Pumpkin Pancakes (GF)

I came up with this PUMPKIN PANCAKE recipe years ago and it remains a favorite in our house! Every Fall I wait for that first cold and rainy day and we have pumpkin pancakes for dinner! Paired with some bacon and homemade, baked apples, the meal couldn't be more cozy, more filling and it couldn't be easier to make! L likes to eat hers with her hands...with a couple apple slices folded inside of a pancake it's like a little taco! At times, I've made three or four huge pancakes, layered baked apples in-between, and served this up as a Pumpkin-Apple Cake! Such a yummy side to a fall soup or stew! 

You'd never know that the pancakes are low-fat. If you want to make them completely fat-free, replace the eggs with 3 egg whites. You can't even tell the difference! We make our pancakes with an all-purpose, Gluten-Free flour and they come out just fine. Go ahead and use whatever flour you fancy though...they'd be good with a whole wheat variety or your regular, unbleached white flour. 

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
dash of ginger and/or nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt 
2 eggs
1 cup plain, fat-free yogurt
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
1 box raisins (2 oz.) optional
3/4 cup milk or water

Mix dry ingredients thoroughly in a large mixing-bowl w/ hands or spatula.
In a separate bowl, combine eggs, pumpkin and liquid ingredients. Beat well.
Make a small well in center of dry ingredients and slowly beat in the liquid ingredients. Beat until contents are thoroughly mixed, but not too long. Add additional water to desired consistency. Stir in raisins with a spatula (optional).

Spray a large skillet lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Put over medium heat. Pan is ready when water droplets quickly sizzle and evaporate. 

Serves 2-3. Yummm!!! Enjoy!!!

DIY Citrus Stamps

How cute are these DIY CITRUS STAMPS we made this week? They really were simple to make and the outcome is adorable...perfect for Summer! L and I stamped t-shirts, tea towels, and a pillow case for her bed. Just think of the possibilities... You could use this stamping technique to brighten-up party invitations, gift bags, skirts, shorts, a tablecloth, shower curtain...the possibilities are endless (and sweet)! 

Materials needed:

-an orange, lemon, & lime

-tea towels, t-shirts, etc.

-knife

-acrylic or fabric paints

-flat, plastic lids or plates

-paper towels

-parchment paper

If you need to, iron your tea towels or t-shirts first! Protect your work area with parchment paper. (Usually I use cardboard or old newspapers for projects, but with this one I didn't want the texture of the cardboard to effect the stamping and I didn't want newspaper to discolor my cloth. Parchment paper was perfect!)

Next, cut your orange, lemon and lime in half with a sharp knife. If you like to, cut a little "handle" in each fruit half...makes stamping easier, especially for kids!

Turn the fruit over onto a paper towel, to soak up some of the juice from the fruits.

Next, squirt your paints onto plastic lids or plates.

Dip the sliced fruit into the paint. Blot it onto a paper towel, if there appears to be too much paint.

And press the fruit gently onto your cloth. Too easy, right!?

We experimented and made some of our tea towels patterned, while others we stamped randomly. The random was definitely our favorite...a little more carefree, like all things "summer" should be!

If you have some prints that are more solid looking (a bit too much paint), don't fret...just overlap another fruit in another color on top! It will look like you planned it that way all along!

Instead of stamping an entire tablecloth, you can just stamp tea towels and overlap them as we did here. Looks great on their own or with a solid tablecloth underneath!

Too cute, huh!?! Enjoy!!!

Patricia Polacco's THUNDER CAKE RECIPE

"Grandma looked at the horizon, drew a deep breath and said, 'This is Thunder Cake baking weather, all right. Looks like a storm coming to me.'"

If you haven't read the book "Thunder Cake" by Patricia Polacco, get yourself to the library or a local book store and get your hands on a copy pronto...you and your kids will love it! The story centers around the author and her grandmother (her Babushka) and the summer storms she feared as a little girl, at her grandmother's farm in Michigan. I've loved reading this book ever since I was a little girl and now L adores it as well. 

With the summer heat and thunderstorms we've been having lately, I decided it was definitely time to try our hand at baking some real Thunder Cake for ourselves! It's fun to make memories with your little ones and read this book as your Thunder Cake is baking in the oven...the perfect activity for a lazy, stormy, summer afternoon. It really seems like magic to smell the chocolaty cake baking in your own home as the little girl and her Babushka are putting theirs into the oven as well!

The recipe calls for 1 cup of shortening; we used what we had -- 2 sticks of butter  -- and the result was still wonderful! With the secret ingredient of pureed tomatoes, the flavor of this chocolate cake is very unique, but very moist and delectable as well. I suggest serving your Thunder Cake with extra strawberries...they pair so well with the hint of tomato and make the desert complete! 

As instructed in the book:
Cream together, one at a time...
1 cup shortening (or 2 sticks of softened butter)
1 3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs, separated (Blend yolks in. Beat whites until they are stiff, then fold in after the tomatoes.)
1 cup cold water
1/3 cup fresh, pureed tomatoes

Sift together...
2 1/2 cups cake flour (We used all-purpose, Gluten Free flour.)
1/2 cup dry cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Mix dry mixture into creamy mixture.
Bake in two greased and floured 8 1/2-inch round pans at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. 
Frost with chocolate butter frosting. Top with strawberries.

We used this chocolate buttercream frosting recipe because I had all the ingredients on hand and it was quick and easy. Feel free to use your favorite chocolate buttercream recipe in its place! 

Enjoy!!!

Polacco, Patricia. "Thunder Cake." New York: Scholastic Inc., 1990. Print. 

GF Strawberry Jam Scones

This quick, easy, absolutely delectable, melt-in-your-mouth recipe for GF STRAWBERRY JAM SCONES is adapted from Parents' "Jammy Scones." One of the best things about them is you probably already have all the ingredients in your cupboard! L and I whipped up these GF STRAWBERRY JAM SCONES one afternoon while WB took a nap. It was our first time making scones and was a big success!!! 

It's hard not to devour them all hot out of the oven! I had to hurry up and take a picture before they were gone! GF STRAWBERRY JAM SCONES are such a yummy breakfast on these chilly, winter mornings. If you make them the day before, just pop them in the oven for a minute or two to warm them up! Add a cup of coffee or tea...pure heaven!!!

Ingredients:
2 cups flour (I use Arrowhead Mills GF flour) 
3 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cold
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 - 1/3 cup strawberry jam
egg wash (1 egg whisked with 1 1/2 tsp milk)

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a med-large bowl mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut the butter into small cubes and add it to the flour mixture. Using your hands, mix, squeeze and crumble the mixture together until it's crumbly.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and milk. Add the egg and milk to the flour mixture. Stir with a fork until evenly moist and the dough comes together.

Next, pour the mixture out on a floured surface and with flour on your hands, knead dough together. Separate the dough in half. Roll each half into a ball and then press flat with your hands. Makes about a 7 or 8-inch disk. 

Transfer one disk to the cookie sheet. Spread the strawberry jam over the disk leaving a half-inch border. Lay the second disk on top of the first and pinch around the edges to seal them. 

Carefully, cut the dough into 8 equal wedges and spread them apart a bit on the tray. Leave about 1 inch of space between the scones. Brush the tops with the egg wash. If you don't have a brush, use a spoon to gently spread the egg wash around. If you want a little heart on top of each scone, gently press a mini-cookie cutter about 1/4-inch deep on top of each scone. So cute!!!

Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes, until the scones are gently browned. (Better brew some coffee or tea while you're waiting!) Let cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely. 

This is when you think you'll just take a teeny tiny taste of one and before you know it an entire STRAWBERRY JAM SCONE has disappeared! Good thing you had some coffee or tea ready to complete the moment! Enjoy!!!