Pump it Up

Ok... repeat after me.... I have everything under control. Life has been pretty wild the past few weeks on my side of the fence. The parents came up, the house cleaning and settling commenced, work got wicked busy, and I had my mind blown last weekend at a nutrition seminar.

Take your Omega-3s... like a lot of them, everyday. But I won't get into that now :)

Long story short... to any of you that successfully balance work, play, baking, the internet, personal relationships and still smile... my hat goes off to you. You are my hero, complete with a fancy cape and a giant whisk emblem on your chest :) Hopefully I can ride shotgun with you eventually. I bought a daily planner the other day, so I'm on my way...

So I'm going to enter this post with something you've all had probably waaay too many of lately. Pumpkin recipes. You know you love 'em. It makes me wonder though... do markets even sell pumpkin during other times of the year? I think that same Libby can sits on the shelf from March until September or October. Pumpkin pie in spring? While I'd still eat it, it would feel a little weird I guess :)

I wanted to throw together a quick cookie recipe, so I simply shot this from the hip. I took a few of my favorites spices and mixed them together, and as I was doing it, I had an idea.

I've never in my life bought pumpkin pie spice... (does anyone?) or apple pie spice. I've always had those individual spices around the house for savory and baking dishes, so the thought was always a little silly to me. Plus, we always kinda "cloved up" our pumpkin pies, so it's nice having that kind of control.

So here I am, adding in some ginger, and... sure some cinnamon, and some.... *turns head away not paying attention*

Dude, is that garam malasa? That's kinda cinnamon spiced... that'll be either really wild, or wildy terrible :) You only live once... according to non-karma based religions.

And that's my story :)

Warning... Pictures taken hastily at work while being devoured by patients and staff... I apologize for the off color... it's tough taking pics during the day when it's dark when you get up :)



Mixing and Not Paying Attention Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Dr. Adam
-1/4 cup butter, melted
-1/2 cup packed brown sugar
-1/2 granulated sugar
-1 tsp vanilla
-1 egg
-3/4 cup canned mashed pumpkin

-1 3/4 cups AP flour
-1/2 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1/2 tsp ginger
-1/2 tsp garam masala
-1/4 tsp salt

-2 cups or so chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350*. Use parchment paper (love this stuff) or grease your sheet pans. In a large bowl, add the sugars and melted butter together. Mix until smooth, and add the egg, vanilla extract, and pumpkin. Continue mixing with a wooden spoons until brown satiny smooth.

In a separate bowl, or just added to the wet bowl... add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and garam masala if using. Gently stir together until no lumps remain and it is combined well. Add in the chocolate chips, and fold in gently.

Spoon by tablespoonfuls onto your cookie sheets, leaving some room for spreading and baking. These spread more upwards than anything. Bake on the center rack for 10 or so minutes, or until they spring back when pressed. Cool completely on a wire rack. Makes about 30 cookies.


So you're thinking... what's it like with that out of the ordinary spice in there? It works. It's possible I could of maybe upped it a little bit more to 1 teaspoon to make it more pronounced... but I dig it. I think it adds a little confusion, a little spark to the same old spice cookie. All I have to do now is add some molasses next time and it'll be guitar hero quality.

Once again, thank everyone so very much for your warm thoughts and compliments on my new home. It's actually really homey now, and I'm taking a little each Sunday off to work on it just a little bit. It might take a full year, but I'll get her up to speed soon enough :)

I'll be around to visit soon, and until then... all my best :)