Pumpkin Extenda-Week #1: Pumpkin Cookies

The Recipe that started the whole thing... Pumpkin Cookies. I have a very soft spot (also known as a spoft) for pumpkin cookies because they are really delicious. Michelle and I spent lots of time looking for good recipes, and I eventually just picked this one. You shall see the adventures below!

Super Soft Pumpkin Cookies (adapted from here)

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup canola or corn oil

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices together in a medium bowl and set aside. Make sure you stir them all together (not like in the picture below)

Put the rack in the middle of the oven . Preheat the oven to 325. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and butter the paper. (I didnt have parchment paper, so we just buttered the pan. worked like a charm)

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the eggs and sugar until smooth and lightened in color, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. On low speed, mix the oil, pumpkin, and vanilla until blended. Michelle took care of this portion of the mixing. What a beautiful co-chef.

Gracie didn't help bake per-se because she was sweaty from Bikram.

But she kept our kitchen assistant entertained!

Our lovely kitchen assistant, Luna the angel.

Next, mix in the flour mixture to incorporate it. See demonstration below. This is a very hard job...

Then, using an ice cream scoop or a 1/4 measuring cup (or whatever you want), scoop mounds of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart. Use a thin metal spatula to smooth and flatten the rounds. (We didnt have to do this step because I used Trader Joe's canned pumpkin which is a thinner consistency than the normal Libby's brand.)

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry, about 16 minutes. Cool them on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. (I didn't test mine with a toothpick but if you are really anal about stuff, go for it) Make sure the kitchen assistant is having a good time. Picture evidence below.

MMMMMMMM look at the yummy cookies that are about to be iced!

Glaze- Ingredients

2 cups confectioners sugar

3 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoon butter (melted)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions: Combine confectioner’s sugar, milk, butter and vanilla. Mix well. If needed, add more milk until consistency is drizzle-able.

Drizzle glaze onto cookies with a spoon. (I probably doubled the milk)

Final Product with Luna creeping in the background. What a girl.

Picture of the co-chefs .

These cookies were so delicious. And they really were super soft. I highly recommend them. I also recommend only icing the cookies after they are cool- otherwise the icing spills everywhere and then you have to lick it up. Nevermind, I highly recommend icing the cookies while they ARE hot so you CAN lick the excess icing. If you want, you can also add a cup of chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, or anything else you want. Me? I am a purist. Only pumpkin.

Enjoy!

Ultra Love.

Pumpkin Extenda-Week 2010

So a few weeks ago, Michelle and I realized reading week (a week off from class, where you actually do need to catch up on reading) was coming. We just knew we wanted to bake PUMPKIN THINGS. At first it was just pumpkin cookies, but the more we looked for good recipes, the more recipes we found. So what was just lets get together and bake pumpkin cookies has turned into, "i just spent alot of money at the grocery store so we can bake pumpkin things many days in a row" aka "Pumpkin Extenda-Week 2010!"

Why Extenda-Week you ask? Well, I found more than 7 recipes (i think 10 total?). AND, sometimes in grad school you just can't bake everyday and live to tell about it. AND, i don't want any food to go to waste, so i am going to try to make sure things get eaten before i move onto the next food.

Thus far, two recipes have been made. Each will have an individual post, so don't fret.

I FREAKIN LOVE PUMPKIN EVERYTHING.

ultra love.

Real Life

so remember when i was training for an ultra marathon? don't forget about that. it is still a daily dream of mine. mostly, when i walk Luna to the dog park, i imagine what life would be like if i could just run. and keep running. i miss running in shelby farms. i miss the trails, the grass, the mud, the trees, the smells, the aching joints, all of it.

don't get me wrong. I LOVE YOGA. And i am very happy that i found it, but running is just one of those things that feels right, even when my legs are about to fall off. specifially, running with luna is the most peaceful i have ever felt. when luna starts acting up, i take myself to my happy place (thank you cesar milan, for your fantastic dog advice) which is a very distinct memory i have of the two of us running through a wooded part of the tour de wolf trail. it was the perfect temperature, my legs were fresh, and Luna and i were perfectly synchronized in so many ways. she knew when to turn, when to slow down, which way to proceed. our brains and bodies were connected through this special moment we were sharing. That is my calm/assertive moment that i recall so that Luna is a calm and submissive pup.

I think cesar milan does bikram yoga. really. 1- i can just see him in half moon pose. totally uncomfortable but relaxed and killin it. 2- i can see him as an instructor, SHHHHH-ing people when they are doing the pose wrong.........

sorry for that side thought. it needed to come out.

but anyway- today i needed all of my calm/assertive energy slash my yoga "presence." See bikram is not about peaceful meditation. it is about remaining calm and relaxed even when you are in the middle of hell. today's hell was new haven city hall. i had to fork over $600 for my flippin parking permit, and the tax people are rude. and not helpful. and their whole system is dumb. and grad students dont have much money, so i just lost my mind in there. i was not a calm yogi or a calm/assertive leader of the pack. i was a hot mess. fortuantely, i eventaully got it together. all it took was a burrito (from the carts- a strange yale culture that is very delicious), a diet coke, some love from my roomie grace, a dog park trip with luna, and a shower.

i feel much better. hopefully i will get to go to 6:00 am yoga tomorrow.

OH, now that i have remembered, this post was supposed to be about my new friend. Her name is sabrina, and, yes, it is a little creepy that i am blogging about her. but it is okay because she is a part of why i can keep dreaming about running. see, sabrina is a REAL ULTRA RUNNER. LIKE FOR REAL, PEOPLE. a few weeks ago, she was doing a 24 hour race. no big, right? but she got injured 80 miles in. 80 miles, no big.

anyway- it is very nice to have someone here at YDS who shares my running love/obsession/craziness. Most people enjoy running, but few have the desire to just keep running for a long time. In my mind, if i could do an 8 hour run (and my body could make it and not break) that would be pure happiness. I want to be able to run for a long time and for a long way. Hopefully, my new friendship with sabrina will give me motivation, someone to chat with, someone to think i am not crazy. it also helps that she is super nice and fun to be around in general. grace and i will DEF have to invite her to our "fall fun fest" or whatever it is that we are having at our house. grace is making vegetarian chili- i think i am going to spike it with meat. BAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

okay. enough rambling for today.

oh wait. ps. grace has started to come to yoga with me. and i think i am getting her addicted. YES.

ultra love.

Miss Manners

Greetings! I am blogging from my new smart phone. Impressive, eh? Well this past weekend i got to visit my handsome and health conscious boyfriend in nashville, and we went to the gym (it is the glue that holds us together). See at school, i have been going to yoga about 6 days a week, so i havent been lifting at all. Thus, man-friend and i lifted together! We had just sat down on an incline bench to do some incline presses when dude comes up to us and asks to work in with us.

For those of you in blogland who arent hip to gym lingo, this basically means sharing, rotating sets. This was weird for multiple reasons:
1. There were already 2 of us using this one bench.
2. There were 2 other open incline benches 10 ft away ( dude used some excuse about his lower back, but i say if you cant carry the weight you shouldnt be lifting it. Duh)
3. Some teenager was just resting his weights on the toher other other incline bench. (3 other options and dude asks to work in on the bech 2 ppl are using. Weird)

Fortunately, the kid moved his weights for the dude who ened up asking my boyfriend to spot him. He then proceeded to tell us his enitre life story slash wight lifting saga. Really. Dude. Stop. Thus, i give you some helpful gym etiquette:
1. There is rarely any need to talk to someone who looks even remotely into what they are doing. Just leave people be.
2. Be aware if you are taking up needed space.
3. Save others from weirdos if you can.
4. Try not to smell too bad.

Also, in honor of my weekend of bliss, i leave you with a list of things a person would miss if they just so happened to be living among and surrounded by VEGETARIANS (Gasp!) -
1. Hamburgers
2. Hotdogs
3. Bbq
4. Chicken salad
5. Good sushi
6. Bacon (bacon is good for me!)
7. Cupcakes
Okay so vegetarians eat cupcakes but i havent had any in new haven. And i got to eat all of these things this weekend. The picture you see somewhere in this post is my man with our burgers. Love. True love, people.

Oh and i got to see Vince Gill in concert.

I am a happy happy girl.

Ultra love.

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Push your face to you legs with your smiling happy face

so thought that maybe i would fill you crazy kids in on my yoga progress. In the last month, i have been going to bikram at least 5 days a week, and this equals tangible progress, my friends.

For better pictures, go here.

posture number 2-- also goes into a backbend, and well, my backbend is starting to get pretty bendy folks.

Posture number 2 -- also goes into a forward bend where you push your face into your legs and try to lock your knees. I am very close to locking my knees. woo woo.

posture number 5 -- i am about 2 inches away from locking my kicking knee out. and for you people who know me, that is serious stuff.

posture 8-- this posture is particularly hard for me. and though my progress is minimal, i can feel my hamstrings slowly letting go of years of tension. you are supposed to put your hands on the outside of your heels. if you cant get your heels, then the outside of your toes. if you cant do that, then you put your hands on the ground in front of you. that's where i am. my fingers just barely touch the outside of my feet, but i really can tell a difference. they say that if you lock your thighs, that allows your hamstrings to relax. we shall see.

posture 12-- you start this pose with your foot on your thigh and then you bend over until your hands touch the ground. WELL, i used to not be able to touch the ground let along squat all the way down to this pose, called toe stand, because you stand on your toes on one foot. now i can balance for a few seconds without having my hands hold me up. what what!

posture 19-- i can get my thighs up off the ground. you people may think this is easy, but go ahead and try. see how strong your back is.

posture 20 -- this pose is hard on your knees- it stretches them out big time. and guess what, mine are tight (big surprise there). well, at first, i could only sit up on my knees (your feet are slightly on the outside of your thighs so that your butt rests on the floor) because my butt didnt touch the floor yet. Now i can lean back on my elbows and put the top of my head on the ground. eventually, i should be able to relax all the way into the posture.

Posture 22- camel pose-- is a wild one. i think it is about as close as i will ever come to doing drugs.

posture 15 is actually at the end between postures 24 and 25 -- and (this is the real kicker) I CAN lock my legs while holding my toes. YES PEOPLE IT'S TRUE.

I have had some fantastic classes that have left me feeling on top of cloud 9. I have had a plethora of teachers and most of them are fantastic. My favorite is the owner, mostly because she really takes the time to correct me. This is probably the reason I am getting so far into these postures. The other great thing is they give us fruit after each class. AND i love coconut water. you should go try it.

that's all i've got people.

ultra love.

Luna's Life- In Video

This is what we do everyday. Without fail. It is ultra-awesome.

Ultra Love.

The journey to the haven....

So i have a new roomie. her name is Gracie. She wrote a fascinating tale of our journey, and instead of retelling, i am just going to link you to her blog. Enjoy.

Intro

Act 1, Scene 1

Act 1, Scene 2

Act 1, Scene 3

Act 1, Scene 4

Middle-tro

Act 2, Scene 1

Act 2, Scene 2

Act 2, Scene 3

That is the story. And just to add my little bit of wisdom, i am a big fan of pet friendly hotels. Luna got to sleep on the bed with me and everything. And then we played fetch in the morning, surprise, surprise. And then i got one last chicken biscuit in Virginia before i left the southland for this yankee territory where there are no such things as chicken biscuits.

Ultra love.