Having Tea and Good Times in Boulder with Ethan + Emily's Monkey Bread Breakfast + Pecan Sticky Monkey Bread + Pumplin Pie Overnight Oats Recipes

Here is a post I started when Ethan was still home. In the crazy of being so busy, I never posted it:

Since I have not seen Ethan since March, and once he leaves again, I will not see him until Christmas, I decided to take a day off and spend it with him. I had been gathering ideas for what we would do when this day happened and so I was excited to put it into action.

Our first stop was to have tea and lunch at the Dashanbe Tea House in Boulder.

Natalie and I had brunch there one day and I know that Ethan would love it. After all, he is an adventerous foodie.

We enjoyed conversation, a fabulous lunch and several pots of different kinds of tea. It is a great place, but speedy service is not something they can brag about, so we were there for a few hours. It was all fine with us.

Then I took him over to the The Two Hands Paperie so that he could finally see why I love that place. He was happy to find a few new styles of his favorite Field Guide tiny notebooks and bought a few.

It also happen to be the same afternoon that Deedee Hampton, an narrative assemblage artist and Two Hands teacher happen to be in the middle of an Artist's Visit, complete with a little make-it-and-take-it project. I really enjoyed the pieces she had available. Each one is rich with stories about what the items mean and how she managed to come across them. I imagine that her house must be fun and colorful. Talking with her was inspiring. It made me wish that I had the tin working tools at home so that I could go home and make an assemblage, too.

It was also a lot of fun to make a small, tin bird.

We also did a bit of shopping in the Fjall Raven Scandinavian Hiking Goods store. He was thrilled when he discovered a wonderful daypack in the clearance room for a great price.

We also stopped at McGukin's Hardware store where he found a number of items on his shopping list, including a portable hammack and a Kuhl shirt that he loved.


Later in the week Ethan went on a day long biking adventure with Emily and another shipmate who happened to be in town. She also came over to make and share breakfast with us one morning.
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Emily, Ethan's favorite cook from the boat and a great friend, came over on Sunday morning to help us make breakfast. She specifically wanted to make her Monkey Bread since Ethan loves it. We had a great, silly time together.

She generously shared the recipe with us.

You cut up four containers of canned biscuits and toss them in a cinnamon sugar mixture.

Then she made a praline type sauce which was poured over all of the biscuits.

It bakes in the oven at 350 degrees until it is done. You have to be sure to turn it out of the pan soon after it is done so that it does not stick.

This is an unrelated cute picture of Ellie with some of the little kids at school. I just wanted to share that one.

Here's Emily's recipe:

Emily's Pecan Sticky Monkey Bread

4 cans Biscuit Dough
6 TBL Sugar
2 TBL Cinnamon, ground

1/4 cup Water
1/2 cup Butter
1 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Pecans, chopped
1 TBL Cinnamon

Preheat the overto 350 degrees.

Combine the cinnamon and sugar then place in a low flat dish, like a 9" x 9" pan or a pie plate. Cut the biscuits into 1/4ths and roll each chunk in the cinnamon & sugar mixture. Pile these in a bunt pan.

Make the praline style sauce by dissolving the sugars in the hot water. Add in the butter. Stir to melt and combine. Cook until it has thickened into a syrup consistency. Add in the cinnamon and pecans. Stir to combine. Pour over the flavored biscuit dough.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Serve immediately. Emily sets out toothpicks to make it easy for everyone to take individual pieces.

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Ellie and Kohlton also enjoy the following recipe for breakfast:

Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats
via: The Pink Sprinkle

1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 TBS 100% maple syrup

In a medium bowl combine all ingredients and stir well.
Pour into two half-pint jars or one pint size jar and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.
Serve cold or warm slightly in the microwave or on the stove.
Top with half and half, chopped pecans, or a drizzle of maple syrup.