Ah it's Pancake Tuesday! What a wonderful holiday, I simply cannot let it go by without celebrating it. This year, I wanted to try something different so I scoured my recipe books and found so so many pancake recipes. One stuck out to me, not only because it sounded incredibly different from regular pancakes, but also because it required a few weirdo ingredients that somehow I had on hand?? Including 1/2 cup of canned pumpkin of which I had almost that EXACT amount just chilling (heh heh) in my freezer waiting to be made into something... So I like to think the universe chose these pancakes for me to make. I got up early, went for a swim, picked up some milk on my way home from the pool. Made some coffee, and got to work making these pancakes. The best part is that one of my roommates was working from home today, so I had a brunch buddy to help me eat up! My other roomie will be home later, and there are plenty of leftovers for her... which I think she will enjoy because A) she loves pancakes and B) she is trying to eat more gluten-free things. I am not bothered one bit by gluten but I sure love experimenting with different flours... This recipe calls for "whole-grain medium grind cornmeal". This is important to note that not all cornmeal is created equal! Just like whole grain flour, you can buy whole grain cornmeal. This means that it includes the entire grain: bran, germ and endosperm. (Regular white flour and cornmeal only contain the endosperm.) I'm sure you could make these with regular cornmeal, but the whole grain stuff is sure nice and adds more flavour. It requires a bit more searching in the grocery store, but I found it with all the "Bob's Red Mill" brand flours and grains, often in the health-food section if your grocery store has one. Good old bob, he's done it again. This is also where you will find brown rice flour and quinoa flour, if you don't already have those in your house like this weirdo... **If you buy strange flours like these and don't use them super often, I recommend storing them in the freezer! This way they will last a long time and not go rancid, which is indeed something you must be concerned about especially with these high-protein flours. Right now in my freezer I have: brown rice flour, white rice flour, quinoa flour, buckwheat flour, whole wheat flour, pastry flour, rye flour, almond flour... Yup, I told you I like to experiment! Gluten Free Pumpkin Cornmeal PancakesRecipe barely adapted from The Vegetarians Complete Quinoa Cookbook
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Every year when the grocery stores suddenly stack their shelves high with tiny bite size versions of everyone's favourite chocolates and candies in preparation for spooky season I get STOKED. What a wonderful time to be alive! It seems that public establishments everywhere suddenly have not only a reason but perhaps an obligation to stick out bowls of free candy. And the public has not only a reason but an obligation to do their part by taking and indulging in such free tiny delicacies. I set all self control and logic on the shelf when it comes to halloween time. I normally wouldn't be eating candy bars everyday, but TIS THE SEASON and they are so small so just one can't hurt right? But just one never really seems to be thing. Oh well. THIS IS MY CHANCE. This time of year is also terribly inspiring for me as a baker because I've had a looooong time dream of making my own homemade versions of halloween candy. Yet year after year passes and I somehow never set aside the time to do this. Well this year I changed that and I MADE the time. Twix bars were never my favourite halloween candy as a kid, but as an adult they have snuck right up there and I've realized that they are like tiny versions of "millionaire's shortbread"... which is one of my favourite treats to bake/eat!!! So I knew I had to make homemade Twix bars a reality! But once I get the ball rolling it's hard to stop and suddenly I'm thinking, what if we somehow incorporated PUMPKIN into this candy classic... and soon with a bit of research and recipe mish-mashing and kitchen tinkering I have successfully created the "Pumpkin Twix Bar" that I am proud to share with you today!! Don't let your dreams be dreams! I quite like these little guys. They feature a shortbread-cookie base that is spiced with the all familiar "pumpkin pie spice" (use a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger if you don't have a pumpkin pie spice blend kicking around). The filling is just as I was hoping for... a chewy caramel that is not rock hard and impossible to bite, but not too soft so that it oozes everywhere and looks messy. No, this caramel holds its shape but gives way when your teeth sink into it. For best results though, serve this at room temperature. I especially love to sprinkle the top with toasted pumpkin seeds and flaky sea salt... to show that these ain't your ordinary twix bar... and also to balance out the sweetness from the caramel. Enjoy!! Pumpkin Twix BarsRecipes adapted from "Tastes Better from Scratch" and "Challenge Dairy" Shortbread Base:
Two things I love most in life: Fresh Muffins. Fresh Hair do's. Yesterday both of these occured within the same morning... and life was glorious Fall is sort of like spring in that there is a feeling of renewal in the air. It's hard to deny. When the world around you is changing colour, you can't help but feel like you should change a bit too. Suddenly I find myself inspired to clean out forgotten drawers, organize my closet, start a new project, refresh my look... My tastebuds crave all the warm spices, but my heart and soul also desires to spice things up a bit... I finally did a thing I have been threatening to do for a few months now... I went WILD and got my hair permed. My inner grandma is so content right now. There is nothing quite like a new hair-do to put a new spring in your step. Or in my current case, a spring in your hair (Sorry not sorry). Although I am still not used to my reflection, and admittedly can't help myself giggling every time I look in the mirror... I am pretty happy with my new curls! Even though I am not going back to school this fall I still feel like I want a fun fresh start. So why the heck not?! Yes, a new season, a new look, a new Lar. I do love the fall. Spice it up! That's what fall is all about #amiright? More importantly however, fall is about PUMPKIN EVERYTHING Hence I made these pumpkin muffins which are soft and fluffy and spiced with all the happy spices and studded with chocolate because CHOCOLATE and crowned with pumpkin seeds to make them pretty. I brought some to my hair dresser which I think helped her to forgive me for showing up late... Note to self, if you're gonna be late, at least bring muffins. Also known as, nobody notices your flaws if you distract them with fresh baking. This is how I get through life. Here's to the pumpkin-spice-curly-perm life. Amen. Pumpkin-Chai-Chocolate-Chip MuffinsRecipe from Renee Kohlman (Sweetsugarbean) and her wonderful book: All The Sweet Things {makes about 12-14 muffins}
WET ingredients:
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