Happy Day After Christmas!

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas. I had a beautiful day with my family, and it snowed!

Here's a song for you all for the day after Christmas. I love the message in it.

Christmas Joy!

I feel like I need to give myself a big dose of Christmas joy today. I'm going to start by watching this video a few times.

Pumpkin Pie With a Twist

I've been hungry for pumpkin pie for a month or more, so this past weekend, I finally baked one to quell my craving.

If you are making pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving dinner, consider this recipe. It is delicious. Maybe one of the best pumpkin pies I have ever eaten. What makes it so delicious? How about some eggnog in place of the usual evaporated milk. Give it a try, I don't think you will be disappointed.

Spiced Eggnog Pumpkin Pie

1 9" pie shell
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
1 1/4 cups eggnog
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Mix all the ingredients together and beat until smooth. Pour into pie shell. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake 45-50 minutes longer or until done. Let cool. Keep refrigerated. Enjoy!

Notes:
*I just used a basic shortening pie crust, but I grated some nutmeg into the flour to give it an extra boost of flavor and to tie in with the eggnog theme.
*I also used half brown sugar and half white, because I always do that with pumpkin pies.
*Since it was on sale at the grocery store, I used Southern Comfort Spiced Vanilla Eggnog.
*And, I did not eat the whole thing myself. I shared.

What's For Breakfast? Cheddar-Pumpkin Muffins

It's been cold here in Colorado this week. Really cold. So, accordingly, I've been doing lots of cold weather things such as snuggling under warm blankets, watching Christmas movies, drinking lots of hot tea, and baking.

A couple of mornings ago I made some delicious cheddar-pumpkin muffins for breakfast. I found this recipe in a cookbook called Baked Explorations by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. They aren't your typical muffins, they have more of a biscuit consistency, but their slight sweetness, countered with a kick from some pepper make them worth trying.

Pumpkin-Cheddar Muffins
1 cup pumpkin
3 Tbsp sour cream
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter, melted & cooled
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
4 oz grated cheddar cheese

Whisk pumpkin and sour cream. Add eggs and butter. Whisk until combined. Add dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Fold in 3/4 of the cheese. Divide among muffin cups. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 min. Let sit for 10 min before removing from tin. Serve warm. Makes 12 muffins.

Road Trip - Wyoming

Last weekend I headed to Wyoming to visit my aunt and uncle on their ranch. I had been invited because Tony DeSare was doing a concert in their town on Friday night.

If you don't know who Tony DeSare is, it's time you met. He is an amazing pianist and singer who puts on an entertaining show. He's really good at crooning the old standards, but he also covers some newer songs and original works as well. Here are a couple of videos.

This one just makes me happy.

And this is just nice. 

And this one makes me go WOW!

There are a lot more videos of him on YouTube. Check him out. Buy his cds and go to his concerts. He deserves to be a lot more famous than he is. 

Saturday we drove to Devils Tower. I had never been there before, so it was an experience for me. The day was beautiful, and I took A LOT of pictures. Here are some of the better ones. 

We stopped so I could take a picture when we were getting close. 

Some Native Americans consider Devils Tower and the area around it to be sacred. They hang strips of cloth and feathers in the trees to form a type of prayer bundle.

I knew Devils Tower was big, but I didn't realize how big until I was standing at the base of it. 

I thought this bright green moss stuff was neat. It almost looked like fluorescent paint had been spilled on the rocks. 

There is a trail around the base of the tower and the views from it are impressive. 

See the rabbit?

Hello. 

There were several people climbing the tower while we were there. You can see a man in a red jacket a little to the right of the middle of this picture.

There he is again. 

There are two guys at the top in this photo waiting for their friend in the red jacket to finish climbing. 

Two interesting facts I learned are that the top of Devils Tower is about the size of a football field, and it is dome shaped. 

After we finished the first trail, we walked along another one called the Red Beds trail that makes a wider circle around the tower. It was lovely, but steep at times. 

The dirt really was red around there. 

I almost stepped on this little snake. I took his picture instead. He was only about the size of a pencil. 

This squirrel wanted his picture taken, too. 

I like this rock formation. I think the right hand side looks like a face. 

Do you see it? 

I so glad I got to experience Devils Tower. Many thanks again to my aunt and uncle for taking me to see it.

Fit For A Queen

Confession: I aspire to become a queen. Yes, you read that right - a throne-sitting, crown-wearing, ruling-over-a-country, queen.

However, since that hasn't happened for me yet, I will settle for the next best thing: eating like one.

A couple of months ago I bought a cookbook, which I highly recommend, by Sara Perry titled Holiday Baking. It is full of beautiful, seasonal recipes, one of which is called Buckingham Palace Shortbread.

Supposedly this shortbread is baked every day for the Queen of England’s afternoon tea. I finally got around to baking some this afternoon and was not disappointed with the result.

Buckingham Palace Shortbread

2 cups cake flour
¾ cup plus tbsp cornstarch
¼ tsp salt
1 cup softened butter
1/3 cup sugar
up to ¼ cup superfine sugar

Whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt. Set aside. Beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the flour and mix until a soft dough forms. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes. Roll the dough into a 5x8 inch square. It should be about ¾” thick. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until lightly golden and firm to the touch. Remove from oven and sprinkle with the superfine sugar. Cut into squares while still warm.  Makes 2-3 dozen 1-1 ½” squares.

Thursday Evening Inspiration

I've been listening to this arrangement of My Jesus I Love Thee by The City Harmonic on a loop tonight. It's simple but beautiful. If you want, listen along with me.

Happy birthday to me...and a tiny hedgehog!

Today is my birthday. Yay for cake and another year being 26! In honor of the day, I present to you a video of a hedgehog also celebrating his birthday. Get ready for cuteness overload.

Field Trip: Denver Botanic Gardens

I took a little trip to the Denver Botanic Gardens yesterday morning. It was a beautiful morning to explore the gardens and to take in the new Dale Chihuly exhibit. Here are some of my pictures from the day. 

I really like the color of these. They remind me of snakes. 

If I ever have a big garden, I want one of these in it somewhere.

I would eat my breakfast there every morning. 

Lucky lily pads. 

This is some kind of swamp oak. I think it is a beautiful tree. 

These three birds, actually there were four but the other is on a different branch, were making the biggest racket. I don't think they liked people being in their garden.  

This little ladybug was kind enough to pose for me. 

I really like this flower, but I don't know what it is. 

Purple glass stakes in the middle of the rock garden. Strange but also kind of neat at the same time. 

I really like this flower too. Its name has something to do with a bear, but I don't remember the rest. I guess I should pay more attention to all those little placards telling what each plant is. 

This is my favorite of the Chihuly pieces. 

A Chihuly tree. This is the kind of sculpture that first comes to mind when I hear the name Chihuly. 

Chihuly lily pads. They're so delicate. 

This exhibit will be up through the end of November. If you are in the Denver area, I highly recommend going to see it.