A Perfect Day For Baking

Having my 5 month old in a bassinet next to me every night, I'm pretty used to rude awakenings in the wee hours. However this morning, it was not my son's cry that woke me, but thunder, glorious thunder. If you're from around here, you know rain is like liquid gold these days, so I didn't mind the sleep interruption. It actually was a great start to my day. Since we were up early, we were able to make 8:00 am church, which is a feat in itself for us. After church I decided to bake some pumpkin bread (one of my favorite fall treats) for a late breakfast. 65 degree weather, rain, pumpkin bread, coffee and lots of snuggles from my little man...who could ask for a cozier Sunday morning?

Pumpkin Bread

Lone Star Legacy Cookbook

3 c sugar, 3 1/2 c flour, 2 tsp baking soda, 1 1/2 tsp salt, 2 1/2 tsp each cinnamon and nutmeg

 1 c oil, 4 eggs, 2 c canned pumpkin, 3/4 c water, 1 tsp vanilla

 In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, oil, eggs, and pumpkin.

 Sift dry ingredients together and add to sugar mixture, alternating with water.

 1 c chopped pecans optional, but I love nuts, so I add them. A tip from my friend Joan, toast the nuts for extra flavor. Add nuts just before pouring batter into bundt pan.

 Pour batter into lightly greased bundt pan. I love this fall bundt pan from Williams Sonoma.

I garnished mine with some sifted powdered sugar and oak leaves. 

Voila`, sinfully yummy breakfast!

F is for Fall

Fall is my absolute favorite time of year. It's the kick-off to the holiday season, which makes me totally giddy. It's hard for me to say which holiday is my favorite, because I love them all so much, but I'm a sucker for Halloween and all things pumpkin. I always get my decorations up early, and usually add to them as the month progresses. This year I'm extra excited about Halloween because I have my little pumpkin, and though he's still too young to appreciate all of the decor and festivities, I can't wait to share my love of this season with him. (Not to mention how excited I am about his first trip to the pumpkin patch and his first costume- but that's another post for another day).

Last weekend we had a lovely fall day (to us Texans, that's a sunny, breezy, 80 something day) and I thought it was the perfect time to hike up the attic stairs to dig out my Halloween treasures. After I got everything up in the house I headed to out to find some pumpkins to decorate with outside. Like I said, I will continue to put more up, but here's what I have for now.