H-A-double L-O-W-double E-N, spells Halloween!

Happy October! I know that it's been this month for a few days now, but seeing as I just put up some appropriate decor, the month is now official. (Because really, it's all about me.)

Yesterday I ventured to the booming metropolis that is Mountain Home in search of some cheap decorations to advertise that yes, we do indeed celebrate this particular holiday. The "cheap" part is of course due to our new budgeting system, which leaves very little room for silly Halloween decorations. So I went to my new favorite place, The Dollar Store. (Motto: "Everything's a Dollar!" or "Bringing You Kitsch From Your Friendly Overseas Sweatshop!")

They didn't have much of a selection -- in fact, they had more Christmas items than Halloween. (Which is fine by me. I'm not working retail anymore, so I don't care that stores start oversaturating the market with jingles and holiday paraphernalia.) But I still managed to find my "Kitsch Witch" and some fake spider webs. The Kitsch Witch is a little too trailer park for my tastes, but hell, I technically live in a trailer park. I figure it can be an ironic symbol -- like an athiest who buys a velvet painting of "The Last Supper."


So this is our front door. Marcus helped me make the Happy Halloween sign (read: he didn't eat it) and that's about that. Nothing special... I'm saving my energy for Christmas Decorations. (!!! No really -- I'm already really excited for December. I blame my mother. That's right, YOU, Mama!)



The other reason for this post is a new recipe! Joe and I were on the same wavelength last night. We were both craving cookies. I would have made chocolate chip, but unfortunately the "extra large" sized bag of tollhouse chocolate chips I had recently purchased had mysteriously disappeared. (Read: I ate them. And washed it down with heaping spoonfuls of peanut butter. Calories don't count if they're consumed late at night watching The X-Files! I swear!!!)



I didn't want to make just oatmeal either. Since I was already in a very October-y mood, I wanted something pumpkiny. I also couldn't use the mixer, because Marcus was having some issues falling asleep. So I improvised, and though I saw fear in Joe's eyes as I started haphazardly throwing ingredients into a bowl, we were both pleasantly surprised by the results.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup room temp margarine (or shortening)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1-2 cups rolled oats
Cinnamon Sugar (combine 1/4 cup sugar with 1 Tbsp cinnamon)

Set oven to 375 degrees.

Mix margarine, brown sugar, and vanilla with a wooden spoon. (You can use a hand mixer if you want, but you really don't need to!)

Once combined, stir in pumpkin.

Add dry ingredients all together. Mix well. Fold in Oatmeal.

Drop by Tbsp onto cookie sheet. Generously sprinkle Cinnamon Sugar on top. Bake for 10 minutes, then press down on the top of each cookie with a spatula to flatten. Bake 2 minutes more.

So there you have it. An October post for a blustery Autumn day.

-C

P.S. Dishtowelgate is now in its 16th day. Will she ever see that beautiful, linen, candy apple red dish towel again? All signs point to "No."

Paging Emily Post

The question of the day is: "What is the appropriate length of time to wait before banging on your neighbor's door asking for your cookie tin / Crate & Barrell dish towel back?"

I suppose I should start at the beginning.

We've lived in this neighborhood for approximately 8 months, and in this whole time, I've made no effort to get to know our neighbors. I know, I know -- not very June Cleaver-y of me... but seeing as no effort has been made on either side, I'm not going to cry about it.

Well about three weeks ago, I was driving to our house when I noticed my neighbor two doors down sitting outside with a small baby in her arms. In my head, I thought... "You should trick her into being your friend with baked goods and promises of tea parties!" (The rumors are true... I am in fact an eight year old girl.) So, the natural progression of this idea led to me furiously baking half a dozen giant banana muffins with streusel topping, wrapping them in a (clean!) dishtowel to keep them warm, and putting them in my only cookie tin for transportational purposes.

I grabbed Marcus, the muffins, and walked down to her house. I knocked on the door, waited for a bit, and was about to leave when the door cracked open and a girl about my age (maybe younger) peeked her head out. In an fit of nerve induced adrenaline, I practically shouted "HI I'M YOUR NEIGHBOR I KNOW I'VE LIVED HERE FOREVER HAHA BUT I SAW YOU OUTSIDE WITH YOUR BABY AND THOUGHT I'D SAY HELLO HAHA AND ALSO I BAKED YOU THESE HOMEMADE BANANA MUFFINS!!!111!1!"

I might have come off a wee bit strong.

Long story short, I was not invited in, I was given a quick "Thank you..." (dot dot dot included, silently, in her voice) and then the door was shut.

I was a little miffed. Granted, I'm sure I came off as terribly awkward and perhaps a mite scary, but that was it? Nothing? I tried to think of what I would have done in the same situation, and I'm sure I would have at least offered to have the person come in and sit down for a bit. I'd like to think I'd put the kettle on and prepare ourselves a pot of tea with which to wash down the delicious muffins that were handmade for the sole purpose of my enjoyment. Or am I missing something?

So that's the story of how my neighbor ended up with my sole cookie tin and my nice red dish towel. I had told her to "Stop by and say hello anytime!!!" but that day has yet to come. I wouldn't care so much if I didn't have such irrational personal attachments to inanimate objects, especially when it comes to kitchen accoutrements. So to you, dear readers, I posit this conundrum: Should I wait a little longer? Or should I go over there and boldly declare: I WANT MY TIN AND DISH TOWEL RETURNED HENCEFORTH HAHA!

?

Oh, the shame.

I know I said if the chili turned out alright, I'd post the recipe.

I would, too... if I hadn't buried it deep in the backyard, with the hopes it will remain undiscovered by impressionable young cooks digging for new recipes.

That being said, I would like to point out that despite the fact that it was a terrible disappointment, it did not, I repeat NOT -- get last place in the competition. Second to last... maybe (ok, so it was actually second to last) but definitely not last.

I feel a deep, burning shame ... I have failed my fore-mothers. As some of you are aware -- my roots lie deep in Texas and Oklahoma. I feel a responsibility to uphold the high standards of traditional Southern and Midwestern foods... fried chicken, fried biscuits, fried green tomatoes, fried snickers bars, fried ... well, pretty much anything that CAN be fried. (It's the American way.) And CHILI. Oh, how I have shamed my ancestors! I feel like Charlie Chaplin after he lost his own look-a-like contest. But no more tears ... I must move on with my life.

And I DID.

This weekend I got over myself by throwing myself head-first into a few sewing/crafting projects. I started Marcus's Halloween costume (the lawn gnome) and I must say, I am fairly impressed with myself. Seeing as I haven't touched my sewing machine since *last* Halloween (when I broke a needle attempting to help my friend sew ears onto a cap for her son's Batman costume...) I did fairly well. I was tempted to post some pictures of the progress, but I'd rather wait until the entire ensemble comes together. (Read: I'm way too lazy to take pictures and post them right now.)

My success with the costuming (including pointy gnome shoes!!!) led me to search through my closet for all of my thrifting finds that were too big of a bargain to pass up, yet didn't fit me quite the way I'd envisioned. I'm halfway through altering one dress (that cost me a whopping 25 cents -- take THAT expensive retail chains I can no longer afford!!! BAM!) and I've got a few more I'm considering working on.

THIS success has led me to un-box yards and yards of fabric I've either thrifted or picked up as remnants on the cheap and start planning out patterns for some dresses and jumpers. Most of these, I'm sure, will have disastrous, muumuu-like results and the fabric will ultimately go to waste... but I've got to start somewhere, right? (Just say yes. It's easier to justify destroying perfectly good fabric if I have people egging me on.)

This morning I also made zucchini bread, seeing as for an entire week, everytime I had to pick something up from the grocery store, I'd think: "Zucchini! I need some!" Thus resulting in about five zucchinis I needed to use up.

Zucchini Bread

1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 beaten egg
1 cup finely shredded zucchini
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cooking oil

Grease loaf pan. Set oven to 350.
Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and nutmeg in a medium sized bowl. Make a well in the center, set aside.
In another bowl, combine egg, zucchini, sugar, and cooking oil. Add in well in dry ingredients. Stir until just combined. Pour into loaf pan.
Bake 50 minutes.
Sit on your couch and eat piece after piece while watching The X-Files on DVD. (Scratch that. That's just what I like to do.)

And now to relieve Joe of his Marcus watching duties, as I've been holed up in this room for quite a while. (Damn you
addictive celebrity gossip websites!!!)

A buck late, a day short... wait. Strike that. Reverse it.

Well, this blog has proven how little time/motivation I have for the upkeep of this blog. But seeing as it is now autumn, a transitional time of the year, I have decided to once again at least *try* to keep some sort of records of my experiments with cooking/baking/crafting and other such nerdiness.

Quite a bit has happened in the past few months, so rather than bore everyone with the endless droning of run-on sentences, I've decided to give a pictoral guide of our summer. (With perhaps a few recipes and significant songs thrown in for good measure.)

JUNE

Marcus's favorite song:

Stevie Wonder - Superstitious

Mood/Events:

Scared. Trapped in a laundry hamper.

JULY

Marcus's Favorite song:

Beethoven - Ode to Joy

Mood/Events:

Confusion. Blue Angels are LOUD.

AUGUST

Marcus's Favorite song:

Aaron Copland - Rodeo

Mood/Events:

Exhausted! Weddings, fake birthday parties, and too

many dang airplanes.

Applesauce Cake
(We tripled this recipe for a 9' x 13'' pan, it fed about 20 people!)

1 cup flour
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1 cup applesauce
1/4 cup shortening
1 egg
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Grease a 9 x 13 pan
Preheat oven to 350
Mix wet ingredients, stir in dry
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes
Decorate like a Casio to the best of your sad little ability. (Oh wait, that's just what *I* did!)

SEPTEMBER

Marcus's Favorite song:

Michael Jackson - Thriller

Mood/Events:

Busy. Sick with Cold-O-Doom. Excited for fall.

Dave's wedding in TX, MHAFB Air Show, first trip to the "beach",

and most importantly, MARCUS TURNS ONE!

So that's about it. I have about twelve recipes I've been meaning to put on here, plus some pictures of some crafts I've been doing. (Not to mention Marcus's Halloween costume I am making... he will be a lawn gnome. This weird idea brought to you by the letter J, which stands for Joe.)

Also, I'll try and mention how our new budgeting system is going. After re-installing Quicken, (and seeing how much money we've spent on travel these past few months... yikes) I've decided to implement a new spending system. I've allocated certain amounts of cash to certain envelopes, one for gas, groceries, incidentals, etc. It will be interesting to see how it goes -- especially the grocery part. I'm not going to deny it -- I am a grocery junkie. The produce section is my Tiffany's... I almost can't help myself.

And now I must be off, as Joe has informed me only very recently (read: today) that there is a chili cook-off tomorrow. So instead of making my mom's famous chili, which takes about three days to make... we're faking it. If it turns out somewhat decent and our marriage is still intact, I might just put the recipe on here!

Until next time!

-C