Autumn, sort of

The trees are starting to turn, but that may be more from the drought than the change of seasons, since some of the smaller ones started turning early. School is back in session and September is nearly here. But the daytime temps are still in the 90s, while the night time temps are cool high 50s. (I think our downstairs former Texan neighbor already has her heat on, because we can't get our place below 65 at night with all the windows open *pout*).

Anyway, if you've read my posts at all you know Autumn is my favourite time of the year. It's time for baking, especially pumpkin desserts (and Pumpkin Spice lattes from S'bucks!) and apple pie, and HALLOWEEN!

I've already made some delicious pumpkin cream cheese muffins. Tomorrow I think I will surprise the husband with a caramel apple pie when he gets home from work. I'm tempted to make some pumpkin apple butter, but last year I didn't use it all (blasphemy, yes??) and felt bad when I had to throw it out :(

And I found the pumpkin bars recipe that was so good last year. (If you make them I highly recommend using a large can of pumpkin and adding some pumpkin pie spice. Sooo moist!) Might have to make some for the folks at work next week, IF I am feeling generous. It's going to be a looong week, since I have to play manager every shift. If I were a nice person I would make something for G to take to work with him, get him on the good side of his new boss (who is my old boss, lol), we know Jeffe has a sweet tooth, mwahahaha. But neither George nor Jeffe like pumpkin. Meh.

The bestest thing about fall? Mary from Mary's Mountain Cookies is bringing me pumpkin cookies again! She knows how much I love them so she's bringing them special ;) Last year she gave me a tub of cookie dough and I had pumpkin cookies for weeks, yay!

Looks like it's going to be a good day...

I love all things pumpkin. This morning started on a high note with a lovely pumpkin pie latte and an English muffin slathered in Pumpkin Apple Butter. Yummy!

Pumpkin Apple Butter

15oz can pumpkin
1 3/4c applesauce
1/2c brown sugar
1t pumpkin pie spice

Combine all ingredients in saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat. Reduce heat, simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Chill. Keep refrigerated. It freezes well too.

In a bit I'm going to run off to the library and pick up the 5 books I have on hold (and the video of the BBC programme on the 6 wives of Henry VIII). And none too soon, either, the books I grabbed last week left me cold.

The kiddo had her first parent/teacher conference at the new school on Thursday. It was good. Her teacher wants her to start reading some non-fiction books, because the level of fiction books she should be reading are most likely not age appropriate (She reads at at least an 8th grade level). So we shall be searching the juvenile non-fiction section at the library today as well.

I also need to buy a new day pack today. My poor North Face backpack has served me faithfully for 20 years. It was given to me as a gift by my mother when I started college. It's toted text books and numerous library books, it served as a diaper bag when the kiddo was small, a carry on on every flight I've taken in the last 20 years and it totes my junk to and from work with me every day. Which makes it the best damned gift my mother has ever given me! But all that work has finally caught up with it and the zipper has blown out :( I will definitely be shopping for a new North Face bag today.

Going to start Christmas shopping today too :)

And I found Glee Radio on the net too, so now I am happy musically too, lol.

Update: Got a nice new backpack. It's this one, though I didn't get it at Sports Authority, and mine is red. It was on sale too, so that's even better :)

Really

Looking forward to Glee tomorrow, lol. Kurt sings, "Le Jazz Hot" from Victor/Victoria and what I've heard is brilliant. And he has two songs with Rachel too, so it's a Kurt-licious episode :)

YUM!

I love fall. One of the reasons I love fall is because the pumpkin spice latte comes back. But it's a habit I don't like to indulge too often, because it gets expensive. But now I just bought this. Davinci Pumpkin Pie Sauce! I bought a half gallon a few years ago and it was devine. But I was annoyed because I bought it through that link, paid shipping and then found out the vendor was local!!! Like just a few miles from my house local.

So just for the heck of it, I went to their website today and found that they are offering free local delivery on orders over $25. So now the hubby gets some White Chocolate syrup as well, and I get my pumpkin fix ;) (I'd rather pay a few $ more to get something more than pay for shipping, and I had a 15% off coupon code too, so that helps). Yum!

I want to bake this weekend

I don't know why. Maybe it was the chill in the air this morning as I went to work, bringing fall closer, while still holding on to summer during the day. I want to bake a pie of some sort (Well, really I want to bake something pumpkin-y, but my hubby hates anything pumpkin, so I will make something else we can all eat, though it is getting to be time for pumpkin butter again, yum!).

I think it's time for a strawberry pie. I haven't made one in years and it was always my favorite treat when my mother made it. I'm going to cheat and buy a pie crust, purely because I don't have any flour and I can't be bothered to buy any (I don't bake enough to use it before Christmas). Go figure, I will buy corn starch, but not flour...

Anyhoo, here's my family recipe for strawberry pie. I like this pie because it doesn't have the gelatin that so many berry pies have.

Ingredients

1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked
1 quart fresh strawberries
1 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 T. lemon juice
1 T. butter

Directions

Arrange half of strawberries in baked pastry shell. Mash remaining berries and combine with sugar in a medium saucepan. Place saucepan over medium heat. In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and with some of the juice from the berries. Gradually stir cornstarch mixture into strawberry mixture, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer mixture until thickened, about 10 minutes, stirring constantly, add lemon juice and butter, stir well. Pour mixture over berries in baked pastry shell. Chill for several hours before serving. Eat alone or serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Note: I've found that you need extra cornstarch at higher alitudes or you end up with strawberry soup!

Enjoy!

Edited to add: Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Pie crust, baked it and the damned thing slid down in the pie plate. So I baked the other crust, taking care to make sure the dough was stretched and fluted well. Same damned thing. I hate wasting time and money. This is the first time I have ever had a blind baked crust do that, too. I am way peeved :(