Pumpkin Bread ...from Maine?

I wanted something sweet. As usual. I had a can of pumpkin that needed used up so pumpkin bread it was... although I kind of wish I'd make pumpkin whoopie pies instead or a pumpkin roll BUT didn't feel like trekking to the grocery store for cream cheese in the freeeezing cold that suddenly decided to plop down on us. So bread it was.

Pinterest led me to Chelsea Bakes and her Spiced Pumpkin Bread with some yummy cream cheese icing. I decided to go with a different recipe, however... I don't actually remember why but I did. Maybe because I'm obsessed with reviews and changing things by what the reviews say...? Eh.

Apparently there's a special Maine pumpkin bread way... I was not aware of this. Looks like regular ol' pumpkin bread to me.

haha Like how one of my tabs is "Capture a Screen Shot?" I don't know how to do these things on the Mac yet. 

I ended up using a variation of this Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread over at allrecipes.

This. batter. is. UH-MAZING. I'm a batter eater, it's true and this stuff was ridiculous tasty.  Thankfully  Unfortunately, my hubs does not enjoy batter so I'm left with it all. 

This is super easy, too. That's what I love about breads. Put in bowl, stir. Done. No special stuff needed.  So just mix together the pumpkin, eggs, sugars, oil & butter. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt & spices. Then mix the dry and wet together. Done.

For the cream cheese icing you just blend the cream cheese & powdered sugar together with an electric mixer then add in the vanilla and milk until it's the desired consistency. Supposedly it should be tangy and just thin enough to drizzle but not runny. But you can make yours as thick or runny or sweet or tangy as you want it. :)

Enjoy with cup of tea or coffee and be happy.

Lately, I am loving some black tea with some vanilla soy milk and a little bit of sugar. Mmmmm.

Download the recipe here.

xo- Kem

chocolate puddin' cake

I'm enjoying a little bit of a lazy morning while it's storming outside. Well, more like raining a little with a lot of wind. Our grill has made it's way to the other side of the deck and my mother-in-laws grill has face planted.

This weather makes me happy. Thoughts of time spent sitting on porches with family watching, listening and smelling the rain... good stuff. I'm reading "Ferris' Bluff" by Fred Limberg on my Kindle right now and it's set in Arkansas where it storms a lot and where I used to live... there are quite a few scenes in the book that talk about sitting on the porch during the early morning or during a storm and it makes me smile every time.

P.S. If you have a Kindle you should subscribe to BookBub and they'll send you an email a day with four or five books that are discounted (usually below $4) or free (usually at least two) on Amazon. I'm not super picky so it works for me... I just check out the reviews and if they aren't terrible, which they usually aren't, then I get the free ones.
... Can you have a "p.s." before the end? It's a "p.s." at the end of this section only. yup.

So, let's get to the point. CHOCOLATE PUDDING CAKE. But since we were chatting about Arkansas let's call it Chocolate Puddin' Cake. Doesn't that sound more down home and delicious? Yup.

I can't recall how I came across this recipe... maybe on a Food Network show...? Either way - I googled and went along with this recipe to try it out. It's a pretty strange recipe and I had some serious doubts when I got to the end but I went with it after re-reading the directions at least 10x to make sure I was reading it correctly.

First, we have what the batter should NOT look like. Whoops. Here we have all the cocoa in the recipe mixed into the batter whereas only 2 TB was supposed to be mixed in. I'm not even sure how I managed that. Rewind. Restart.

Restarted. Dropped the sugar canister on the floor. Good thing that baby is thick... not sure how it didn't break. I'm such a klutz.

That looks more like it. After the batter is combined in there lookin' all normal you're going to throw some dry ingredients on top of it and then pour boiling water on top. Makes perfect sense. How do people come up with these things??

So now you sprinkle 3/4 cup packed brown sugar and 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa power on top of the batter. Then pour 1 1/2 cups boiling water on top of it. No stirring allowed.

Now pop it in the oven at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes. Let it sit for 15 minutes before serving. Now devour it. With ice cream, preferably. So yummy. It's like a melty brownie with built in sauce. Mmmm.

Enjoy, dearies.

xo - Kem

Question-A-Day Sunday : Jan 27 - Feb 2

February 2nd! What? It's already February! 

Ya know what I'm really terrible at? Following a recipe from my phone, taking pictures of it, starting a blog on it and then not being able to find the recipe I used in the first place! Gosh, Kem! Although, it's not my fault. It's my iPhone's fault. Because when I open a page from another app, sometimes it writes over my recipe page that I've intentionally kept open so I can blog about it later.

So I have a blog ready to go but I can't reference the recipe used. Fail.

Anywho. Question Time. 

Monday. How do you describe home?

Family & Friends. Where you can be yourself fully. Where people KNOW you. 

Tuesday. What was the last TV show you watched?

Pretty Little Liars. I know, I'm so mature. Don't judge.

.... I also have been watching Downton Abbey... Everyone loves it. I like it. I haven't gotten that love feeling yet. Am I missing something? Do you watch it?

Thursday. Who do you want to be?

A joyful, kind and open person. More friendly... ok, I know I'm friendly but lately I feel like I just kind of go through my days and don't really seem like a friendly person to those I just come across at the grocery store and such... I do sometimes but not always... just want it to be more normal... 

Friday. What is your resolution for tomorrow?

Tomorrow is Saturday. Post Office to mail my friends care package cause she just had surgery & pick up stamps for work. To Citizen's Bank to deposit that money I owed my ma. To call my grandparents & my mom. Relax.

Success an all accounts, btw.

Saturday. Who do you life with?

hubs. billers. mother-in-law. I can't wait to have our own place again (I miss my own stuff!!!!) but living with Fab's mom has been great for us.

p.s. I skipped Wednesday. If you noticed before, I only give you five days worth of questions... sometimes the questions are a bit too personal for blogging. :)

Watching the Super Bowl right now. Few notes...

1) Thank you for a great halftime show, Beyonce & Destiny's Child. Loving the throw back. 

2) Old geezer commercial partying it up was the best. Good job, Taco Bell.

3) John Harbaugh and his freak-out about the lights going out. Geesh. Chill, man. & be nice.

Enjoy your week, darlings!

xo - Kem