Tired and Grumpy Monday Blog

I spent much of the weekend in bed fighting something off. And even though I spent most of my time laying down, sleep only came in pockets, so I am completely wiped today. And grumpy. And probably cranky too.

The crummy thing about me feeling bad is that it was John's birthday over the weekend. I had a plan to make a new cake recipe, but just did not have the energy to do it. We ended up having a store bought cake to celebrate, but I have to say I have had waaaaayyyy better store bought cakes. You know I'm grumpy if I am getting mad at cake!

Also realized over the weekend that our car is making a sound that we can't ignore. I'm taking it into the mechanic today and hoping it just needs a little something and not a whole lottta something.

There is some good news to report: I finished my first week of my second 28 day reboot. I am no longer relying on my mostly broken pedometer, so have been gauging my progress on timed walks. Last week I was "on a walk" for 165 minutes (2.75 hours). My goal for the second week is 4 hours of walking. I'm hoping to do more than that, but setting my goal realistically (seeing as I'm starting the week off tired and cranky). But I will be walking back from the mechanic shortly, so at least that is something.

How was your weekend? What is the best store bought cake you ever had? Mine was a huge slab cake we got from Zehrs in Barrie for my parents 25th wedding anniversary. It was delicious. I found a photo of it and it made me smile, so maybe I'm going to beat this grump after all.

Farmer Raised Chicken #FoodPicFriday

My brother Tommy raised some chickens this year and I was eager to buy one. Coming in at 5lbs, this chicken was huge and tasted better than I could have imagined. I'm not exactly sure what makes locally raised meat taste so good, but there is definitely something to it. I made a bunch of sides and we had a big meal that lasted two days and kept us really full. It was really quite lovely.

Coldwater Steampunk Festival - Art

We had a wonderful time at the Coldwater Steampunk Festival earlier this summer, and beyond all the amazing costumes, they also had a showcase of some pretty dazzling art. Steampunk is such a neat style, and I had a great time looking through all these creations.

3rd Annual Coldwater Steampunk 2013 art

Hat with goggles

Love this chess set

Clock with exposed gears

Necklace

Multi-gear necklace

Necklace with keys

Tin man

Dragon

Everything is a Photo Opportunity #18

We had a roast chicken last week which got me thinking about turkey which reminded me of this photo. Why did these turkeys cross the road? They definitely made it to the other side, stopping traffic as they crossed. Key rules for a successful animal road crossing include (1) traveling in large groups and (2) venturing out during the day. These guys made it across no problem.

Pie vs. Pie

I made my first pumpkin pie over the weekend. I also made my second. Here are two things I wish I didn't know about making pumpkin pie:

                   (1) it is stupidly easy. By the time the oven heats up, the pie is ready to go in. 

                   (2) 1 can of pumpkin puree makes two pies

Now that I know these things, John thinks I should make a pumpkin pie every week.

In my pumpkin pie making adventure, I noticed that recipes either called for sweetened condensed milk or evaporated milk. I had enough puree to make two pies, so I thought I would try both methods to see which I liked better. Here are my results (note: this was in no way a scientific study. It was mostly just an excuse to eat/make pie.)


Pumpkin Pie (recipe slightly adapted from Eagle Brand)

Ingredients:
1 + 3/4 cups pumpkin puree
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 large eggs
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp salt
1 9-inch unbaked pie crust

Whisk ingredients (except pie crust) in bowl until smooth. Pour into pie crust. Bake in 425°F oven for 15 minutes. Turn oven down to 350°F and continue baking for 35-40 minutes.

Before baking

After Baking

Mmmmm....Pie

Pumpkin Pie (recipe slightly adapted from E.D. Smith)

Ingredients:
1 + 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 cup evaporated milk
2 large eggs
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp salt
1 9 inch unbaked deep dish pie crust

Beat eggs lightly in medium bowl. Add pumpkin, sugar, spices, and salt; stir until combined. Blend in milk. Pour into pie shell. Bake at 425°F for 15 min. Lower oven temperature to 350°F and continue baking 30-35 minutes.

Before Baking

After Baking

Pie!

In this unscientific, not double blind, test study, I decided that they both tasted the same, looked the same, and cooked pretty much the same. I have a 'really like pumpkin pie spice' bias, so the recipe didn't really matter to me. The end result was they both tasted like pumpkin pie and that was what I was going for. I do prefer the sweetened condensed milk version, but only because it has less ingredients and I'm more likely to have sweetened condensed milk on hand. Also when I made the evaporated milk version, the filling dripped over the side of the pie crust. That was when I noticed that the recipe called for a deep dish pie crust. Whoops.

Have you made a pumpkin pie? Any preference on recipe?