The Anticipation of Fall - Making Caramel Apples, Pumpkin Bread + Cabbage & Kielbasa Soup Recipes + Fun Video

Late last week it was a tad bit cold. In the mountains they even got an inch of snow. This put Ellie and I into a Fall kind of mood. She and Kohlton decided they would welcome the new season with a bit of caramel apple creations.

Ellie tried out and liked these new little balls of caramel. I was skeptical, but I am now won over. I thought the caramel would be weird since it can be thinned with water. I like the fact that we no longer the tedious job of unwrapping small square caramels.

Ellie also assembled some fun toppings.

Kohlton had never made caramel apples, so Ellie taught him and he picked it up quickly.

Pumpkin Quick Bread

1 1/2 cups Pumpkin Puree
3/4 cup Applesauce
1 3/4 cups Sugar
3 eggs
3 cups All-Purpose Flour
3/4 tsp Baking Powder
3/4 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
3/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg
3/4 tsp Ground Allspice
3/4 tsp Ground Ginger
1/2 tsp Ground Cloves
Cooking Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9x5 loaf pans.

In a large bowl, mix together the pumpkin, applesuace, sugar, and eggs until well-incorporated. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Gradually pour into the pumpkin batter a little bit at a time, stirring after each addition until the mixture is well-blended. Be careful to not over
mix the batter.

Divide batter evenly between the loaf pans and bake for 45-60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle.

Allow to cool completely in pans before removing the bread. Run a knife around the edges of the bread in the pan to loosen. Store any remaining bread in plastic wrap.

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Last night we hung out with the Cure family and had a casual meal to go along with our visiting. They thought the Cabbage and Kielbasa soup was humble, I thought it was delicious:

Cabbage & Kielbasa Soup
Via: The Cure Family

1 large Yellow Onion, chopped
3 TBL. Olive Oil
1 ring (about 1 1/2 pound) Kielbasa Sausage ring, cut into pieces or diced
2 large Potatoes, or 6 New Red Potatoes, cubed
6 cups Chicken Stock
1 head Cabbage, chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste

Saute the onion and the kielbasa in hot oil in a soup pot until the onion is softened. Add the potatoes and stock. Simmer until the potatoes are cooked, about 30 min. Bring the soup to a boil and add the cabbage. Stir. Turn the heat to medium. Cook for about 5 minutes or more. The longer you simmer the soup, the more the cabbage will incorporate. If you make this in a crock pot, some of the cabbage will sort of dissolve or melt and begin to thicken the soup a bit. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a nice bread, such as thick slices of French bread.

I will add:
carrots
chopped apple
garlic
caraway
paprika
nutmeg
beer (maybe)

And finally, a little English Teacher fun:

November Arrives Cloaked in White

On Halloween evening I was thankful for the mild weather that allow the kids to have their fun without having to dress for the arctic. In Colorado Halloween can go either way. The adults think of the years where lovingly made costume creations were cloaked in layers of sweaters, parka, mismatch gloves and the first knit cap you could lay your paws on. When the night is so cold that the thin handle of your trick-or-treat pail feels like it is out for revenge. The kids are oblivious to such goings on. We send the kids out on their own, trusting that they would look out for each other, hoping that the wind would not whip tornadoes of leaves upon the cheery groups begging for the goods.

But soon enough Mother Nature let November slip out the door and into the night on quiet, padded cat's paws. November morn was quiet, but cradled a small promise of snow that evening. As October turned her coat tails to leave, the wind blew in, stirring up the leaves, hustling many of them down the street. We braced ourselves for cold rain during rush hour, but it waited until most of us were tucked in a home to begin the rain. It too started quietly enough, but soon changed its tune, with the rain drops turning chunky and chasing snow flakes. The rain eventually gave way to the snow that covered the night trees and roof tops with a few inches of graceful whiteness. We knew it was coming so we were prepared. The outdoor cat seemed to know it, too, as she kept asking for more dinner. Her bed lain in wait for her two houses down where she really lives, but she takes up residence in our back yard, sleeping under an overturned wheel barrow by the pond. Gone were the sounds of cracking branches that rang out with last week's storm. In its place was the gentle, soothing sound of snow brushing against the dry leaves that remain on our grape vines. The sky decided to match the mute white wonderland, not allowing blue to peak out of the horizon until late this afternoon.

I am thankful for the calm that comes with November. October was great fun, but also crazy busy. I will welcome more nights when I can put on my slippers and have a cozy evening a home.

What a Difference a Day Makes

This fall has been one of the most beautiful ones I can remember. As I drive, I try to take in the glow of the trees and the feeling of the season.

These are the scenes I witnessed as I drove around last Monday. Tuesday started just as nice and many of us began to disbelieve the forecast for a storm that would dump a major amount of snow starting that evening. When we went to bed it was just raining...

But this is what we woke up to. The morning started with at least five or six inches of snow, with more falling throughout the day.

Those glowy trees were noe dressed in a heavy blanket of snow.