Recipe of the day

I hear some of my friends are pumpkinaniacs too...

Here's the recipe for the Pumpkin Cupcakes with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting, though I've had a request to call them muffins. Because truly friends, what difference is there? Why are some sugary pastries acceptable for breakfast while others aren't? You can have a gigantic cinnamon roll for breakfast and no one bats an eye but if you say you had a huge brownie, would that be met with the same acceptance? I think not.
So let's call  this recipe an enriched english muffin with a fruit topping if that makes you feel good about yourself. Tell 'em I said it was ok.

1/2 c (1/4 lb) butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 lg eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 T vanilla
1 1/2 c all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 c milk
Orange cream cheese frosting (recipe follows)
Candy sprinkles optional


1) In a bowl, with a mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add pumpkin and vanilla and beat until well blended (mixture will look separated at this point).


2) In another bowl, mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Stir half the flour mixture into pumpkin mixture. Stir in milk just until blended. Add remaining flour mixture and stir just until incorporated. Spoon batter equaly into 12 muffin cups (1/3 c capacity, cups should be about 3/4 full) lined with paper baking cups.


3) Bake in 350 oven till tops spring back when lightly pressed in the center and a wooden skewer inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool in pans on racks for 5 minutes; remove cupcakes from pans and set on racks to cool completely, at least 30 minutes.


4) Spoon orange cream cheese frosting into a pastry bag fitted with a 3/4 " star tip and pipe onto tops of cupcakes, or spread on cupcakes with a knife. Decorate with candy sprinkles, if desired.


Orange cream cheese frosting: In a bowl, with a mixer on low speed, beat 6 ounces cream cheese and 6 T butter, both at room temperature, until well blended. Beat in 1 1/2 c powdered sugar, 1 T finely minced orange peel, and 1/4 to 1/2 tsp orange extract until smooth.


Yield: Makes 12 cupcakes


Calories: 376, Fat 20 G, Fiber .8g

**Editors Note:
On my recipe card, it says it's from "Sunset". I think that might be a magazine? Anyway, they printed these nutritional facts at the bottom of my recipe. However, I can say almost surely that after doing WW for 10 years, that this fat gram count cannot be right. I would guess more like 2-5 grams instead of 20. So don't let that get you down. I think it was a typo.
Eat on sisters, eat on.

Book club suggestions

My book club met last week, and we discussed a triad of books all in the genre of a utopian society. Several of the women remembered reading these in high school {I know, right, how???? How do you remember books you read in high school??}, but thought it would be fun to revisit them.

While these books were a bit dark for some, I must say they were still quite thought provoking. At that time, the books were considered visions of a negative utopia, which apparently has spawned its own word now, called dystopia. See below:

The utopia and its offshoot, the dystopia, are genres of literature that explore social and political structures. Utopian fiction is the creation of an ideal world, or utopia, as the setting for a novel. Dystopian fiction is the opposite: creation of a nightmare world, or dystopia. ...

All three books chosen feature a main character who is disillusioned with their version of society, but feels trapped within it. While one book features a society formed from test-tube creation, where each person is bred for their own specific future destiny, another book features a society so governed by Big Brother that even the mere thought of unhappiness with the current state of affairs is punishable by death.

If you are looking for a different path for your book club this month, consider these "classic" reads.

Brave New World

The Chrysalids

1984

Tastes of fall

Come October or so each year, I get a little like this guy:

Gimme pumpkin!

I want to eat anything and everything seasonal that involves pumpkin. {save for pumpkin pie; I can give or take that}.

Pumpkin spice cappucino from the gas station.

Pumpkin pie blizzard from Dairy Queen.

Pumpkin cheesecake swirly {or whatever fake blizzard-soundalike word other places use} from Culvers

Pumpkin muffie from Panera.

Jack's pumpkin beer. Umm mmm.

You get the drift.

And here at home, I pull out all of the pumpkin-y recipes I can find and fit them all in.

I'll share one of my favorites, and if any of the others sound good, let me know and I will post the recipes for those as well!

Curried Pumpkin Soup (Cooking Light magazine)

**I like making this not only because I love pumpkin and soup, but because it only has a handful of ingredients so it's easy to make as well... and only 12 points for the whole recipe for you WW devotees...

3/4 c chopped onion

2 tsp olive oil

2 1/2 tsp curry powder

salt and pepper to taste

4 c reduced sodium nonfat chicken or vegetable broth

1 15 oz can pumpkin

3 Idaho potatoes, peeled and cubed

In large saucepan, saute onion in oil 2 minutes. Add seasonings, stir to coat. Add broth, pumpkin, and potatoes, and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium, partially cover and cook 8-10 minutes or till potatoes tender.

*Don't double recipe, it's too runny

I have also made Pumpkin Cupcakes with orange cream cheese frosting, and Candy Corn Popcorn Balls, and up later this week, Pumpkin fudge. Can you say YUM?

Spying and wondering

I helped out at the high school this morning with health screenings.

I like to observe high schoolers in their native setting. "In the wild", you might say. Because just because the checkout girl at the local grocery seems super sweet and a must call babysitter doesn't mean she acts that way amongst her peers. And frankly, for me, just being around high schoolers brings it all home in a flash. Even though they look at me and classify me as a "mom", which is probably anyone 30-50, I feel it was just yesterday that I was in their shoes. The acne, the hormones, the attitude. The insecurities. Oh, the insecurities. I don't really think I knew who I was or what I stood for then. I was so focused on fitting in and wondering what other people thought of me. And although I was hanging out with/ was a part of the popular group, I never felt "secure" in my place, as if my position was always temporary.

So as I looked at the boys, and they came to my station, I started to wonder which of those would be my boys someday. I mostly thought of Jack, either because he'll get there first, or because he is the sensitive one, where Luke probably already knows who he is and doesn't care what anyone thinks. He was just born that way. So, I picture future Jack. Based on preliminary observations, I don't think he'll be in the superjock/athlete set. Nor do I think he'll be the brainiac. So I see him fitting somewhere in between. And that's perfectly fine. I just want him to be the kid who is comfortable with who he is and what he believes in. I want him to be the one who would stand up for someone who is being teased or offer a hand to someone who fell down. I want him to be the kid who smiled, said hi, and said thank you when he left my station today. This is my obsession. To give him the tools and the encouragement to reach those high school doors with confidence, manners and compassion.

As I left the school with all of those thoughts swirling through my head, I passed his school, and noticed they were out at recess. So, I did what any curious mother would do. I spied. Yep, I was the shady looking car pulled up to the curb. You know, the lady with the sunglasses who had a book in her hand but never was really reading it? That was me. And I'm not ashamed. I just wanted to know. Is he alone? Is he playing? With whom? What's he doing? Does he run to get in line when the whistle is blown? Does it look like he's getting along with the other kids? Because honestly, we really don't know. I know how he is with me, and my family, and my friends, but how is he when I'm not there?

Because it's all part of the same big picture.
I've taught him what to do if there's a fire, or a stranger approaches, or if he finds me passed out.
He eats well. He poops daily. He makes his bed and takes his dishes over.
He says please and thank you, asks me how my day was, and is a killer phone conversationalist.

So what's left to worry about? Now that those first, fundamental worries of early parenthood are past me, the job I have before me is to build him up so he won't be torn down.

Minnesota daytrip

The kids had a day off yesterday, so Rob decided to take the day off as well, and since it was another unbelievably beautiful fall day and all, we decided to take a road trip. I'd heard from friends that the Lanesboro, Minnesota area was pretty and quaint, so we loaded up and headed out. I love spending a day like this.

I called my sister before we left since it was her birthday, and in the course of the conversation, mentioned that Rob was cleaning our shower, and when he was finished, we were going to head out to a quaint little town about an hour and a half away. Her reply went something like this:

"First of all, however you can get him to clean the tub, and then drive 1 1/2 hours to a quaint small town, is beyond me. Whatever Jedi mind tricks you're using, why don't you pass them my way."

Which was actually quite funny and made us both laugh for a long time.

But really, it's like this. The man likes things clean. That's the story on that. And secondly, and more importantly, I'm just fortunate that we both like to do the same things, so the thought of driving somewhere we've never been on, on roads we've never driven, appeals to him just as much as it does to me.

And that's all I've got to say about that.

Who doesn't love fall?

I mean, seriously.

Do you know a single person who doesn't love fall? The colors, the smells, the crispness in the air, the clothes? I get tingly just typing about it.

We took advantage of another unbelievably beautiful fall day Sunday to go to a local park, soak in the sun and enjoy a hike through the woods.

Doesn't it seem like people are just happy?

Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.

Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; let them sing before the LORD...

Psalm 98: 7-9

Conversations

A few conversations of note this week:

Luke:
"Mom, why do you have extra fat here?" (Pinches my belly rolls)

"Well, I just don't always make the best choices, and sometimes I eat too much junk."


"When I’m a parent I’m only going to make healthy choices so I don’t have extra fat. I like this part of your belly right here that doesn’t have extra fat." (Indicates area of my stomach that doesn't have rolls)

"Yeah buddy, I like that part too."
*************************
A conversation at the recycling center with an 84 year old man:
Man:
"You from Chicago?"

Me:
"No, do I look like I should be from Chicago?"

"Well, where do you live?"

"I live in X."

"Oh, well you have to drive all the way to Y for your recycling?"

"Yeah, well, it's no big deal, I'm here running errands anyway."

"Sure, probably chasing boys all day."

"Yes, something like that."

"How old are you?"

"I'm 37."

"Guess how old I am?"

Wait, did I say I was having a conversation with an 84 year old, or a 4 year old? I guess sometimes there isn't much difference....

There is really no correct way to answer this question when someone asks it. Unless it's your sister or your best friend, in which case they wouldn't be asking you because you already know the answer. Of course you always guess younger than what you think.

"Hmm, maybe 76?"

"NOPE! I'm 84!"

"Wow."

This pretty much ends our exchange, except for the 28 or so times after this conversation where he does that dance move thing where if you go left, he goes left, and if you go right, he goes right. This was funny for the first 7 or so times, but when you are carrying a heavy recycling container each time, the humor is short lived.

Aaaah, yes, it's been a long time since I've been hit on.
*************************
Rob and I having a lunch date:

"You look nice today hon, in your little momwear."

If I didn't know that he said this with the truly best intentions I would have socked him, but I know that him telling me that I was wearing my little momwear was in no way intended as an insult, but a compliment.
Note to other mom's: apparently capris with a long sleeved shirt/short sleeved shirt over it is considered momwear.

Please make a note of it.

A big company does me right

I have/had a bias against American car manufacturers, I must admit. It just so happens that ever since I bought my first car, it's been foreign. Not purposely, it just was. And because those foreign cars have served me well, I was hesitant to stray from that path. However, a few years ago when we decided we would finally break down and buy a van (we were the ones who said they would never buy a minivan by the way), I really liked the new Chrysler van. You know, with the swivel seats that we never use are super awesome and I had to have. Thereby forcing us to buy new since '08 was the first model for those.....another bad financial good move. And I honestly am really not sure where my bias came from. It just was.

So, we bought the new van. I like the look and I like the interior/comfort. However, we have had more than our fair share of service problems. Air bag lights on, sliding doors not working, leaking coolant hoses, you name it. And, since we are on the road so often, we hit that "out of warranty" point within oh, maybe 17 days or so of receiving the vehicle. So now, when all of these things flare up, we are on our own. Even my neighbors comment on how often it seems we have the van in for something. So, when just 18 months after possession, the digital screen started to swirl and then disappear for the rearview backup camera/stereo system, I was frustrated. By this past summer, it was totally black. The radio still worked, the internal hard drive still carried my songs, but you were a blind man pushing buttons to try to find out where it all was. So, I took it to the dealer, who informed me they would have to replace the whole unit for a cool grand.

And I, being the letter writer that I am, had to let Chrysler know how I felt about this. I got online and filled out a comment form on their website, describing my hesitation to buy their product, and then all of the subsequent problems I have had. I think I added a few eloquent statements like, "C'mon! Seriously? I've had enough" and some other well written items to further my point. Anyhow, they called me, and called the dealer, and decided they would split it with me. I was impressed with this, and thought that was a pretty fair way to handle it. However, I had to have it fixed within 30 days. Although now we were only looking at $500, it was still hard to pay this for something that technically still worked, though not the way it should. But, we decided that since we tend to drive cars into the ground, and we'd hopefully have it for a while, this was a feature that we would like to see working, and due to the financial split offer on the table, now was the time to do it.

Fast forward, I took it to the dealer, and the radio was replaced. However, in the process, the tools they used to pry the old unit out the first time scratched some of the finish off of the dash. I shared this with the service manager, who doesn't appear either particularly social or interested in such details. When I drove away after the unit was replaced, I saw the scratch was about 5x bigger than before, leading me to believe he hadn't asked the mechanics to be more careful as I'd requested. So when I got a survey shortly after this visit, I once again shared my thoughts, as I like to do, including my feeling that the service manager was attentive to my needs, and geez, I wasn't happy to be in there replacing this thing in the first place.

Imagine my surprise when, the very next day, the service manager called me to let me know that "they must have re-evaluated my case, and decided to give me my $500 copay back". Wow. How amazing is it to get a call that there is a check for $500 waiting for you to pick up?

I'm really not sure if the survey I'd just taken the day before was the reason. Or, if they really did for some reason decide to re-evalulate my case, despite the fact that I'd already agreed to the $500. Whatever the reason, I have to say, Chrysler was very responsive to my concerns, and I feel they certainly stepped up to the plate and accepted responsibility. Is my car a lemon? I'm not sure. It might be too soon to say. Have there been lots of piddly annoying problems I've had to take it in for? Absolutely. But did this giant corporation seem to listen to a little guy complaining and do the right thing? 100%.

Go Chrysler. This chick is giving domestic cars another chance.