so.
You might be thinking that a breakfast of ham, eggs, toast, coffee & orange juice, which Kenny the Bear eats regularly (Richard Scarry), is a splendid Christmas morning meal. You would be right if it wasn’t the prelude. Not only did my dad insist on eating Denny’s Grand Slam prior to opening presents, but personal hygiene tied for first on Christmas morning. When he woke up, he headed to the bathroom to shower, neatly comb his hair, clothe with a belt and put on some socks. Meanwhile, us kids, all under the age of 10 salivated at all the presents. But once he was done with his hygiene, he would head to the kitchen to make & eat his breakfast. No matter how much we tried to rush him, he would not budge.
With us on his heels, watching that final drop finish off his fork, we ran to the living room mumbling about our slaughter. However, my dad liked to teach us about anticipation & patience by saying, “Not yet, I need to get the camcorder out.” Now, we had one of those heavy duty kind, which my dad had to get just the right lighting, put it on the tripod, and connect it with the TV to see the final product. Finally, it was time to begin. But when the present opening actually started, my dad instituted the following rule, ‘We take turns opening presents, no two people at the same time, and say thank you for every gift received.’ I can still recall my older brother Willy’s friend Steve calling to see what he got for Christmas. Willy said, “I dunno, we’re not done opening our gifts yet…yeah, I know, by this rate we’re never gonna make it to San Diego (we went every year to my Aunt’s house).”
And now, as I experience Christmas on the other end, being the parent watching my girls experience the joy of what lies beneath the green/red wrapping…I can understand some of what my dad gave to us on Christmas morning. He taught us to slow down & to avoid the consumerist spirit, which lie so deep in my seven year old body. It was a gift to know that it’s okay to breathe in what I was being given and appreciate it; rather, than just throw it aside and search for more hidden treasure to rip to shreds. This is one tradition I hope to pass down to my girls. Well, the slowing down when it comes to opening the presents part, but not the four course breakfast eaten beforehand…instead, we’ve instituted the Vetekrans for Christmas morning. And that’s what I love about family traditions…you can keep some, throw some out, and create new ones altogether. **We’re also throwing out the camcorder.
Vetekrans (printable recipe)
This recipe is taken from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book. This is a refrigerator yeast dough, which is also a no-knead. This is a perfect sweet bread to have on Christmas morning, New Year’s or some other brunch where you don’t want to spend all your time with kneading & proofing.
Ingredients
2 packages active dry yeast (one packet is 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1 cup warm water, 105 to 115 degrees
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup sugar
3 slightly beaten eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
4 to 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons hot coffee or milk
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Directions: In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in the 1/2 cup melted butter, 1/2 cup sugar, the eggs, salt, cardamom, and 4 cups of flour until dough is smooth (I used about 4 1/2 cups). Cover and refrigerate 2 to 24 hours.
Turn dough onto a floured board and roll out to make a 20-to 24-inch square. Spread with a thin layer of softened butter right to the edge. Mix 1/2 cup sugar and the cinnamon and sprinkle over the butter. Roll up like a jelly roll.
Grease a baking sheet or use parchment and place the roll on the sheet, shaping it into a ring. Pinch ends together to close the circle. With scissors, cut almost through the ring at 1/2-inch intervals. Turn each piece so that the cut side is exposed. Let rise until almost doubled.
Preheat oven to 375. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until just golden. While ring bakes, mix the glaze ingredients. Brush while hot with the glaze.
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Maple Marshmallow Cream Filling
As I was perusing the internet I came across this quote:
Churches that have not nurtured a common life among members will find hospitality to strangers difficult. The table is central to the practice of hospitality in home and church. The nourishment we gain there is physical, spiritual, and social. Whether we gather around the table for the Lord’s Supper or for a church potluck dinner, we are strengthened as a community. Meals shared together in church provide opportunities to sustain relationships and build new ones. They establish a space that is personal without being private, an excellent setting in which to begin friendships with strangers.
I don’t remember where I got this or who wrote this, but I find the statement appealing. One it makes me wonder how my church family is doing in this area of life (and how I am doing within the church body). For me, it’s fairly easy to invite people into my home, or my life, to share a meal or drink coffee, in order to know one another. I have the ability to make friends wherever I find myself and (not boasting) if you were to ask Ben, he would tell you, “Kamille has an inquisitive nature to draw people out by asking questions and putting them at ease.” This type of hospitality and welcoming doesn’t scare me, but I know it scares other people (and that’s okay if it does).
However, what’s hard for me in my idealist/dreamer ways is seeing a need for hospitality & community meals in the larger church gathering; yet, it stays fairly idle. I get discouraged, because I read quotes like the one above and say, “YES, we need that to survive, to breathe, to truly know one another.” I get discouraged, because I see people on the fringes not knowing how to make their way in and I’m only one person (who just happens to have two little ones and by default it makes me less available). Does anyone else feel like this? Whether, it be the outsider trying to make your way in or the insider trying to find an opening?
But, in trying to live in the “glass half full” mindset, I see how amazing a meal can bring people together. It’s not HUGE; yet it is! I know I felt incredibly loved & cared for in my postpartum stage with my two girls through people bringing meals. For one, I was simply famished like any mother nursing a schizophrenic sleeper. And two, it’s something I didn’t have to think about. Blessing. We are community friends with four Japanese students who are studying at Western for about six months. We can alleviate some of the language barriers and anxiety by feeding our bellies, and ultimately our souls. Blessing. There’s a young adults gathering called ‘Soup & Story’ through our church body. People who don’t know one another are able to find friendship & be friendship through something simple as soup and bread. Blessing. And I got to make some wonderful pumpkin whoopie pie cookies last week for the new group of freshman at Western. A time when they’re possibly feeling insecure or fearful about being away from home, I can put my baking skills to good use. Blessing.
As I share this recipe with you, I hope you will see the many blessings in your life and ways to shower down blessings on someone else.
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Maple-Marshmallow Cream Filling (printable version)
Adapted from this recipe by Two Fat Cats Bakery, Portland, Maine My changes were adding ground ginger and using rapadura sugar in place of the granulated sugar. I found this from Bon Appetite.
Ingredients
FILLING
- 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 7-ounce jar marshmallow creme
- 2 teaspoons maple extract
CAKE
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
- 3/4 cup rapadura sugar (you can use granulated)
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 15 oz pumpkin puree or 1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
- 1/2 cup milk (I used whole)
- Nonstick vegetable oil spray
FILLING
-
Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add marshmallow creme and maple extract; beat until blended and smooth. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.
CAKE
-
Sift first 8 ingredients into large bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter and both sugars in another large bowl until blended. Gradually beat in oil. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating to blend between additions. Beat in pumpkin. Add dry ingredients in 2 additions alternately with milk in 1 addition, beating to blend between additions and occasionally scraping down sides of bowl. Cover and chill batter 1 hour.
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Arrange 1 rack in bottom third of oven and 1 rack in top third of oven; preheat to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment; spray lightly with nonstick spray. Spoon batter onto baking sheet to form cakes (about 3 level tablespoons each; about 12 per baking sheet), spacing apart. Let stand 10 minutes.
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Bake cakes until tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through baking. Cool cakes completely on baking sheets on rack. Using metal spatula, remove cakes from parchment.
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Line cooled baking sheets with clean parchment; spray with nonstick spray, and repeat baking with remaining batter.
-
Spoon about 2 tablespoons filling on flat side of 1 cake. Top with another cake, flat side down. Repeat with remaining cakes and filling. DO AHEAD Can be made 8 hours ahead. Store in single layer in airtight container at room temperature.
P.A.C. Crisp (pear, apple, cranberry)
Crisp ala mode, what could be better?
Yesterday we had an Autumn Family gathering with the other families from our playgroup we go to Thursday mornings. I made this delicious crisp, along with the help of my trusty 2.75 year old assistant. I have to say that this crisp is exceptionally tasty. No, let’s not kid ourselves…it’s a complete foreshadow of everything Autumn (which is a GOOD thing indeed).
I was looking for something rustic, simple, and a ‘knock your socks off type of good,’ to make for dessert. I actually had never made it before, but I knew my Ina Garten hadn’t let me down so far, and her Barefoot Contessa at Home cookbook would for sure have a crisp recipe. I made a few adjustments from the original recipe, by using rapadura sugar, whole wheat pastry flour, using cranberries instead of dried, and adding cardamom (since there was orange in the recipe, cardamom screamed to be used). All of these made it taste great, especially the addition of cardamom.
The pears, apples, & cranberries sitting in sugary, spicy goodness.
Since my two year old helped make the crisp, she couldn’t stop talking about it the rest of the afternoon. The party was at 4:00 and she still needed to take a nap. She had a bit of a meltdown when I informed her that we weren’t going to the party quite yet, because she needed to take a nap. Her eyes quickly filled up with tears and some speaking in tongues began, to which effect something about not being able to eat the crisp was murmured. Poor girl, she even got a bit anxious as we were walking up to our friend’s door, where she looked around for the crisp then blurted with panic, “CRISP! CRISP?” And yes, she was the only kid at the dinner table eating her crisp after dinner, while all the others were playing downstairs (Then, was it bad to serve this for breakfast to her? I did put my foot down and say no to the ice cream she requested).
The crumb crust before entering the oven. Yes it’s a lot of topping, but keep piling it on.
And it must be said that I adore all of these ladies whom I get to share life with (almost) every week. We have been meeting weekly since just after V’s first birthday, which is almost two years now. I love how we have our similarities and differences, yet we still choose to be more than co-mothers, but friends. Each one of them brings a different gift to my life as a woman, wife & mom. There isn’t judgment on how we parent different or how we fail, but grace, because we understand (period). I also love how everyone is real & genuine. No one comes in with a, “Wow, I LOVE being a mother every second of the day (or everyday for that matter).” But there’s also not this, “Whoa, I hate being a mom and my kid is a….”
Instead, it’s a sincerity and a realness of “this mothering/parenting job is hard, and I don’t always like it, and I’m not going to be fake and make you think it’s the best job in the whole world 100% of the time. But I do value something higher, which means I will give up some of my rights, in order to provide my children with something greater. I not only value something higher, but love these stinkers so deep it hurts and am willing to go above & beyond for them.” That’s who these women are to me and I love them for it. So thanks Biz, Lindsey, Becky, Christine, Bethany, Megan & Talia–my Thursday mornings (although always running late & a bit disheveled) are my diamond in the rough as a stay at home mom and you ladies’ bring out a different spectrum of light in my diamond.
Last year’s Halloween party before many of the siblings were born.
P.A.C. Crisp (pear, apple, cranberry) (printable recipe)
Recipe is adapted from the Barefoot Contessa at Home cookbook. **A little side note: If you’re not familiar with other sugars like rapadura, I would encourage you to start baking & cooking with them. I get mine from the bulk section at our local Co-op, which is cheaper than buying it pre-packaged in the health/natural section of your grocery store.** The recipe also called for Macoun apples, but I used what I had on hand and I’m not too particular when the recipe calls for say ‘Granny Smith.’ Instead, I use what I know could create a good end product and wouldn’t dissolve into mush (say Red Delicious). My apples came from a friend’s tree, so I have no idea what they are called.
Ingredients:
3 ripe Bosc pears
5 apples (I have no idea what kind I used)
3/4 cup frozen cranberries (that’s what I had on hand, but you could use fresh)
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Squeezed juice of one orange
Squeezed juice of one lemon
1/2 cup evaporated cane juice sugar (this is sugar which is less refined and has a golden color to it)
1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
Topping:
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup rapadura sugar (however, I know most people don’t have this, so do 3/4 of the above sugars)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Peel and core the pears & apples. Cut them into large chunks. Put the fruit into a large bowl, toss with cranberries, zests, juices, sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, & cardamom. Pour into a 9×13 baking dish.
For the topping, combine the flour, sugars, salt, oatmeal and cold butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on low speed for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the mixture is in large crumbles. Sprinkle evenly over the fruit, covering the fruit completely. You’ll notice that this is a lot of crisp topping, but keep packing it on and you won’t be disappointed.
Place the baking dish on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until the top is brown and the fruit is bubbly. Serve warm (with vanilla ice cream to live on the wild side).
Maybe sitting by the fire eating the crisp with this little cutie could be better.
Backdoor Hospitality 