post thanksgiving dish

we had a great time over this past thanksgiving weekend. two turkey dinners. two rounds of pie. fun with loved ones. eating too much pie. lots of knitting and enjoying the flurries of snow. games, glasses of wine and antiquing.
we are home again and our kitty is glad. today was a day of tidying up the yard. tossing the pumpkins overboard out back, making stew ( i'll have to share that recipe soon ) and making pumpkin custards with some of the leftover pumpkin sitting in the refrigerator. here's the recipe to try.

      Pumpkin Custard

1 cup fresh or canned cooked pumpkin puree, drained
1 egg, beaten slightly
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tbsp. warm Myer's rum
1 cup evaporated milk

Preheat oven to 325°F.Heat rum in microwave for 30 seconds until warm.

Combine pumpkin with egg, sugar, salt and spices blended to a paste with rum. Stir in milk, then pour mixture into custard cups.

Set cups in a shallow pan of hot water and bake in a preheated 325°F oven for 40 minutes or until a thin knife inserted in center of custard comes out clean.

from cooks.com

cakes, muffins oh monday

 its been a busy baking time for me lately. i'm loving every minute of it. cakes for friends. muffins for our church cafe. i just wanted to share a link to snacky french fb page. its were all my cake and baked treats are pictured. enjoy.

Snacky French Facebook

some things...

surprise you.

it rained and rained and rained last night. our laundry room is soaked.

the good news is... it striped down to the insulation.

the bad news is the insulation is wet.

the good news is that we are replacing our roof this weekend.

a bad situation that has a lot of good in it. we are thankful for these good things in the midst of the bad. timing is everything. we knew the roof was bad, we are just so glad to have decided to replace it before the holidays.

that's what's on the mind today.

the joys and sorrows of owning a house.

birthday girls and family photoshoots

 this beautiful girl turned 10 last weekend. my oh my how my nieces are growing into little ladies, so quickly. her birthday cake request for this year was a a turkey running around. i tried for the running turkey but turkeys, i told my niece are just so bottom heavy that they want to sit on cakes instead of  running around. she was thrilled anyway.

 i snapped a few family photos for my sister's family. these are a few of my favorites from the day. oh the beauty of fall. how it is waning away.

knitting season has begun

so i know there are many avid knitters all year long...not me. i am a seasonal one. its not until fall before i start thinking about the projects i want to try for the winter season. i am currently working on fingerless mitts. many pairs and many colors are being made in a frenzy for an upcoming craft bazaar.
i'm contemplating opening an etsy shop if i don't sell them all at the bazaar. this is new for me. another small step into self-employed territory. its exciting to have more time and energy for crafting. i am still learning to balance my free time with chores, a little me time and projects. its something to be mindful of. time can just run away from you  if your are not protective of it. i don't mean that in a selfish way. i am just beginning to see that i really need to prioritize, in order to work on the dreams that are near and dear to me.
i hope this season finds you well. bundle up friends. its the season of warm knits, rosy cheeks and frosty breath.

pumpkin cupcakes with maple cream cheese frosting + halloween costumes

 pumpkin cupcakes! best recipe i've tried so far. it can be found here. you should make these!

maple cream cheese frosting. whats not to love. thanks honey & jam  for the idea.

Frosting

Two (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups confectioners’ sugar

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

ragady folk we were this year for our friends costume party.

autumn oats

i've been eating a lot of oatmeal lately. i prefer hot cereal over cold any day.

so i've been playing around with different combinations of oatmeal and the fixings... here is my favorite for this autumn season.

1/4 c. oatmeal

1/2 macintosh apple cut into small chunks

1/4 t. pumpkin pie spice

cook accordingly. i just add water and pop it in the microwave. i know many prefer to make theirs on the stove.

after its heated add:

2 T. pumpkin butter

handful of chopped walnuts

sprinkle of brown sugar

splash of  milk

enjoy!

a cake

this cake was for a boy in love with "ncis". i heard he enjoyed it very much.

have a lovely day. i plan to re cooperate from my weekend.

sweet potato biscuits

today was a make day. the kind of day i have now and again, where i just go crazy in the kitchen. cakes, cupcakes , biscuits, turkey chili. the cakes will have to wait for another day. i'm still working on those. sweet potato biscuits. yummy. my first time making them. here's the recipe if you'd like to give it ago. i would add more sweet potato next time. they were delicious, however with our turkey chili.

in addition to making i did some fall sprucing around here. i am really starting to feel at home here. mostly due to the fact i have more time to spend here now that i quit my bakery job. did i mention that. silly me forgetting details of my life.

yes i quit. i quit for many reasons, but the big one is now i will have time for side baking projects, cakes, and treats. Snacky French isn't just a blog to me. right now its my creative outlet. it will one day be my cafe/ bakery. i am taking a lot of small steps in that direction lately. progress that makes me smile a whole lot more these days.

sunday picnic

yesterday was gorgeous. we thought it proper picnic weather. so we packed up and moved out quickly to catch some of the warmth of the day.

 we found this on the bridge. j + k. put there like it was for us to see. oh the little things. how they delight.