Emery Jane in Autumn

A Country Western Halloween

A wish come true: Our family matches on Halloween!



I forgot to wear my own sassy cowgirl hat . . .
Clogging + Ballroom?


Ready to ride!
Ghost town at sundown

First Field Trip

{Thanks Amy V for the darling pictures!}

The Parties, The Pumpkins

The Witching Hour

An evening out with best girlfriends, all dressed up as witches? To die for!

Nothing Gold Can Stay

Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
(Robert Frost)

(For more of our October family photo shoot, head over here.)

Simple Gifts

I love listening to this CD every November. One of my favorite songs on here is this Shaker hymn:

'Tis a gift to be simple, 'tis a gift to be free
'Tis a gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gain'd,
To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come round right.

What "simple gifts" are you grateful for today?

Pumpkin Waffles with Buttermilk Syrup

This is the recipe you have all been waiting for, even if you didn't know it. The pumpkin waffles are lovely, but the piece de resistance is without question the buttermilk syrup. I think we've made the syrup 3 times in the last month. Sooo good! Oh, and a big thank-you to my lovely sister-in-law Laura Dahl who sends great recipes my way!
(There might be more pumpkin recipes to come . . . maybe!)

Batter:

2 cups flour

2 TBSP baking powder

2 TBSP cinnamon

1 TBSP sugar

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

Mix ingredients together, then add:

4 egg yolks (save whites)

1 cup pumpkin

1 TBSP vanilla

1 1/2 cup milk

3/4 cup butter

Beat the 4 saved egg whites until stiff peaks form and fold them into the batter. Cook in waffle iron.

Buttermilk Syrup:

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup buttermilk (can substitute 1 TBSP lemon juice + 1/2 cup milk OR buttermilk powder)

1 cup sugar

1 tsp light corn syrup

Bring to a boil and take off heat. Add 1 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp vanilla. It will bubble up quite a bit, so make sure your pan is large enough. Stir until it settles.

Serve over warm pumpkin waffles. Yummy!

Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake

Thanks to my little sister Jeannette for this delish and mouth-watering recipe. I do love me a slice of regular pumpkin pie, but what could be more divine than cheesecake? We've been known to make this almost every Thanksgiving since she gave me the recipe (back in 2001). Do yourself a favor and whip this baby up!

Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake

Crust:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs (or vanilla wafers)

1/3 cup melted butter

1/4 cup granulated sugar

Combine crumbs and butter; press onto bottom and sides of 9-inch springform pan.

Filling:

2 8-oz packages cream cheese

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

3 eggs

1 cup canned pumpkin

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1. Combine cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar and vanilla, mixing at medium speed on electric mixer until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

2. Reserve 1 cup cream cheese mixture; add pumpkin, remaining sugar and spices to remaining cream cheese mixture. Mix well. Layer half of pumpkin mixture and half of cream cheese mixture over crust; repeat layers. Cut through batter with knife several times for marble effect. Bake at 350 for 55 minutes. Loosen cake from rim of pan; cool before removing rim of pan. Chill. Makes 10 to 12 servings.

Pumpkin Chocolate Panini

Arguably, I have a thing for pumpkin and chocolate. It's unusual, I admit, but if you made the pumpkin bread recipe I posted earlier, I'm positive you're a fan. I make the following recipe any time I feel that the girls aren't getting enough orange veggies in their diet. It originally comes from The Flavor Point Diet (great book!) and is "rich in antioxidant nutrients and fiber". Great quick FHE dessert. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Chocolate Panini
butter
2 slices whole grain bread
2 TBSP canned pumpkin
Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Chips (we use any kind)
Opt: 1 TBSP pecans

1. Spread butter on 1 side of each slice of bread.
2. Spread the pumpkin on the plain side of one slice, sprinkle chocolate chips, and nuts (if desired). Place the second slice on top with butter facing up.
3. Place the sandwich in a hot panini grill or a nonstick skillet over medium heat, close the grill (if using skillet, press the sandwich with a spatula), and grill for 2-3 minutes (if using skillet, turn the sandwich and press again).

Pumpkin Extravaganza

My friend and old BYU roomie, Gwyn, wrote a pumpkin-inspired post on her blog. And oh, did it inspire me. Have I mentioned that I love pumpkin? I decided to lead up to next week's festivities by posting a pumpkin recipe a day. These are my all-time favorite pumpkin foods. So today, I bring to you the best pumpkin cookies. These little guys are light, fluffy, and very addictive.

(Unfortunately, I'm not making a recipe a day, so pictures are courtesy of the world wide web.)

Pumpkin Cookies

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 cup butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups AP flour

1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup canned pumpkin

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Cream together sugar, egg, butter, and vanilla. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Add to wet ingredients, then stir in pumpkin. (Add walnuts & raisins if desired.)

3. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar while still warm.

I Ain't Afraid of No Ghost!

Happy Halloween!

I must say, for it being one of my least favorite holidays, with kids it gets more fun every year. With Halloween parties, the ward trunk-or-treat, a Halloween tea party, and TODAY, the girls got to wear their costumes multiple times this past week.

Now go blast "Ghostbusters!" to pump you up for trick-or-treating tonight!