Well, the morning sickness I thought I wasn’t going to have this time arrived last week. I spent a lot of the last few days on the couch. I am feeling better today. I read taking Ginger capsules and wearing Sea Bands can help, so I picked up both at the store yesterday. So far they seem to be doing the trick. I also discovered that for some strange reason Oreos seem to settle my stomach.
As if I need another reason to eat Oreos.
Anyway, now that I actually feel like sitting up long enough to blog, I have a lot to say. Let’s start with some Hall-O-Ween photos.
Here’s David dressed like, “A real fireman boy,” as he said. He seemed a little let down by Trick or Treating this year. I don’t think it lived up to the huge expectations he’d built up in his imagination. He did end up with a pretty good supply of candy. And we’ve been arguing over how many pieces he can eat in one day ever since Saturday.
The night before Hall-O-Ween we finally carved our pumpkin.
It was supposed to be just a grinning Jack-O-Lantern, but David insisted it needed teeth. So we ended up with a pumpkin with three teeth, badly in need of a dental plan.
Earlier that evening we made our annual trip to the apple orchard. Apple picking season was well past, but there was still plenty for David to do. Apple orchards around West Michigan are sort of like little amusement parks.
The big tube slide. I think it’s made out of a huge sewer pipe, but it is really fast.
This is the “train”. A bunch of 50 gallon drums on wheels pulled by a lawn tractor. Kids love it!
This ground trampoline is always a big hit.
But the zip line was David’s favorite thing this year. He went on that several times. They had a hay ride and corn maze too, but we learned last year that both last longer than David’s patience, so we stayed away from those this time.
And that’s how we crammed a whole fall’s worth of activities into two days. Oh, and did I mention I was nauseous the whole time? I haven’t even felt like sneaking some of David’s Hall-O-Ween candy. Not even the chocolate.
One of my favorite fall traditions is visiting a local apple orchard that serves up fresh, hot doughnuts and cider. But you don’t have to leave home to enjoy this autumn snack. It’s easy and fun to make doughnuts at home. If you have older kids, it’s something the whole family can do together.
The ingredients you need for your doughnuts are:
2 eggs
2 tbs shortening
3/4 cup milk
3 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 – 3 cups vegetable oil
Additional white sugar or powdered sugar to coat the doughnuts
To start, you need a deep, heavy-bottomed pot and a candy thermometer that clips on the side of your pot.
Fill the pot with two to three cups of vegetable oil. You want to bring the temperature of the oil up to 375 degrees over medium heat, and maintain it there. Too hot and your doughnuts will burn. Too cool and your doughnuts will soak up the oil while they cook and be soggy.
While the oil heats stir up the batter. It should be mixed by hand, not with an electric mixer. Start by beating the eggs slightly with a fork in a large bowl. Add sugar, shortening and milk. Stir. Mix in flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Stir the nutmeg and cinnamon together in a separate bowl then add to the rest of the mixture. Dough will be slightly sticky and moist. I think it resembles biscuit dough.
Now you can turn the dough out on to a floured surface, roll and cut into rounds with a doughnut cutter. But it’s faster to just make doughnut holes by dropping rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into the oil. I like to use a small scoop.
So when the oil hits 375 degrees go ahead and drop your batter in. You can do three or four doughnut holes at a time depending on the size of your pot. Watch the temperature and adjust your burner as needed to maintain 375 degrees.
While your first doughnuts are cooking you can get two plates and fill one with white sugar and one with powdered sugar for rolling the finished doughnuts in.
The doughnut will float to the top when it’s ready to be turned. Flip and cook an additional 2-3 minutes on the other side. The doughnut should be a deep golden brown. Watch that they don’t start to burn.
Use a slotted spoon to remove the cooked doughnuts to paper towel to drain.
When the doughnuts are cool enough to handle, roll them in the white sugar or powdered sugar. Personally, I prefer the white sugar or no sugar at all.
Then enjoy while still fresh and warm!
Here’s an easy Cloth Pumpkin you can make in less than an hour.
Choose your fabric. Find a round object to trace. A dinner plate makes a small pumpkin.
Obviously the larger the object the larger the pumpkin. Cut out your circle.
Sew a running stitch all away the way around the edge of the circle. Use something strong, like three of four strands of embroidery floss.
After you’ve stitched completely around the circle place some stuffing in the center of it.
Pull on both ends of the thread to gather the fabric together around the stuffing. Tie the thread to hold the gather together. You can add more stuffing through the hole in the top to fill out the shape.
One you have the shape you want, get some twine. Wrap the twine around the ball four times, criss-crossing like tying a ribbon around a gift. Tie ends to secure. Trim off extra twine.
To make a stem break a small piece off a stick. Insert in the center of the pumpkin. Hot glue to secure.
On a piece of green felt draw a leaf “collar” that you will insert over the stem to cover the hole on the top.
Cut the leaves out. Cut a slit in the center so that it will slip over the stem.
Place the leaves over the stem. To make vines wrap some floral wire around a pencil.
Pull the wire off the pencil. It will be shaped like a spring.
Make two vines. Wrap them around the stem.
And there’s your pumpkin!
Today is one of those late summer days that feels like fall. The air is cool and crisp, the sunlight is muted by clouds. A few leaves have even turned and fallen to the ground already. With Autumn just around the corner, I’ve got pumpkins on my mind. It’s too early in the season to break out the pumpkin pie, but how about some Pumpkin bars? This recipe is from my mom.
Pumpkin Bar Recipe
2 eggs
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
Mix all ingredients together in order. Spread in a greased and floured 9×13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. After they cool, frost with cream cheese frosting. Then refrigerate. Slice into squares to serve.
Cream Cheese Frosting
1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the powdered sugar.
