Killer Pumpkin Bars~

I bought this little teapot..about 100 years ago..I fell in love with it because it was ..so cute..like a  table,with the tablecloth and tassel..and tea set..all perfectly placed atop♥
I guess I never got over having my own little tea parties as a child (nothing like we see today mind you with tiara'd princesses and boas and linens and china and crystal).
I think I served them on my square "Cowboy motif in the corners" small card table with the 4 red metal foldable chairs ..it must have been my brothers..Cause I wasn't the comboy type.But we were far from rich..so some things.. back then had to be shared.Like my bedroom with my brother for a few yrs..
My doll had a canopy bed.. (I want that thing back..still have a small wicker cradle though:))..wonder why a little table and chair set..wasn't around..
So anyways..guess seeing that tea set.. I just had to have it..and still do.
Which brings me to the purpose actually of this post..
I got sidetracked..
These Killer Pumpkin Bars~
My friend Linda asked me if I had ever made these..that her kids had loved them..(now big boys..)..I had never..and wanted a different little dessert for our Thanksgiving table..so I thought ..:"let me try them"~
How nice is that in the first place..Linda's been absent from her blog in a little while..so I feel like I have my own personal How To Cook A Wolf  correspondant:)
The link in Linda's name leads you to another of her excellent recipes..her Pumpkin Loaf..:)
But here are her..

Killer Pumpkin Bars~

La Recette


2 cups of sugar
1 cup of butter room temp
2 cups canned pumpkin  ( one 15ozs can)
4 eggs room temp
2 cups flour
2 tsps baking soda
1 tsp each cinnamon,nutmeg,allspice ginger, 1/2 to 1/4 tsp of ground cloves..(She only uses 1/4 tsp of ground cloves)
1/2 tsp salt.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Lightly grease a 15x10 1/2 x 1 inch pan ..a jelly roll pan.

This is the one I used.. it's 1/2 inch discrepancy made no difference.It's the first USA pan I have  owned and used..This one was a gift..and I am over the moon w/ the quality..weight..feel and performance of it~

Sift flour ,baking soda spices and salt together..set aside
Cream butter and sugar until smooth.
Add pumpkin and eggsbeat until smooth.
Add dry ings and mix until well combined.
Spread mixture into pan.Bake for ap 25 mins pr until center of cake springs back (mine too 30 min)
Cool completely and frost

Icing..
3 ozs cream cheese room temp
1 stick butter room temp
1 tsp vanilla (I used vanilla bean paste..love the dots)
1/2 tsp of Orange zest..she didn't and I didn'y
2 cups powdered sugar
Beat until smooth

Add Brach's Candy Corn as a decoration:)  kids loves those..you don't need them..

These bars are cake like..dense and moist.They freeze beautifully.
Thank you LINDA.
These are so good.
Perfect for the Thanksgiving dessert table:)
Or all fall with a cup of tea~♥
My peach Christmas Cactus is just about to pop..there will be pale yellow undertones to the peach..Unique:)♥
Easiest plants to grow..  they should bloom 2-3 times a yr for you.
Hope you give the bars and the cactus a try..
Some indoor joy~

The fragrance of the rose always lingers in the hand that gives it~

MMMMushroomy..beany soup~

Sometimes I see a recipe..like those apple tartlets..and just by looking at it..I know I'll love it..One of my daughters Pinned a recipe..and I thought:"YES"!
Will love..
And I did..
It was posted in 2011!
You can find the delicious White Bean And Mushroom Soup recipe here.

I apologize for not retyping and adding links..but since Blogger changed last yr..I have been unable to copy and paste without thick white distracting lines..Must be my dark charcoal background.
I tried..because I know FG needs a recipe..And I thought it was fun to FG..but my Blogger just cannot do it..
I'm not going to stop sharing :) So thanks for your understanding~

Back to the soup..Roasting the Mushrooms..Onions..Garlic and herbs..just puts this little hearty soup in a different mushroom soup category..
I had white navy beans(sounds so oxymoronish)..so I used those..  and I drained them.. :)  Had to..  force of habit..the rest..the same.
Hope you try it.
One of my daughters..the one who actually PInned this first:).. did and loved it also..next time she is adding more mushrooms..me too:)

I love that raccoon.
He's just the most  perfect pet raccoon you could ever have.

It's that time of year again..
My outdoor plants bid me ADIEU..
My indoor plants bid me BONJOUR~
The Christmas Cacti..Whites..Pale Pinks..Dark Pinks and Corals~
They light up my life..
Not like my pet raccoon at all..
and no..he would not eat that soup..
But nevertheless..
The indoor plants..ease the transition..from Abundance..to none..indoors~♥
Easiest bloomin'plants to grow indoors!
Have a great weekend~
Can you tell it's chilled up here?
The soup proves it:)

A Perfect 10~

 A perfect 10~


I know I have said that before..but I do ..only when ..it is a perfect 10..
Without any notes on my part..
This recipe..has a small  note..I added vanilla sugar and cardamom:)and used the apples I had on hand..Honeycrisps..
That's it!

I don't think halving it counts..
and even if it does..?
Well.. it halves perfectly:)

You will find the recipe here..for these fabulous Apple Cake Tartlets...
Bonus travel pics!

Try this recipe:)
It is undeniably perfect.
The next day if you leave your tarts  sous cloche they will have softened..but the exquisite taste remains.

The weather is hanging in there..still more leaves to fall but a lot of our garden chores are coming to an end..Amazingly some things I am cutting back..well it seems downright sacreligious~
Nepeta Catmint is full full and blooming..hated to snip it off..Some roses.. nasturtiums..Those I am still saving..and I brought in some geraniums to see if I can overwinter them.
More mess..I seem to look for trouble with wintering my plants.
But I get attached to each and every plant I grow indoors ♥You care for them and watch them all progress..
We have 2 huge Ficus trees I will finally let go of after 30 yrs:( They are too big and too messy with their sap.
The room will look bare..This coming Spring..:(

I wish my daughter's friend still lived where that view is....So sweet.
My friend Nancy came for lunch..She is in Paris as I type..she brought me roses..and carnations.The roses reminded me of the color of apples..the outer peel that lovely shade of red..and the inside..creamy ...
From a very cute and popular  Tea Room she visited  when she lived here.
Need I say I miss her too?
That's the thing about  certain special  people that move away ..physically..
When you see them again..all the warmth is there..it never goes away.
And it makes you wish they had just stayed put...
We had macarons when she came ..  for dessert that is..and I had bought them..
But I think she would have fancied a little tart also.
Pretty soon all the leaves will have fallen  and things around here will be quite monochrome..
A black and white movie instead of technicolor~
The heat went on for the first time this AM..


To every thing there is a season~

Glowing~

Our streets and yards are literally glowing.. the difference between November..bare and bleak compared to October and it's rich clothing..is quite unbelievable..so we soak all this in..knowing full well what is to come.
Never do I drive up our street or into town without being filled with gratitude for nature...at this time of yr..of course I say that in Spring when the soft green leaves emerge.. when the apple blossoms bloom..the lilacs..the ditch lilies..  and freshly fallen snow..it's the in betweens and dead of winters with snow up to the doors..shoveling..ugh...that leave me  craving scenes like these~

A neighbor's ghost..well I just liked the simplicity of it against their beautiful  century home..and his bicycle being ready for him to leave after Halloween:)
So many cute decorations here and there..adds whimsy to an old town.
Our lone little swing as really only Oli uses swings now..:(
I also wanted to share a terrifically easy recipe that has become a favorite in our homes..
I've shown you the before and after..
This is a Ricardo recipe.

 Shrimp and Merguez Couscous~
It's absolutely delicious..and so easy to prepare
The photos do not do this meal justice~

I have made modifications since making it 3 times..I like to serve the dish in the warm casserole..
I use more onion and garlic..more olive oil..I used purple cauliflower the 3 times..
I am very generous with the lemon at the end and additional oil..I have added the oil also from our roasting of red peppers..Taste..make sure you season well..the shrimps are only added at the end..and the sausages cut up only at the end also..I don't use a baking sheet:)
I hope you try it..it's basically a one dish meal full of flavor and color..you simply cook your couscous apart and you know how long that takes.. 5 minutes:)  You can keep everything in a warm oven for a bit..so the dish is warm..use warm plates..the juices from the merguez  combine so well with the paprika..couscous..
I had this when my friend came for lunch and she loved it too♥
We all agree it looks so appetizing on the table too.~
Enjoy~

And then the rains came~....Today~
Bon Weekend~

La Fin Des Jardins~

The gardens are almost all put to sleep apart from the ones at the very front of the house..there has been no frost here.. so I am leaving them until they look really really bad..I can't tell you how many trailer fulls..and wheelbarrows have been filled and hauled..
Not to mention leaf blowing.. almost every day..and the next morning a carpet out back again..the 3 century old maples just love to wall to wall us~ Oh but they are glory through the windows and reflecting on all things glass near them..~
Saturday was beautiful so I went to the market again..bought 2 little signs from an artist I favor~
The cyclist weathervane....well she just made me smile~:)To put that somewhere would add such whimsy.
Made Moomie Buns for pulled pork sandwiches..Did them in the machine..baked in the oven..
A friend inspired me to try oil paints..my mom was a fabulous painter..Fabulous..as in a master.I love her work..Anyways I bought a very reasonable set of Artist's Loft oils..under $10.00 to see if I would like..I had 3 small canvases here.
I used a pic of Lucas walking ..taken at Sandy Beach..and tried my hand.. I loved it..then I found out..you should Gesso a board..and use solvent for the first coats..so I thought if I loved doing it the wrong way..I'll love  it more the right way..I've tried a landscape and a sap bucket filled with hydrangeas..
Both are terribly pitiful..
And I think my love affair was temporary.
I'm so fickle..
But you should see them.So bad.
And my husband wondering how blue paint found it's way to his hands is just reaffirming my concern with oils..
So I went back to doing a small watercolor to encourage myself.
Why isn't talent inherited?:) Like a great voice..(she had).♥. musical talent..(she had..)♥.. art..(she had)..♥
Somewhere in our genetics..there should be one thing that you wished came naturally and more easily..to be passed onto you..
The Moomie Buns?
Anyone can make:)
Try them..they are so good..No great genes needed.~

A Walk In The Woods~

Yesterday was another magnificent fall day here..so instead of working on a few more garden beds...we decided to go for a walk in the woods...that climbs a mountain.. a small mountain..close to home..On weekends it is much busier..but during the week..very few people were met along the way..
The mountain is about 780 ft high..I have to admit I liked walking down it much better:)
The last part of the incline going up..about 100 ft..I thought oyoyoy:)
But the views are so nice..of water and fields and farmhouses.. the walk serene and glorious..with treasures to see everywhere.~
Well worth it~I had brought my Oly and I don't have a Zoom lens for it...so pardon the fuzzies at the faraway photos~
At the top is a large cross and it leaves the mind open for reflection:)
 I also ordered new arrival kits PDFs from Alicia..One includes her doll of a baby Amelia in bed..they are all so so cute..if you feel like stitching and making Christmas ornaments..do go see..You know I love that blog:)
Don't be dismayed at sold out..PDFs are doable..You can find the patterns here..
It's a treat to myself..and it is fun making an ornament thinking of that person.You sense who enjoys hand stitched..
On the menu one gorgeous day..I made Ricardo's Chicken and Corn Chowder served in Buttercup squash bowls..It's a meal in itself..
My notes..I used 1 slice of bacon cut in half per bowl.. and removed the bacon from the bowls to crisp up outside the bowl..The cups are left w/ an awesome jus and you add the hot soup to that..it all mixes so deliciously together and taking bites of the tender squash along w/ the soup is lovely.
Added a few croûtons :)Because..I just like that..I did toast some seeds to add as a garnish but don't..hard like rocks:)
So I didn't add~And I would not be adverse to adding a touch of Thyme to this hearty fall soup.
He's magic that Ricardo~.
Enjoy the weekend~
PS..I ...forgot to mention.. as I  am one post away fro 800..?!I just happend to see 799th post..that this would be the perfect time to say what I always think..Thank You Blogger.
Do they have any idea how much pleasure they have brought into the lives of so many?
When someone suggested I start a blog in 2009..I thought I will never know what to post about..800 posts later..It seems that things still happen..
It turned out to be a great thing for me in more ways than one...
It made me get to know some awesome people...I can access recipes..remember moments.. refer to things.. learn..share..etc..
It really really has been a huge blessing.I am sure so many of us feel this way.
So I have no idea where to send a thank you note..But my husband having just said .."It's marvelous how you can add a post from anywhere and any computer etc.. "  Merveilleux!
I agree..Blogger..you are Merveilleux..Thank You.

Snippets~ Before the Frost~And one of the attics~ No ghosts~:)

A few more glorious days of sun .. vermillions and golds..

 and then  the the skies opened..

On the first telltale hrs of  a gorgeous weather change..impending..I started  chopping off all my perrennials heads..I picked the last Clematis. ... Huldine~..and the last Fairy Roses..truth be told..if we have no frost soon..The Fairy roses will be blooming their heads off again~..♥

They are my very favorite roses here in my gardens in QC~

We had some  pomegranate scones.. yet again..Sunday.. that I love so much..(still hate arieling them:)

and may have found  a tool on Amazon..but will wait until I buy and try to share~

I have posted these before..and cannot find my post anywhere~..

Try them..I vouch for them over and over again..and make over and over again~♥

That same clouding over day..I went in the garage attic..I knew I had boxes up there w/ clothes my daughters wore..

I found a few keepers..like the embroidered dresses I made them..etc..

and thought of Jana~

I have posted about her before..from edible flowers..to pinks..to paprikas..to curly haired blonde beautiful children~

My daughters have great friends..

and each one has her.. (or his..Chris)..little comfy..funny..honest..warm..brilliant personalities..

But I had the opportunity to work with one before I stopped working..  Jana..and well...I loved her too:)

So when I thought of the kilts and saddle shoes and Polly Flinders dresses and hand knit sweaters..jumpers..etc..all these girl clothes.. w/ my 4 alphabet boys..

I though of Jana and her 2 Nordic looking blonde darling daughters:) Clémence..and Astrid~♥

So they are washed..pressed and off to 2 new little girls more than 30 yrs later:)

BUT..I aslo found half of the Barbie clothes collection..a neighbor's mom had knit for me to give to the girls from Santa.. look how beautiful:) All kinds of hand knit perfectly knit little intricately made outfits..and she had made the hangers too.

I am keeping those for now..

and may buy myself a new vintage Barbie:)

I found the very first Cabbage Patch doll too~

Enjoying these small trips down memory lane..while the ABs..make new memories  for me..

The muffins are delish..Karol..a client of mine  served these to me when we worked together..

Here is her recipe~

So easy..so good~

La Recette~

Les Muffins De Karol~

2 cups plain yogurt

2 tsps baking soda

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

2 extra large eggs

1 cup canola oil..

2 cups bran flakes or all bran

2 tsps vanilla

2 cups flour

4 tsps baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup frozen small fruits.. blueberries..cranberries or mixed..(fresh works for me too!

1~ Mix yogurt and soda

2 ~Add brown sugar eggs and oil..Mix well..

3~ Add All Bran and Vanilla..Mix well

4~Add flour..baking powder and salt..Mix well..

5~ Add the fruits..Mix Well.

Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven 25-30 mins..

Toothpick test:)

My notes..I halve ..and they do it well:)

~

Footnote~

I love visiting my cozy slipper blogs..the ones I look forward to every day..
The unfortunate thing is..sometimes you may not get to hear me dropping by..
It's that spell check ..prove you're not a robot thing..

Once ..twice..three strikes I am out.

Sometimes I think..oy I'll never get past this one..and I have 20/20 close up vision..
and it works fine.. other times..I think do I even try? No one could make this out..and I get a home run..
But quite a few times..all looks good and ..3 strikes I am out..
even 2 strikes  .. I find ..well.. it can get to me..And my middle name is Patience.
So please never think I am stopping by without trying to say:" Hi! How are you? Looks good":)Pinning..!

It's just that the welcome mat gets tugged back by the spell checkerooythingy.:(..I am going somewhere or seeing small boys..or doing something downtown..etc..
My apologies..
I do try~!
Not because I have to..but because I want to..drop by.:)

When Autumn Leaves Are Falling~

A glorious week in QC~  A week that dreams are made of~
 Some trees already at their brightest.. some losing their leaves..and some not turned yet~ The light has changed so much even in the last few days~
We've been to Pine Lake to feed the ducks..the Yacht Club..to see the boats going to sleep..Broomstick caught my eye right away~:)We aren't members..we don't have a boat..but the season is coming to an end ..and we were the only ones there albeit managers..groundkeepers etc..and we just walked quietly around and sat for a few minutes by the beach..It's lovely there~
There's a familiar deck on Pine Lake..  I  am aquainted with the lovely owner...and had the pleasure of working with her husband many years ago..I always glance over.. I loved  the added touch of whimsy..the pumpkin..I see her potted mum fell over it was so windy~
Weeping Willows are first to show their leaves in Spring..albeit Forsythias..and almost last to lose~
It's a masterpiece out there right now.
Garden clean up starts now.. and it will last pretty much all month..2 hrs for one L shaped bed today and 2 trailer loads..OY.
First time that I can remember that we've had no frost yet in the garden beds..usually by this time.. the impatiens are gone..

Art classes.. Karate..Tae Kwan Do..the activities have started full force..~
On the menu  this week.. just to share a few..Marie's Korean Beef that I just keep making again and again.. I add szechuan peppercorns..a super red lentil soup.. I keep hoping my friend will start posting soon..:) and I would have her share it:)..  some delish Samosas bought at a newly found Indian Store..way better than I could ever make..Marie's Goat Cheese and Beetroot Salad....the addition of the marmalade was genius:)
Some Martha Stewart Tuiles.. Some dipped in Chocolate.  I could have left them in a bit longer..but last yr they cracked..still looking for the best best time in the oven..:).  the molds ..stencils I mean, were found through Mary..so many years ago:) Thank you still..They are light and I bet calorie free:)
They always make me think of fall..And that great song..
 Autumn Leaves ~ Mr.Nat King Cole..(picked the first Autumn NKC youtube I found)one of my mom's faves..
Very mushy over that song am I~..♥

The last photo:) Are Noahs' lunch napkins.. he's 5..in Kindergarden this year..and his mom packs him a little napkin every day in his lunch:)♥ makes me smile.. she teaches French and he goes to French school..and we are French:)
Le tout..en anglais~)
Now that would get me through every day.. 5 or 75.The notes..


I am lapping up all these days.. because soon I will be in a monochrome world.. with no light to speak of after 4.
C'est la vie!

Bon Weekend~