best dessert

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Streusel Muffins


My new pumpkin muffin recipe- with streusel topping.

This isn't a Halloween post. Or a Thanksgiving post. Technically. Though Thanksgiving is just a stone's throw away- if you somehow conjure a metaphorical stone to metaphorically hurl into the time-space continuum, piercing the veil of eight and a half weeks that blows by in a singular exhale, surely faster than light. And this exhale, it was only following a previous breath- a breath I took yesterday- which turns out to be one year ago. A year since that Pumpkin Praline Pie I baked. I have a hard time wrapping my brain around this.

This is a post about time.

Some days I feel as if I am slave to the calendar, an unwitting cog in the wheel of the year with Sundays and holidays appointed by proxy, designated by some superior force that rules my random wandering nature with an unforgiving fist, demanding obedience. Charting the course of my life.

Then I remember the truth.

Read more + get the recipe >>

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Steak Stew and A Giveaway

Fall is finally here!

That was the longest summer ever. The heat was unbearable and we had a little rain one day, I think.

Too miserable.

But now the cooler weather is here! We still haven't seen any rain, but the heat has passed.

Perfect for fall cooking and baking.

Like comforting casseroles, soup, and stews.

I am teaming up with College Inn to share this recipe with you.

We love this stew. It is so flavorful and hearty and just says, " Love".

Ingredients

2 Tbsp. butter

2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

1 1/2 lbs. boneless round steak, cut into cubes

1/2 C. chopped onion

3 Tbsp. flour

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

6 C. College Inn Tender Beef Bold Stock

2 C. water

1 bay leaf

1 1/2 C. potatoes, peeled and diced

1 1/2 C. carrots, diced

1 1/2 C. celery, chopped

1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste

1 (15.25 oz.) can corn, drained

How You Do It

Melt butter and oil in a large skillet over medium heat until the foam disappears from the butter, and stir in the steak cubes and onion. Cook and stir until the meat and onion are browned, about 10 minutes. While beef is cooking, mix together flour, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Sprinkle the flour mixture over the browned meat, and stir to coat. In a large soup pot, pour in the beef broth and water, and add the bay leaf. Stir in beef mixture, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover the pot, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until meat is tender, about 45 minutes.

Mix in the potatoes, carrots, celery, tomato paste, and corn; bring the soup back to a simmer, and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and the soup is thick, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove bay leaf and serve hot.

This recipe is a part of the Ultimate Recipe Challenge. Go here for info.

And now...

College Inn is giving one of you the following...

College Inn product

Five-piece cutting board set

Soup to-go mug

60 minute kitchen timer shaped like a cooking pot

Use the rafflecopter below to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Autumnal Gifts - and favorite pumpkin recipes

Fresh eggs from hens Fiona, Molly and Mona, on Cape Cod.

A new friend, gentlewoman farmer Catherine, with eggs from hens Fiona, Molly and Mona.

The bittersweet, textured beauty of Autumn has always gripped my heartstrings, pulling me in deeper, connecting with some invisible part of me, so much more so than Spring. Much more so than summer's flirtatious pleasures. And Winter, well. She is a dark and icy mistress. That relationship has always been complicated. So unlike my truly, madly deeply love of Fall.

And here am I. In L.A... Where Fall is just a pumpkin spice latte.

Los Angeles is without an Autumn. I know apologists who claim there is seasonal change (deciduous leaves do transform here- from dry green to crispy brown, sometime before Thanksgiving). But there is no Yankee eruption of brilliance- no reds, golds and coppery oranges. There is no softened, morning skyline heavy with balsam scented mist. Ardent Angelenos do not seem to bristle with three digit heat in October (it was 106ºF yesterday). They do not seem to crave L.L. Bean flannel shirts and cotton turtlenecks, like I do. Flip flops and tank tops are year round fashion choices. Along with hair dye, tanning lotions and injectables that promise eternal Spring. Los Angeles is a town of perpetual 21. In platform heels.

There are weeks (months?) on end I do not see a single woman sporting natural gray hair like mine. Never mind a natural neck- or- well. You know. That's another story. You get the picture. Not only do I feel invisible in sexualized So-Cal culture, I feel irrelevant, and bored. Restless. And unconnected. Year-round summer feels shockingly dull. Artificial. And uninspiring.

So I took my husband on a trip.

We spent a week on Cape Cod (my old stomping grounds, for decades). And I ate up every minute with a spoon. I spent entire days outside, wandering, hiking, drinking in the sea air, the peace and solitude, the creativity of the community (artists and writers, gardeners, crafters, gentlewomen farmers and furniture makers). Strong, independent women with silver streaked hair, and natural beauty that had never known a dermatologist's needle. Women not focused on a mirror. But focused on their curiosity. On creating something with their hands. Their spirit. It was grounding. And enlightening.

And it felt like home.

New Englander Ralph Waldo Emerson said, What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us.

Not to wax too geo-pious, but New England does infuse your blood by birth. It roots you to its culture, its distinct sensibility. Its Yankee eye for simple elegance. An appreciation for patina. For thoughtfulness.

For me, my rural New England beginning fostered a life-long love of books. Music. Antiques. Landscape painting. Simple nourishing food. Walking in the woods. Quiet rather than noise.

Show rather than tell.

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Peanut Butter Bread {Smart Balance Challenge}

You have heard of Smart Balance products, right?

Well I was invited to participate in their recipe challenge that is going on now.

I knew they made butter, but did you know they make other stuff too?

Like peanut butter?

Once I learned that, I knew what ingredient I would be using in my recipe.

If you love Peanut Butter Cookies, you will love this bread. It has the same taste with a quick bread texture. Amazing.

After checking out the recipe would you please go vote here for it?

The winner of the challenge gets a trip to Canyon Ranch, FL!

And if I win, so does one of you! I get to have a giveaway for one of my readers to go there as well!

So go vote!

Ingredients

1 3/4 C. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 C. brown sugar

1/2 C. Smart Balance Peanut Butter (I used crunchy)

1 egg

1/2 tsp. maple flavoring

1 C. buttermilk

How You Do It

Cream together brown sugar and peanut butter.

This tastes delicious! You wouldn't even know it was healthy. Just look at the ingredients...

You can pronounce them!

Add egg and stir in flavoring. Add flour, soda, and salt. Mix. Add buttermilk and blend well. Bake in a greased loaf pan at 350° degrees for 50 minutes.

Cool before slicing.

Printable Version

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Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Busy, busy, exhausted.

Those are the three words that describe me right now.

The potato harvest kinda kicks my butt.

Yes, I just sit in a truck all day, but it is bumpy and takes all day.

And I am so ready to fall into bed at night, even though my kids probably want to eat some kind of dinner.

I am so happy Lance trades me out at night. Otherwise I would be working from 7 am to 10 pm or later. Everyday, but Sunday.

So happy it is only a few weeks and not my actual job.

Here is last week's most viewed recipe...

Zucchini Slice

from Cath's Cookery Creations

Fall Apple Butter

from Cookin' Up Good Times

Ravioli Lasagna

from Table for Seven

Honey Sesame Chicken

from Six Sisters' Stuff

Caramel Apple Milky Way Cheesecake Bars

from BruCrew Life

Be sure to grab a button if you were featured...

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{Eggless} Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

I have been working the potato harvest this past week. I drive a big truck alongside the harvester and then go unload it at the potato cellar. We start at 7 am and finish (so far) at 10 pm.

Thankfully I have an awesome husband who goes at 7 and then I go around 8:30 in the morning which buys me time to get the house in order and stuff after I put Hannah and Preston on the bus. Then I drive all.day.long. until Lance comes back around 7 pm to drive the rest of the night, which gives me time with my kiddos to feed them dinner and put them to bed.

I like to think Lance is being super nice and sweet.

However, I suspect he just doesn't want to be Mr. Mom. I tell him each night that I can drive if he will just clean the house, make dinner, bathe the kids, and put them to bed.

He hasn't taken the offer yet.

If you follow me on Instagram you may have already seen these...

That's my truck getting ready to be loaded with potatoes. I drvie right along the harvester. It freaked me out at first because you have to watch your distance between you and the harvester, watch the man for his signals of when to move forward or put the side door up, and not get stuck and all that.

Then I drive to the potato cellar where I back in (another freak out until I got used to backing in) and unload. This is where I read my books. I started last Satuday and am on my 3rd book just from reading while waiting to load, unload, or during breakdowns. I love getting paid to read!

The spuds go through a series of conveyor belts to be sorted and either bagged for selling or sent to processors where they make hashbrowns and fries and such.

Emma has been with Lance while I work but once in a while she rides along with me.

So I have been mighty busy. Lance came to switch me out for a couple hours so I am getting this post written while I have the chance.

Which brings me to this recipe. It is eggless for a reason.

To be eaten with a spoon.

Like after a long day of hauling potatoes.

Or whatever.

2 C all-purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

3/4 C unsalted butter, melted

3/4 C. packed brown sugar

1/2 C white sugar

1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

4 Tbsp. milk

Any amount of chocolate chips that you want

Mix and eat it up!

Really. Just dig right in.

And kick back with some Netflix or The Voice. Or Ellen. Any of those work.

I originally posted this recipe here, but changed a few amounts to make it better.

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Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Potato harvest is in full swing.

I drove the big truck Saturday for about 5 hours and then we were done for the day. It was just a test run to make sure everything was working right. Starting on Monday, we go from 8 am to anywhere from 10 pm to midnight. Oh.so.excited.

It's pretty cool to see the whole process from driving along side the harvester machine and getting loaded up in my truck to unloading into the equipment which sends it through into the cellars. I will take pics next week and share them with you.

I'm blessed to have a husband that farms so he can take Emma with him while I'm working and that Hannah and Preston are old enough to be home alone after school for a little while until Lance comes home.

It really is a fun job. Where else can you get paid to read? While I wait for my turn to load or unload or during breakdowns, I just pull out my book and wait it out.

Now let's get on to the party!

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