Rachael’s Florentine Proscuitto-Wrapped Chicken (I used bacon), a CSA Caesar with pine nuts, and some crescent rolls. My dad was pretty happy about it.
Other adventures included: dinner at Grafton Street, lunch at Fowle’s, apples and pumpkins and a gross number of cider doughnuts, a ride in a tow truck (!!), and lots and lots of good talks. I’m a lucky chick.
This is the conclusion I have come to: the vast majority of times in life you can get by on the cheapie brand and nobody is going to be the wiser, you included.
Candle-buying is not one of those times.
My favorite (and Tom’s, though he’d never admit it): Slatkin & Co’s Vanilla Sandalwood or Creamy Nutmeg. I like their pumpkin scents, too, but that’s where the boyfriend draws the line. Cozy and spicy and strong enough to fill the whole apartment, which I find just doesn’t happen with the three dollar Pier One kind.
What’s your house smelling like these days?
Ina’s apple crostata
a bitchin’ new cd in the works for my baby sister (“Better Go and Get Your Armor: The October ’09 Mix”)
cozy new cardigan from Madewell
contemplating what warm pumpkin puree with cinnamon would be like on top of vanilla ice cream
clean crunchy air
the Madeline Peyroux Pandora station, with absolutely no alteration at all
chicken with salsa in the crockpot (thanks Kim!)
the monosyllabic cobbler on Harvard Street saving my boots
a plaid flannel blanket from Tom’s mom
Wild Things
trying to figure out what on earth I am going to do with these guys:
First of all: how effing bent is my loaf pan? That’s embarrassing. I need a new one.
Second of all: I made oatmeal pumpkin bread on Sunday! It made me popular at work. To be fair, it’s closer to cake then to bread, and cake tends to have that effect on people.
If you, too, would like to be popular in your place of business, you can follow this recipe, adopted from cooks.com:
1 c. quick cooking oatmeal
1 c. hot low-fat milk
3/4 c. pumpkin (I roasted and pureed the real kind, cause I had it from the CSA, though I imagine the canned stuff would work just fine. I actually love the canned stuff.)
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 c. butter, melted
2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. white sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tbsp. baking powder
For the topping: 2 tbsps. brown sugar, 1/4 cup oatmeal, 1/4 cup chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl combine oats and low-fat milk; allow to stand 5 minutes. Stir in pumpkin, eggs, and melted butter. In a separate bowl mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Gradually add dry ingredients to oatmeal mixture.
Place in a greased 9 x 5 loaf pan, and top generously with brown sugar, oats, and nuts. Bake 55-60 minutes or until tests done. Cool on wire rack. Makes 1 loaf.
I would send you a bouquet of newly-sharpened pencils, if I knew your name and address.
