Fancy Pumpkin Doughnuts

Monday, October 31, 2011


Well this recipe was a bit of a mash up, I have too many cans of organic pumpkin and WAY too much creativity for my own good. It's simple, delicious and flexible. Now I say flexible because you can add walnuts or dried fruit to the batter and change the topping. (There are way too many good things that go with pumpkin). 

I made these for a costume party that I went to and they were a huge hit!

 Ok so you SHOULD have doughnut pans but these are FANCY doughnuts, so we are using mini bunt pans.
 Y ou don't need organic pumpkin, it was weirdly cheaper though at the store so I stocked up. You'll need nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon. 
  Combine all your dry ingredients! Flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt. 
 It should look like the color of whole grain flour when it's done.
 In another bowl combine half a stick of butter and half a cup of brown sugar. (MMMM brown sugar)
 How many people does it take to open a can with the most archaic can opener known to man (Next to pulling out my pocket knife)
 Took 3 of us and 15 minutes
 Add only a cup of pumpkin, so you should have a bunch left over. 
 Two farm fresh eggs to the mix! and Two tablespoons of milk.
 Mix! Mixing bowls are for rich people.
 Combine with the dry ingredients 
 Yet again, mixers are for rich people. Your hands work the best I find. (Thats my nice cast)
 Scrape all of the batter out into a ziplock bag.
 It's a little messy but it works. 
 Cut the tip off of the bag, i suggest about half an inch so you have maximum control. 
 I pipped two rings around, which fills the pans up about halfway.
 Make sure that they are even! You don't want them to bake unevenly.
 Super cool close up! Bake for about 15 min on 350 but keep a watch on them!
 See how they rise? This is the size you want! And it doesn't matter if they crack a bit thats the bottom anyway. 
 I wish you could smell these through your computer!
 Wait until they are fully cool so they pop easily out of the bunt pans.
 I got six out of this batch but we were cutting them in half for people to eat.
 Ok now here is where it gets tricky, melt some chocolate.... and drizzle it over! Then generously dust with powered sugar.
Yum! 


You can do a couple different toppings on these, I'm experimenting with a maple syrup glaze.

Happy Baking! 
And Have a Happy Halloween!


Music of the meal: 
The Band Perry



Thats my awesome steampunk costume. That corset was killer, and I decided to strap a scope to my cast with a belt to make it cool looking. I'll explain that whole cast thing next post xD And oddly enough the angel is my it's complicated part of life. 

It took me forever to type this with a broken wrist. 



A Mostly Veggie Meal

Wednesday, October 12, 2011


Well this whole meal started out because I really wanted some veggies, to be more specific I really wanted some of the cauliflower and broccoli bake I make with roasted garlic and olive oil. (It's to DIE for)
But the friends wanted some meat to so I decided to improvise some chicken with whatever we had lying around. 
This is all my organic vegetables by the way from the farmers market and they were absolutely wonderful!


Chop up your cauliflower!
And chop your broccoli!
I roughly diced an entire bulb of german garlic. You want the pieces big, it tastes better I swear!
Mix it all together in a shallow pan so it bakes even, try not to have too much of one vegetable in one area. Add a generous amount of olive oil while you mix.
Defrost boneless, skinless chicken breast ( :P I know it looks weird)
Made the guy take a few photos of me cooking today, I wasn't quite sure where I was going with the chicken yet so I cut it into medallion sized pieces. 
Extra virgin olive oil, black pepper corn, garlic powder and some dried oregano were my arsenal of seasonings. 
And doesn't it look as yummy all mixed up!
Toss the vegetable medley into the over at around 400 degrees and wait until everything is golden brown and to taste. (I like mine a bit crispy and the garlic roasted.) Every 10 minutes or so turn the veggies to make sure there is optimal cooking on every side 
Tossed the chicken in my cast iron and decided why not put some fresh basil leaves in as well. Those plants might as well not go to waste. (Just picking basil smells AMAZING) 
I kept the heat low so the chicken wouldn't burn. I wanted it to cook slowly as I added some more spices onto it. 
Golden brown is the color we are looking for! Make sure most of the liquid is cooked out of the cast iron. 
This is how I like it, soft and golden brown with the garlic and broccoli tops crispy!
This is all i really wanted, I don't need the chicken. Just give me a bowl of this and I'm SET. (It became by lunch the next day too)
Table set for three tonight, and see! Definitely mostly vegetables! 
I really love this meal and it was a big hit. I've made the cauliflower & broccoli mix a few times before and it's a great way to get people to eat their vegetables. Plus the fact they are all organic from the farmers market is kudos points. The garlic gets sweet and everything just tastes very light. 

I admit, the chicken was really good too. It's such a simple meal that I threw together in less than an hour. 
Baking time on the vegetables will vary due to how shallow your pan is. Sometimes it can take 30 min or sometimes 40. Just remember to turn them! 


The consensus was that this one was to be made again, and that the fresh basil leaves were a must!

What I would change:
I'm not sure I even would have made the chicken at all.

Music of the meal: 
The General, By: Dispatch 

Bake on people, bake on!

Farmers Market FUN!

Thursday, October 6, 2011

So there is a nice sized farmers market that sets up a few blocks from my University that sells everything from vegetables to gluten free baked goods. Needless to say I was very excited and my friend and I took a trip there after catching some sushi at a local favorite of ours. I HAULED. Yes I'm going to say it. I HAULED at a farmers market! It was wonderful, I had lets say about 15$ in cash in my pocket. I walked away with two dollars left and THIS:
Two basil plants, 1 full sized yellow watermelon, a whole cauliflower, 1lb of garlic, two florets of broccoli and two oversized sweet potatoes!
 Those sweet potatoes are HUGE
My dorm apartment now smells like basil and its just heavenly!
Garlic is wonderful
Doesn't Cauliflower look like BRAAAAIIINS?
Just had to show you how big it was. That's one of those long tissue boxes for reference. Did i mention that watermelon cost me 2$?



I also seen to have neglected to say that everything was organic. :)

I think that this was a wonderful haul for a farmers market, I only wish I had more money on me to buy some of the organic angus beef that they were selling.


Music for the mood:
Mr. Blue Sky, By: The Electric Light Orchestra









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