Better Late Than Never.
I know, it's kind of late for peaches. Consider it my last ditch attempt to hold onto one of my favourite fruits and seasons. Summer is so fleeting and peache season is short-lived. This year we were lucky enough to have an early Summer but it's fading too quickly. The leaves are turning and the days are growing darker and colder. Thanksgiving is approaching and I'm already thinking about Christmas.
Time is funny that way.
They say that with every year that passes your perception of time seems to speed up.
I remember when a six hour school day would move at a snails pace and it was far too much time taken out of my busy light bright and etch-a-sketch schedule. I remember when the wait for Christmas began at the first snowflake and dragged on for what felt like forever. I remember anxiously peering into the hot oven and watching the pie crust bubble on that night's dessert, all the while being tormented by the scent of spiced apples and buttery pastry.
Now there's never enough time in the day, to-do lists get longer instead of shorter, entire months pass in the blink of an eye and I surprise myself when I realize how many years I've known some friends.
Sometimes I wish that I could just hit the pause button, slow-mo, and definitely rewind.
What better way to slow down than with a warm batch of Peach Oatmeal Cookies? There's something about oatmeal that screams Winter and Peaches are exclusively a Summer treat. Why not combine them to smooth the transition this Fall?
Refined Sugar.
I'm busy preparing for a takeover sleepover this weekend so I'll have to keep this brief.
As if three preteen girls need any help in the hyperactive department, I decided I would be a swell idea to feed them at least three different kinds of sugar with this Maple Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread.
Granulated sugar, brown sugar and maple syrup. They'll never sleep. Ever.
Now, if you'll excuse me, there's a vacuum cleaner with my name on it.
These Aren’t The Droids You’re Looking For.
Mind over matter. Power of suggestion. The force.
Whatever you want to call it, that's what I've been wrestling with for the past week. Everyone around me is aching and couching and sneezing. The odds are kind of stacked against me here. I'd have to be some sort of guru of meditation with a fistful of mental placebos to resist all that.
I'm not. I'm not made of midi-chlorians. I'm made of squishy flesh and achy bones.
However. If I were a Jedi I wouldn't bother with curbing the common cold or not looking silly when I sneeze. I'd have way more fun. I would wave my hand casually yet deliberately and tell you how much you need this Maple Pecan Streusel Pumpkin Bread. Struck by a sudden delicious idea, you would calmly rise from your seat, gather the ingredients and make yourself one awesome snack. You'd slice off piece by piece savouring the full flavour of pumpkin, the punch of spices and the sweet, buttery crunch of the streusel topping until it was all gone. At which point you would feel the need to bake yourself another and another and another... Do or do not. There is no try.
Hey... Maybe I am a Jedi!
Cloudy With A Chance of Delicious.
You ever had one of those days?
Maybe you put your underwear on inside out. Maybe you just couldn't wait for the dryer to be done and you had to rush out of the house wearing a half damp sweater. Maybe it rained all day and the humidity made your hair interminably frizzy. Maybe you stepped in a puddle and ruined your new suede shoes. Maybe you thought your favourite show was on at 9 but really it was on at 8 and you missed it. Then maybe at the end of it all, when you just want to curl up in bed and sleep away the bad, you realize you left the sheets in the washer.
There there. Tomorrow will be different.
Maybe tomorrow you'll make these deliciously easy, fantastically tasty Sugar and Spice Toasted Pumpkin Seeds. Maybe the world will suddenly be a different place. Maybe the house will smell like pie. Maybe the rain will clear and your shoes will dry. Maybe you'll catch a repeat of that episode you missed. Maybe you'll have something to idly munch on between your clean sheets and your favourite book. Life is good again.
I say maybe because I'm not going to presume to tell you what you should or shouldn't do. It's your life. It's up to you of course. If you want frizzy hair, damp clothes and puddle shoes then far be it from me to tell you otherwise. On the other hand, if you like rainbows, pie smells and snacks in bed, then yes, yes you should make these. And quickly. Before it's too late!
Fall Into Fall.
It's finally Fall.
I know this because my footsteps are stalked by the soft tinkling of tiny colourful leaves. I know this because all the crab apples fell off the tree before I had the chance to turn them into jam or pie. I know this because it's still warm enough to get away with wearing peep toe heels but cool enough that I need to pair them with a light faux leather coat. I know this because the simple act of turning on the oven is welcomed instead of avoided. I know this because I'm drawn to warm and homey flavours like rich demerara sugar, thick molasses and spicy cinnamon.
To continue my pumpkin theme and demonstrate a creative use of my Pumpkin Pie Spice I've made these Pumpkin Spice Ginger Snaps. They're not your average Ginger Snaps. I've spiced them up a smidgen. Less ginger and more cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Less snappy and more chewy. They're coated with big bold crystals of turbinado sugar and a flavour to match.
Just the push I needed to fall into Fall.
