pumpkin bread recipe

{chocolate chip pumpkin bread in the center}

Sarah was asking for my pumpkin bread recipe. We added chocolate chips to this batch, but it is also delicious plain. If you want to make pumpkin butter as well, I've blogged it before, here and here. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Bread (from the Chinaberry cookbook)

1 1/2 c. sugar
1 2/3 c. flour
1/4 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
3/4 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. cloves
1/2 t. nutmeg
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1/2 c. water
1 c. canned pumpkin
1/2 c. coarsely chopped nuts if desired (we used chocolate chips instead)

Preheat oven to 325. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Combine the wet ingredients in a smaller bowl, then combine with the dry ingredients. Fold in any add-ins you are using. Bake in two smallish loaf pans for 50 minutes.

I put this into the "recipe builder" for Weight Watchers and it came out to 6 points per slice if making 16 large slices. High, but that is to be expected for a baked good. Worth it! I used some of my "weekly" points.

the autumn equinox

{equinox tea}

{carrot oatmeal cookies}

{favorite cucumber sandwiches}

We celebrated the autumn equinox on Sunday with a little tea. The boys and I baked in the morning we sat down to our tea about 2 o'clock. It was sad without any of the teens there! We carried on without them, though. I texted Faith and she said she was sad to miss the cucumber sandwiches. We had an uncharacteristically fallish day, with the sun not peeking out and the temps staying cool all day. So cozy and fallish!

The carrot cookies were delicious, but the boys didn't like theirs. I think the taste of the fresh grated ginger was too strong for them. Next time I'll just use ground ginger.

enjoying right now

Welcoming canned pumpkin season! We made our first loaf of pumpkin bread this weekend.

Making coffee. My mom got me this red coffee filter for my birthday and I'm loving it. It's by far the easiest method when making coffee for one.

Changing out the toy baskets in the boys' room. These Eric Carle sewing cards are another gift from my mom. So pretty!

The fall zinnias!

Welcoming autumn.

Hanging pictures in the entryway.

My new dala horse from my friend Carrie. I love it, Carrie, thank you!

What are you currently enjoying?

popsicle party!

{jumping together}

{popsicle lovers}

{sensory table}

{breaking the ice blocks}

{scavenger hunt coloring sheets}

{picking a leaf for the scavenger hunt}

{a friend}

The late-summer popsicle party--is it becoming a yearly tradition?

This year's party was much bigger than the first. Ken did most of the work--making super cute hand drawn invitations and hand drawn scavenger-hunt coloring sheets, clearing the yard of any random roots or thorns that might be tripped over, and making colored ice blocks with gemstones hiding inside. I cleaned up inside (a plus of having a party is that even though it's a lot of work, you do end up with a clean house and yard afterward), made a cheese ball, shopped for popsicles, and cut up a bunch of raw veggies.

We're not really party people or super-social generally, but we do like to do these family-oriented parties for the boys' sake. We can model being social and neighborly--and it's just fun! Last year's party was way more mellow and intimate. This year's was big and raucous, but I can honestly say the kids seemed to have a blast and the parents were saying, "you guys throw the best parties!" One dad was commenting how nice it is to throw a party "just because" rather than for a specific occasion or birthday. I couldn't agree more--to me this is much nicer than a birthday party--no gifts, no weird stress for the birthday child--it just low pressure and fun.

This was so successful, it look's like we're going to do a soup party in a couple months!

doing weight watchers

{dinner sides}

{breakfast}

I had a very good first week on Weight Watchers and was excited to lose 3.4 pounds at the first weigh-in. The program is very healthy and, despite my big week-1 loss, I'm aiming to do it very slowly and try to adopt a true, healthy lifestyle change which will remain permanent. I have 10 pounds to lose (total) and my friend that I'm doing it with has 40 to lose, so we are in it for the long haul. I find maintenance to be the hardest part, so that will be my real area of challenge and focus after I've reached my goal.

A couple little things I'm enjoying:

:: Laying out a bunch of healthy sides at the dinner table, to be enjoyed by all and that add no points to my Weight Watchers day. I'm loving the "free" fruit element to the updated program. It really promotes healthy snacking!

:: A poached egg breakfast. The one above consists of a poached egg (2 points), a bagel thin (3 points), a teaspoon of Earth Balance (1 point) and a side of slow roasted tomatoes (0 points). I made the slow roasted tomatoes by slicing the tomatoes in half, drizzling with a tiny bit of olive oil and some basil, and roasting in the oven on its lowest setting all night. They become very dense, sweet and yummy. (I don't count the drizzle of olive oil, but I should). In lieu of a roasted tomato, I use a sliced fresh tomato. They are so good coming out of the garden right now!

a short camping trip

{playing in the creek}

{trailmix--our custom blend}

{running around the campsite}

{view from the tent}

{having his s'more}

{campfire}

{evening cocoa}

{playing in the tent}

{for real-time camping inspiration}

We went on a very quick (less than 24 hour) camping trip this weekend. Our first ever! The boys loved it. We kept things very simple and went to a pretty campground not too far from home. We kept the food simple too--bratwurst, beans, and so forth. I wanted to let this be an easy trial run, just to see how we'd all fare. My favorite part was how happy the boys were with it all. They loved running around outdoors and playing in the tent. They required no entertainment. And they asked when we were going back next, and if we could stay longer next time. I was worried that no one would sleep, but we did surprisingly well on air mattresses with comforters and sleeping bags layered over. It was actually really cozy, and we all slept better than I anticipated.

One thing I especially noticed was that after returning home, they played happily and creatively for a long time with no need for the grownups to intervene. I saw them playing with the farm and gnomehouse, the wooden trucks, finger puppets and a sock puppet. I think the outdoor time gave them a fresh perspective on their toys and helped them settle in more happily than usual.

scenes from a random monday night

{reviewing the recipes}

{a bunch of fall leaves, off the apple tree}

{dieter's school work}

{playing with his lightsabers}

{dinner}

{dinnertime boy}

I never got around to posting these on Monday, so here are some Monday scenes on Friday. This is how the evening looked that night, plus a family walk. It was dark by the time we got home. Although it looks calm and peaceful in the photos, any weeknight for a working mama is a bit busy and frantic feeling. Making time for the walk certainly helped.

The chicken also had a yummy cucumber and yogurt sauce. I was able to use homemade yogurt and a home grown cucumber, which is always fun. Here's the recipe:

1/2 cup yogurt
1/2 cup peeled and diced cucumber
a radish, finely diced
1 T. mayo
some grated lemon peel
a good squeeze of lemon juice
a pinch of garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste, with a dash of paprika

This is also delicious over salmon.

some scenes from the weekend

{a weight watchers breakfast}

{september nature table freshen-up}

{zinnias--rainer loves to cut them and bring them in from the garden}

{fondue!}

{brothers}

{grating beeswax}

{lipbalms}

{sunday dinner}

It was Faith's last weekend here. Her dad is driving her up to Santa Cruz tomorrow, and Jacob is heading up there pretty soon as well. We had a little "fondue send off" party for them. Faith and I also had an "off to college" mani-pedi on Saturday, which is something we never do. It was really fun.

The boys and I also made the lip balm from issue 1 of Action Pack. We are still having fun working our way through that issue. We ended up with way more lip balm than I had intended, but I reminded myself that the boys really had fun and what's the harm in having too much lip balm? We had a little chunk of beeswax onhand and we didn't have to buy anything new for it, so it was just a fun project. Today I saw Rainer go to the fridge to get some lipbalm and I thought that was very cute.

I loved this Weight Watchers breakfast I got from the booklet they give you when you join: whole grain flakes (I like Heritage flakes), milk, some nuts, one apple and one banana, diced, and a sprinkling of cinnamon over all. Delicious! I'd love to hear your favorite Weight Watchers tips and tricks if you have any.

what's on your september mood board?

I got a chance to totally clean off and re-do my inspiration board in the studio, and it felt SO good. Even though the change of seasons is subtle here, especially in the fall, I do so love to honor them in little ways that I can. In doing this moodboard, I felt drawn to images of home and domesticity, children's rooms, fall dressing, and late summer produce.

Feeling and doing in September this year . . .

• hot days and cool nights
  
• back to school
  
• lots of produce coming in from the yard
• new school supplies and shoes for the boys
• shorter days
• Weight Watchers and a walking program for me
• moving out the teens

How is your September shaping up so far?

a room for dieter and rainer!

{bed and desk}


{baskets with toys}


{beds, with room for playing in between}


{dieter's bed}



We are SO excited that Dieter and Rainer have their own room now. Excited and grateful. Both Ben and Faith are off to college this year, but Ben's college started much earlier than Faith's, so we have already been able to convert his room. Hooray! It is such a joy to see these boys sleeping and playing in, and enjoying their own little space. This is not a "designed" children's room, but I thought I'd post it anyway, just to put it out there. We do have a strong notion that we want to leave it uncluttered. Most of their toys are still in the bins in the living room, and that's how we like it. They can bring a bin into their room for quiet play, and then clean it up and put it away at night. Other than that, we don't have any real plans for the room. Curtains are very controversial in this house, so we probably won't be doing that. I would like to hang some artwork and maybe a garland on the wall.

Some notes about the furniture: Ken brought down from northern California the old beds he and his sister used to sleep on in the 50's. The desk is from Pottery Barn Kids purchased on sale several years ago for Faith (she never used it much, but it's perfect for the boys), the bookcase is from Ikea, purchased a few years ago for Ben--again, never used much, the baskets are new from Ikea. The little white dressers are from Target, purchased when the boys were infants. Not great, but they'll do. It is a happy coincidence that they fit perfectly in the closet.