Everything is a Photo Opportunity #17

This is my nephew Earl's other farm. This one was crafted by my talented sister-in-law for his birthday a few years ago. Nothing beats a good theme cake, and I especially love all the details she added (the toy tractors and animals are so cute).    

Pumpkin Spice Everything

That's right, this is another post about pumpkin spice. I am completely obsessed with it, and am actually drinking a homemade pumpkin spice latte as I write this. I have been adding it to everything lately and I don't think I will get sick of it. I love, love, love it! :)

My new obsession comes from my previous ignorance. I understood that pumpkin spice must have existed but I didn't really understand that I could buy it or make it and then eat it every day. Now I have a daily habit of Googling what else I can make with it, and I think this will be the year I make my first pumpkin pie. Pretty excited about that. 

Last week I happily learned that pumpkin pie spice is a beautiful combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice. You can throw the spices together yourself or buy pre-mixed. I got 'Pumpkin Spice' from the Bulk Barn and it is fabulous.

Since we added it to our spice rack last Thursday, we've been going crazy with it. I made awesome cupcakes. We've been adding 1/2 tsp to coffee grounds in our perk coffee maker to make a really easy pumpkin spice coffee. We also add 1/4 tsp to a mug of Orange Pekoe, for a flavourful tea. My Twitter buddy Kathy let me know she uses it on oatmeal, and I had to try that too. I added some dried cranberries as well and have had a very festive breakfast the past two days.

Steel cut oats with pumpkin spice and dried cranberries

We've also been making easy lattes. The same way you probably shouldn't call chicken bacon bacon, I proabably shouldn't call my drink a latte, but it has the same idea. I don't use espresso or steamed milk, but it tastes awesome anyway.

For my latte I add 2 tbs pumpkin puree, 1 tbs brown sugar, 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice, 1 tsp instant decaf coffee (I only have coffee in the morning...except when I have it at night - so we keep instant decaf on hand). 

Next I add 1/3 mug of milk and stir.

Then fill it up with boiling water to activate the instant coffee. (Normally I think instant coffee is gross but in a fun drink like this, I like it just fine.)

We forgot to pick up whipped cream, but it is actually quite lovely without it.

What is your favourite thing to do with pumpkin pie spice? Do you make your own or buy a pre-mixed version?

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Pumpkin Cream Cheese Icing

I love pumpkin spice time of year. It fills me with joy to know that at some point in the fall I will purchase a pumpkin spice latte and/or a pumpkin spice baked good. John and I got to thinking the other night: 'what would it take to make these at home?' A quick Google search brought me to countless pumpkin spice baking recipes, coffee/latte recipes, and even recipes to make pumpkin spice itself. We went to Bulk Barn and bought a bag of pumpkin spice and I've had loads of fun adding it to everything over the past few days. So these pumpkin spice cupcakes had to happen.

I like easy when it comes to baking, and these cupcakes were just that. The following recipe was adapted from here.

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

Ingredients:
Cake mix (white, vanilla, yellow, spice...whatever you have on hand)
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup water
3 eggs
1/2 cup applesauce
1.5 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Beat all ingredients in bowl for 30 sec until blended. Beat on high for two minutes. That is it.

Bake for 20 minutes at 350°F. Note that your house will smell amazing when they come out of the oven.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Icing
(the following recipe was adapted from recipes found here and here).

Ingredients: 
250g (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (I might suggest using only 1/4 cup)
1.5 tsp pumpkin pie spice, or to taste
4 cups icing sugar

Beat cream cheese and butter together until fluffy.

Mix in pumpkin puree. The icing ended up being thinner than I've made in the past, so I would only add 1/4 cup pumpkin puree next time.

 

Beat in pumpkin pie spice followed by icing sugar, adding it 1 cup at a time until smooth.

I piped the icing onto the cupcakes, and even though it was thin, it stayed where it was supposed to be.

 

These cupcakes have all been shared and eaten, but I can't wait to make them again. They were easy and delicious!

Everything is a Photo Opportunity #16

This is my nephew Earl's farm. When he reviewed this photo he told me this was the best one I took, and I agree. It definitely has a lot of action, with many farm vehicles being put to work. He also let me know that the silo in the background was full, so he had to get a second one (a coffee can).

Remembering to Rest

I'm over two weeks into my 28 day reboot and feeling like I'm making good progress.

My first week I walked 37,321 steps.

My second week I walked 55,839 steps (averaging about 8000 steps per day - woot!).

I'm training my body to walk daily, but I'm also listening to it when it needs a break. And this weekend, I needed a rest.

At the tail end of my 55,000+ steps Saturday night, I had a relaxing bath to calm my muscles and was just completely exhausted when I got out. I knew there would be no walking on Sunday for me. And it turned out, no Monday walking either. Taking it easy was the only thing on the schedule and that was fine by me. 

I had a wonderful time on my rest days. Sunday we went to an end of summer BBQ with friends, where we sampled 3 out of 4 of the Lays 'Do Us a Flavour' contest chips. The flavours in Canada are: Grilled Cheese and Ketchup (pretty good), Maple Moose (tasted like a combo of sweet and burnt - we threw them out), Creamy Garlic Caesar (they tasted great; they were pretty much just sour cream and onion, with maybe a hint of crouton), and Perogy Platter (we didn't try these, but they sound delicious). Fun times.

Monday I rested by playing Torchlight. All day. I'm always amazed at my capacity to game, but when I like something, I tend to like it a lot. It was super fun and I'm level 67 now or something ridiculous.

I'm feeling well rested and happy to get back moving today. It has been raining on and off, but hopefully I'll find a chunk of time where I don't get too wet.

Happy September friends!