Only that which I can

So much to blog about... too much in fact. But rather than sweating the small stuff, I'll happily report what I can when I can. Deal? Deal. :)

...

Amanda and I made some yummy sea salt caramel hard candies - it's a fabulous combination. Amanda was SO happy for this activity. She's our resident Food Network enthusiast, rattling off its celebrities and signature dishes:


Here they are, carefully packaged away to share:


And some photos from a typical day of homeschooling:


You see the piggy bank? That's there because she's learning how to count back money in Math, and we just finished up a lesson. She says she likes money {don't we all}. The stash of Multigrain Cheerios belongs to Abigail, her hush money when she is feeling squirrely before we're done with the activity at hand. Under the elephant card you can see Abigail's version of what Amanda's been doing - big sis' activities are very popular with the Abber-Stombers. (That's her nickname du jour)

Amanda's subject of choice, History, has us exploring the New World with Christopher Columbus:


(date stamp from Britt-ish Designs' Date Stamped Vol. 2)

They say the teacher learns more than the student. It's just been one grand adventure; we weather a few storms here and there to be rewarded with some amazing views of life.

Pumpkin streusel muffins with orange glaze

Early February, we went to a Home & Garden Show at the Idaho Center, where Amanda planted a single pumpkin seed in a styrofoam cup and brought it home. That seed nearly took over our pathetic summer vegetable garden and produced some humongous pumpkins. We had all kinds of pumpkin delicacies until we couldn't take it anymore. So we made pumpkin puree and froze it. A lot of it.

Fast forward almost 11 months: we made pumpkin streusel muffins today. Yum. I always cut down on the sugar, and replace a third of the white flour with wheat, and I usually get great tasting, more nutrient dense results. This time, I tripled the recipe and it didn't come out sweet enough. Soooooo, I drizzled an orange glaze over the muffins to compensate. Thankfully, that was a good save.

We shared with various neighbors.

Incidentally, pumpkin is very high in beta-carotene and potassium, not to mention a good source of magnesium and iron.

Yum.

The recipe:

Pumpkin streusel muffins with orange glaze

1/4 c margarine or butter, softened
1/2 c sugar
1/4 c packed brown sugar
2/3 c cooked pumpkin or canned pumpkin
1/2 c buttermilk
2 eggs
2 tblsp molasses
1 tsp orange zest
2 c all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp salt

streusel topping
1/3 c flour
3 tblsp brown sugar
2 tblsp cold margarine or butter

orange glaze
3/4 c powdered sugar
1-1/2 tblsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp orange zest

1. In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and sugars.
2. Add the next 5 ingredients; stir to mix well.
3. Mix together the dry ingredients; gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and stir until just combined.
4. Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups 2/3 full with batter.
5. For streusel topping: mix together the flour and brown sugar; cut in the margarine with a pastry blender (or two knives) until it resembles coarse meal.
6. Sprinkle evenly over each muffin batter.
7. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until tests done.
8. To prepare glaze, combine powdered sugar, lemon juice and orange zest in a bowl, stirring with a whisk. Use a fork to drizzle glaze over cooled muffins.

Makes 12 muffins.

Christmas Tree of Cupcakes

On a quiet evening in mid-December, Amanda and I felt inspired to make something. Poking around the pantry and fridge produced some Cool-Whip, cake mix, and gel coloring. So we made a Christmas Tree of Cupcakes. We used some Ziploc freezer bags to mix the coloring into the Cool Whip, and then we snipped off a corner so Amanda could put the pink ornaments on the cupcakes.

This can be easily adapted to any occasion: daisy, sun, heart for Valentine's Day, etc.

(click on photos for larger images)