Things that are done

Sinkhole in driveway paved over!

Grass seed

 

1. Sinkhole repair

No trees removed after all!  It took them 5 weeks to do what was a rather complicated procedure, involving digging up the street (sometimes with manual labor, sometimes with giant diggers), putting a new storm sewer pipe in, plus engineering two new storm sewer grates, and filling in the old pipe that collapsed under our yard.  Now we are just waiting for that psychedelic-colored grass seed to sprout.

Good thing we didn’t have to have the trees removed, because deciding on what new trees to plant would have been too hard.  Decision-making: done for.

2.  Daylight Saving Time 

On Nov 3 it’s done, for this year, but I wish it would go away forever.  Note that my calendar says it is also the Day of the Dead.

3.  Dishes.

The dishes are done.  Or they were when this photo was taken.

Pumpkin muffins in the thought stage

4.  Baking

Since the Common Household Husband went on a low-carb regime, I have done almost no baking.  But a few days ago I decided to rage-bake half a batch of pumpkin muffins.  

Pumpkin mufffins, NOT done

This is the second time these muffins have been baked on this blog, but this time, because of my rage, I added ginger and cloves for an extra kick, SO THERE.  I like the more complex flavor. Most of these muffins went in the freezer for me to rage-eat later.

Pumpkin muffins, done

5.  Canvassing

My final and last day of canvassing will be on Sunday, unless my ankle gives out before then.  

It feels so good to actually
complete a canvassing list.

6.  Democracy?  Is democracy done?  We will find out.  

Dead mole (seen while canvassing):
accurate metaphor for
US democracy?  

Pumpkin Bread, HALF RECIPE

 

Makes 1 large loaf, or 12-14 muffins

 

Dry ingredients:

1 ¾  cups flour

1 teaspoons baking soda

1 cup sugar (use 1 ¼ cups if you don’t have o.j.)

¾ teaspoons salt

1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon

Optional: ½ tsp ground ginger.  Include when angry at national news.

Optional ¼ tsp ground cloves.  Include when angry at national news.

 

Wet ingredients:

2 beaten eggs

2 ¾ Tablespoons orange juice

⅓ cup vegetable oil

⅓ cup water

1 cup pumpkin puree (a little more than half of the 15 oz. can pumpkin)

¼ cup raisins (optional)

¼ cup chocolate chips (optional)

Optional ingredients

Ginger, cloves are optional spices (about ¼ to ½ tsp)

raisins, nuts, craisins, chocolate chips are optional: approx ¼ to ½ cup

 

Grease and flour pans (for muffins you can use muffin papers).  Preheat oven to 350 F.

Mix together dry ingredients (you can sift them if you want).

In a separate bowl, mix together wet ingredients.

 

Make a well in dry ingredients.  Add wet ingredients and mix until you are tired of mixing.  Add optional goodies if you want, and stir.

 

Bake loaf pan in 350F oven for about 1 hour.  Or make muffins, baking for about 20 minutes.

A Gourdly Season

For behold, the Lord said: You shall find vines growing in the land, and you shall gather thereof gourds of orange flesh and round.  You shall carry these gourds nigh unto the thresholds of the canning factories of the house of Libby wherein they shall be turned into canned pumpkin. 

Be not anxious for the particular subspecies of gourd: for the Lord does not make a distinction between the carving pumpkin and the Dickinson pumpkin.  Behold, they are all squash.  You shall eat joyously of the Dickinson pumpkin, because the house of Libby has named it after a very interesting poet.  And having pumpkin, let us therewith be content.

Take you also unto yourselves principal spices, of clove and ginger, and of sweet cinnamon.  This shall be a sweet savour before the Lord.  And you shall call its name ‘pumpkin spice’.  Let all the people of the land rejoice.

In your mixing bowls and your cooking pots, you shall combine the gourd and the spice, and it shall be holy and acceptable unto all households. 

You shall mix pumpkin spice into all manner of foodstuffs;

even into your coffee and your sausages;

            You shall blend it into your cream cheese and your pop-tarts. 

Yes, there is Pumpkin cream cheese
and pumpkin spice sausage.
Haven't tried the sausages yet.  I think
the cream cheese is pretty good.

And you shall bake royal dainties: even shall you make pumpkin muffins (see recipe below), pumpkin raisin bread, pumpkin pies, pumpkin challah, pumpkin cookies, and low-fat pumpkin custard. 

Muffins for the masses and loaves for the freezer.

And it shall be pleasing unto all members of the household, even unto the next generation.  And all your household shall inquire of you, “Are these pumpkin muffins for The Ladies*, or can we have some for breakfast?”  Thus shall you reply: “I have not invited any Ladies.  You may have muffins for breakfast and lo, the rest will go into the freezer for a time to come.”   And their hearts will be filled with gladness.

Thus saith the Lord: You shall keep this ordinance in this season from year to year.  You shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days; But even a whole month and longer. 

Some of the people will wail and gnash their teeth and say, we have had pumpkin spice until it come out at our nostrils, and it be loathsome unto us.  It is true that Pumpkin Pie Pop-tarts, while alliterative, are an abomination. 

 

This photo is from 2011.  That is the last time I bought
these Pop-tarts, and I vowed never to buy them again.

The coming of the season of pumpkin spice shall be a sign unto you that it is time to start cleaning out the freezer to make room for the Thanksgiving pies. 

And there is evening, and there is morning, and there is pumpkin.  And it is good.

                                                                 - the Book of Comestibles 11:18-35

* * * * * * * * * 

Common Household Pumpkin Bread

Makes 2 large loaves, or lots of muffins

Dry ingredients:

3 1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3 teaspoons cinnamon

Wet ingredients:

4 beaten eggs

1/3 cup orange juice

2/3 cup oil

2/3 cup water

1 15 oz. can pumpkin 

Optional ingredients

raisins, nuts, craisins, chocolate chips are optional

Grease and flour pans.  Preheat oven to 350 F.

Mix together dry ingredients (you can sift them if you want).

In a separate bowl, mix together wet ingredients.

Make a well in dry ingredients.  Add wet ingredients and mix until you are tired of mixing.  Add optional goodies if you want, and stir.

Bake in  350F oven for about 1 hour.  Or make muffins, baking for about 20 minutes.

Nutrient content:

1 serving of vegetable (for Son)

a little less fat than the other version, which has no orange juice and 1 cup oil.

How Pumpkin Saves My Sanity

It’s my favorite season, although I have to say that what I am most fond of about seasons is that each season actually occurs, at least where I live. 

There is an undercurrent on the internet of impatience with autumn and its major gourd, the pumpkin.  Sorry, all you fall-haters, but in the Common Household we love pumpkin.  A long time ago, our pediatrician approved homemade pumpkin muffins as a reasonable (ha!) source of vitamins for my son, who since the age of two has refused to eat any vegetables.

But sometimes a homemade, vitamin-laden pumpkin muffin can’t be had, and a desperate person must turn to Dunkin Donuts.  

Dunkin, I don't like your spelling and doughnuts are
 not my favorite carbohydrate, but your pumpkin muffins
 have saved me more than once.  Thank you.

The Dunkin Donuts pumpkin muffin saved my sanity in September 2011 when I was helping my aunt get ready for her move to the retirement home.  I was having difficulty facing the task ahead of me, but a cup of hot tea and a pumpkin muffin at Dunkin Donuts made it possible to move forward.  We all know we should not turn to food to try to solve our emotional problems, but I tell you, that pumpkin muffin was positively therapeutic.

Earlier this month Dunkin Donuts came through for me again on my way home from the retirement home.  Yes, this muffin is basically mass-produced cake with sugar on top, but sometimes that’s what a person needs.

Pumpkin muffin on the left.
The chocolate chip muffin on the right is inferior.
When I took this photo I was so smitten with my pumpkin muffin
 that I did not notice the creepy way the library books by
Brian Selznick were arranged, looking hungrily at the muffins.

On the homemade front, I bring you an astonishing concept: Pumpkin Challah!  I know this is a thing that exists, because I made it at a cooking class at synagogue.  This pumpkin challah is not overly pumpkiny, but delightfully subtle.  It is delicious toasted with a bit of butter or cream cheese.  It would be great on the Thanksgiving table, in dinner-roll format.

Kneading bread is also sanity-saving.  Pretend that dough is your worst enemy, and pummel it!

If you are turned off by autumn and pumpkins, then, because this blog subscribes to the Pumpkin Fairness Doctrine, here are a few places you might feel more at home:

An excellent rant against fall and pumpkiny food.

Five reasonable reasons to hate fall.

Pumpkin Challah

This recipe makes one large loaf (congregational size) or two household loaves.

Based on the Meg Marshak Challah Recipe.

Ingredients:

1 ½ cup          warm water (hot bath temperature)

2 packets        dry yeast (quick rise is also suitable)

¼ cup             Sugar

¼ cup             honey

1 Tbsp            salt (kosher recommended)

2 Tablesp       vegetable oil

1/3 cup           canned pumpkin

1 tsp               pumpkin pie spice.

3                     eggs (at room temperature if possible)

2 cups            All Purpose flour

4 cups            Bread flour (if necessary, All Purpose can be used in place of bread flour)

Optional:        raisins or Craisins, ½ cup or more if you prefer

Egg wash:       1 beaten egg with 2 Tbsp water

Directions

In a large bowl, stir together the water, yeast, and some of the sugar (2 Tbsp or so).  Let the mixture stand for a few minutes until frothy and “yeasty” smelling.

Stir in honey and remaining sugar, salt, and then the oil and eggs.  Stir in the pumpkin and spice.  Fold in the All Purpose flour and most of the Bread flour.  If you are using a mixer with a dough hook, add the flour gradually to avoid lumps. 

Once the dough clings to the hook in a lump or is too hard to stir by hand, turn out onto a lightly floured board or countertop.  At this point the dough will be a shaggy mess.  (If you want to add raisins, this is the time to add them –  ½ cup or more.) Knead for 8-10 minutes, adding any remaining flour as necessary. The dough should be soft and elastic and NOT sticky. 

Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly greased bowl.  Turn the dough over to coat the entire surface lightly with oil.  Cover with a damp towel and place the bowl in a warm spot.  Let rise until almost double (about 30-40 minutes).

Gently deflate the dough and knead slightly (to remove large air bubbles).  Divide into three equal parts.  Roll and form into 3 strands.  Put parchment paper on a large baking sheet.  Using all three strands, brad loosely on the parchment.  Brush egg wash over braided bread (make sure you get all the nooks and crannies).  Let rise until puffy and almost double in bulk, usually 35-45 min. 

Preheat oven to 350F.  Bake for 35-40 minutes until browned and hollow-sounding when tapped.  Let cool before slicing.

 

Just reaching the shaggy mess stage.

After the pummeling.  Ready to take a nap in the bowl.

Napping under a damp towel.

Nap time for the dough is over.  Time for the final formation.

Three strands, with the longest in the middle.  

Braided and ready to rise one last time.

Done!  Two pumpkin challah loaves.