Fall is for baking

I think that many of you will agree with me if I say that I believe that fall is the perfect time of year to really get your bake on. I mean, even if you disregard the fact that some of the best holidays for the culinary world are in the fall and winter (Thanksgiving, Halloween, Christmas, New Years...), I find that when the weather starts turning cooler and the days start getting shorter that all I want to do is curl up with a good book and a mug of spiked hot cocoa while waiting for whatever I am baking to come out of the oven. Fall (for me at least) is about creating warmth, burrowing in, rooting down, and really digging onto my homestead as I prepare for the winter.

This is why I spent a whole half-day this week canning these beautiful beefsteak tomatoes that I got from the farmer's market... that should last me through the winter until I can get new plants in the spring.

But today (as our plans changed at the last minute and suddenly, I had a whole free day), I wanted to have that sensation of creating warmth again, but I was also thinking of what to cook this coming week. Rifling through my cupboards proved fruitful and I found a can of pumpkin! Perfect for fall, and one of my favourite veggies (I love all squash though...). My favourite thing to do with pumpkin has always been to making muffins (the obvious choice), and so I set out to create deliciousness.

I rarely adhere 100% to a recipe after I have made it a few times, and today was no different. I decided to change up the flours that I used for this (the original recipe uses 2 cups of all-purpose, but that wasn't exciting enough). Feel free to alter which ones you use as well! I have a hunch that these would be delicious with the addition of almond flour... I reduced the amount of oil and changed it to a healthier oil (extra-virgin as opposed to vegetable)... and added an egg. All done in the name of making this a healthier muffin that my man and I could enjoy as part of our breakfasts this week. The final touch was the addition of a lot of things that make up chai tea... namely ginger and cardamom. The perfect twist on an already-outrageously-good muffin.

I knew right when I took these out of the oven that we were in for something great... the perfect crust on top, the perfect squishiness, the SMELL! And then, when they were just cool enough to top with butter and test out, the TASTE!! Definitely a winner, and I will be making these all winter long.

These would be great to add to your Thanksgiving table... just sayin'.

Whenever you decide to make these and eat them, do it with the ones you love. Quality time is EVERYTHING, especially this time of year. Reach out to anyone you know who is having a difficult time, and let's raise the vibration before the year ends.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Muffins:

·         1 cup pumpkin puree

          1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

·         1/3 cup brown sugar, packed

·         ¼ cup raw honey

·         2 large eggs

·         1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

·         1 cup all-purpose flour

·         ½ cup bread flour

·         ½ cup sourdough flour (a friend gifted this to me… he bought it in bulk and wasn’t quite sure what was in it but said it made phenomenal sourdough bread so I figured it would be a neat addition to this recipe)

·         1½ tablespoons baking powder (I add a few drops of apple cider vinegar on top of this in the mixing bowl to add more lift to the dough)

·         1½ teaspoons cinnamon

·         1 teaspoon ground ginger

·         ½ teaspoons ground cardamom

·         ½ teaspoon nutmeg

·         ¼ teaspoon sea salt

1)    Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a muffin tin

2)    In a large bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients (pumpkin puree, granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla) until smooth

3)    In another bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg and salt)

4)    Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredient mixture, mixing only enough until it is just barely combined. Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared muffin cups

6)    Bake for 20 to 24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. I like mine better with slightly crispy edges, so I tend to leave them in for an extra minute or two

7)    Spread organic butter on top before serving warm

Pumpkin muffins, with all of the goodness of chai!