These are so good. They are more of a treat than a healthy snack but that hasn’t stopped them from disappearing from my kitchen in less than 2 days! Every time I turn my head another muffin goes missing. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Recipe adapted from Food52.

Makes 20 muffins

• 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 egg
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/3 cup molasses
• 1/2 cup buttermilk (if you don’t have buttermilk use just under 1/2 cup milk+1 tbsp white vinegar or lemon juice)
• 1/4 cup candied ginger, chopped
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp dark spiced rum
• 1/2 cup raisins, *soak in rum/vanilla for 1 hour before using
• 1/3 cup pepitas
• 1 tbsp brown sugar+1 tsp cinnamon for topping

1. Preheat the oven to 350
2. in a large bowl mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.
3. in a medium bowl whisk together the egg, pumpkin, sugar, coconut oil, molasses and buttermilk.
4. combine the wet ingredients with the dry.
5. add the candied ginger and raisins.
6. stir until just combined. Do not over mix.
7. distribute the batter evenly amongst 2 muffin tins making 20 muffins.
8. sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar mixture.
9. bake for 30-33 minutes.

*Note: If you want to make this recipe into a loaf simply add an extra 2 tbsp coconut oil and bake in a 9″ x 5″ loaf pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes.

Thanks to Antiques on Queen  for the beautiful dishes used in this post.

I made rugelach for the first time a few months ago. Since then I haven’t  been able to stop thinking of  all the delicious fillings you could make them with. This time I used pumpkin, spices, pepitas and raisins. They were so good. Not overly sweet….although if that’s what you are going for you could easily toss in some extra sugar.

The Dough

• 4oz cold cream cheese, cut into tbsp sized pats
• 1/2 cup of cold unsalted butter, cut into tbsp sized pats
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• confectioners sugar for dusting table

The Filling

• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 2tbsp sugar
• 2tbsp brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup of raisins
• 1/4 cup pepitas, whole or chopped

Egg Wash

• 1 egg, beaten + 1 tbsp water

To make the dough-

1. remove the butter and cream cheese from the fridge. Let stand for 10-15 minutes or so.
2. add the flour and salt to your for processor and give a quick pulse.
3. add the cream cheese and butter. Pulse just enough to incorporate the ingredients, you want large crumbly chunks. Do not over do it!
4. divide the dough into 2 balls. flatten into disks, wrap in plastic wrap or wax paper.
5. refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

To assemble-

1. when the dough has chilled, remove the first disk from the refrigerator and let sit for a few minutes.
2. dust the work area with confectioners sugar then roll out the dough into a 12 inch circle.
3. spread half of the pumpkin mixture evenly over the dough.
4. mix together the sugar, spices and salt.
5. sprinkle with a little less than half of the sugar/spice mixture.
6. top with half of the raisins and pepitas.
7. using a knife or pastry cutter, cut the dough into 16 triangles.
8. roll up each triangle, starting with the wide end of the triangle.
9. place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
10. refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
11. repeat with the second disk of dough.
12. preheat the oven to 350.
13. brush the cookies with the egg wash.
14. sprinkle with the remaining sugar/spice mixture.
15. bake for about 25 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

*tip-to prevent the bottoms from browning too quickly I like to double up my baking sheets!

Alternative fillings-

• favourite jam(not too runny),nuts of choice
• caramel, chocolate chips and shredded coconut
• chocolate hazelnut spread and toasted nuts
• apricot jam, almonds and mixed dried fruit
• butterscotch, raisins and pecans

This year we had so much fun with Halloween. We went to Whittamore’s Pumpkin Farm. We had a pumpkin carving/pizza party with Auntie T. We painted all sorts of spooky Halloween things (including our pumpkins!) We went to a Halloween Party with some of Poppy’s closest friends annnnnnd Poppy got to dress up as Ariel, her favourite mermaid in the whole wide world!

Poppy didn’t always want to be Ariel for Halloween….in fact, we had already bought her a beautiful fox cape off of Etsy. However as we grew closer to the big day, Poppy began telling anyone who asked that she was being Ariel for Halloween. Please understand, I had looked months ago at the big shops for an Ariel costume but they didn’t have anything I liked in a size 2….this is why we decided to go with her second choice, the fox. Finally the day before Halloween arrived, I caved and made her this Ariel costume. I do not sew but the thought of letting her down was enough to get my fingers bloody from those damn sewing needles and with the help of a good imagination and my trusty friend the glue gun Poppy was able to become the most beautiful Ariel I have ever seen.

The night was rainy  but Poppy made it to 7 houses!!! Waaay better than last year (1) We got to say hi to neighbours and Poppy had her first and second Halloween frights, thanks to some over eager Halloween setups and some big people that didn’t quite understand that little girls dressed up as Ariel don’t want to be greeted by old men wearing creepy masks covered in blood. All in all she took it like a trooper and finished the night off with a bag of chips which she had more than earned.

This year we didn’t make it up to Gampy’s to get our pumpkin from the pumpkin patch at the farm down the road from his house. I was feeling bummed out about missing our little tradition and didn’t want to just grab a pumpkin from the grocery store. I decided to check out Whittamore’s  pumpkin farm instead. We packed ourselves up along with Granny and Grandad and made a morning of it. Poppy had a great time. There were a ton of fun things for Poppy to run around and do….there was also an 8 dollar cover…per person. I’m glad we went but hope that next year we can get back to our regular old, nothing fancy, pumpkin farm.

Here is a fun and easy pumpkin craft to make with your little one this Halloween. All you need is a little time and the ability to embrace the sparkles that will inevitably wind up all over the house. You’re welcome.

You will need:

• 1 canvas board, you can buy these at the dollar store
• black paint
• white craft glue
• sparkles, whatever colours strike your fancy
• paint brush
• colourful scrap paper
• scissors, grownup and kids
• heavy duty watercolour paper
• X-Acto knife

extras- you can also buy pre cut colourful paper shapes if your child is too young to cut or if you simply want a little something extra!

Lets get started:

1. Paint the canvas board black, you can leave the edges white since they will be covered with the water colour paper in the end. Let it dry.
2. While the canvas is drying, cut out or tear shapes using the colourful scrap paper.
3. Now that the canvas is dry, drizzle glue all over the canvas creating a large circle.
4. stick your paper scraps all over.
5. go nuts with the sparkles! shake shake shake all over the paper and glue, focusing on the glue. You want all of the white glue to be covered with sparkles.
6. Take the glue and make a rectangle at the top of the circle. Like where the pumpkins stem would be.
7. cover with more sparkles. Poppy used green but you can use whatever colour you like!
8. set aside to dry. Once it has dried tap off excess sparkles. I suggest doing this over the garbage or outside!
9. on the heavy duty water colour paper, draw a simple outline of a pumpkin. Make sure this pumpkin is a little smaller than the one on your canvas.
10. With an X-Acto knife, carefully cut out the pumpkin (obviously the adult does this)
11. remove the pumpkin and you will be left with just the outer piece.
12. spread glue all over the back of the paper you cut the pumpkin out of.
13. carefully place over your canvas.
14. tada! You now have a beautiful pumpkin!

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 over ripe banana, mashed
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a 9 inch square baking pan. In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat together the sugar and butter until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, making sure the first egg is fully incorporated into the batter before adding the next. Stir in the baking soda with the sour cream then add to the mixer. Add the pumpkin and banana and mix until combined. Add the flour and baking powder. Mix well. Stir in the vanilla. Pour the batter into the pan.

Topping

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 5 tbsp cold butter
• 1 cup pumpkin seeds

Add the sugar, flour, cinnamon and butter to your food processor. Pulse until combined. Stir in the pumpkin seeds. Drop little chunks of the mixture over the top of the cake batter. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If you find the cake is browning too fast place a sheet of tinfoil over the top of the pan near the end…after about 45 minutes.

Caramel sauce

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp + 2 tsp cream
• splash of vanilla

In a small pot over medium heat whisk together the sugar, butter and cream until it comes to a boil. Continue to whisk at a boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and let sit for a minute. Add the vanilla then whisk in the icing sugar. Add more icing sugar if you want a thicker sauce.

To serve: Drizzle caramel sauce over the cake. Cut and enjoy!

*recipe adapted from allrecipes 

1/2 cup gluten free flour

3/4 cups parmesan cheese, grated

2 tsp fresh rosemerry, finely chopped ( or 1 tbsp dried )

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup of chickpeas, mashed

2 eggs, slightly beaten

oil for frying ( I used olive ) but feel free to use whatever oil you like. 

In a medium bowl mix together the flour, parmesan, rosemary, salt and pepper. In a separate bowl mix the pumpkin, chickpeas and eggs. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until combined.

In a deep frying pan heat a generous amount of oil over medium heat. Once the oil is heated drop 3 or 4 large tbsp of batter into the oil. Gently flatten each tbsp. Cook for 3-5 minutes per side or until nice and crispy golden. Remove from pan and lay on some paper towel to cool for a few minutes. Enjoy.

*note: If the fritters are browning too fast, turn the heat down to med-low

Recipe adapted from Heather Christo

Today is my sister Emma’s 30th birthday. I had hoped to take her out to brunch but she was far too hungover for that. Since I wasn’t able to get her to leave the house I decided to whip her up a little personal sized cake and bring it to her. I hadn’t planned on making a cake so I had to use a recipe that called for ingredients I had on hand. This is what I came up with.

Happy Birthday Auntie Emm!!

cake: 

1 1/2 cups gluten free flour

1/2 cup organic cane sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp allspice

1/3 cup pumpkin puree

2 tbsp coconut oil, melted

2/3 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup coconut milk

In a medium bowl sift together the dry ingredients. In a small bowl combine the wet ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix well. Pour the batter into a parchment lined 4 1/2 inch cake pan ( my pan is about 3 inches high and I filled it 2/3 of the way) Bake at 350 for 60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted all the way thorough the center. Let sit for 5 minutes. Remove cake from cake pan, place on a cooling rack for about 15 minutes. Once cake has cooled compleatly cut into 3 using a serrated knife.

*note: If you wish to keep this cake vegan, switch out the cream cheese and use your fave vegan icing!

icing:

2 tbsp coco natura, room temp

1/4 cup coconut spread, room temp

1/3 cup cream cheese, room temp

1 1/2 cups icing sugar ( use a bit more if you like thicker icing )

In a stand mixer whip together the coconut spread, cream cheese and coco natura. Add the icing sugar and whip until light and fluffy.

To assemble:

place first piece of cake on a small dish, top with a thick layer of icing. now add the second layer of cake and top with a thick layer of icing. Add the third layer of cake and frost the entire cake! sprinkle with a little unsweetened coconut. Enjoy!

*note: you can make mini muffins with the left over batter. in a greased mini muffin tin, bake for about 25 minutes.

Getting Poppy to eat has been a challenge. From the start it was quite clear that Poppy was going to eat what she wanted when she wanted and if she didn’t like it then there was no way it was staying in her mouth. We have been through the “headshaking” phase where I would try to distract her to get a quick bite in ( this doesn’t work well if you want to get more food in after the first distraction ); then we were in the “just because it’s in doesn’t mean it’s staying in” phase where she would happily eat a ton of food, stuffing her cheeks to the brim and as I sat watching with joyful relief that she was finally eating she would open her little mouth and proceed to spit every last bit out. This was beyond frustrating. I knew there were a few different options on how to deal with this and I chose simply not to react as it seemed to me she was trying to get a reaction every time she did it. Thankfully after a few weeks this phase ended and now we are into the “Mommy gives Poppy a wide variety of food and Poppy decides what she wants” phase. These days what Poppy wants is smoothies ( this is how I get veggies into her )  bread, cheese and fruit. Because she is so into bread I thought I would try and make my own bread and see how much good stuff I could throw into it without Poppy knowing. This bread was my first try. It is quite good – both Poppy and “grownups” love it. It’s full of goodness and super moist..maybe a bit too moist but that hasn’t stopped anyone from devouring the 2 loaves I have made so far. I have a few tricks I will try next time to see if I can shorten the baking time and take a bit more of the moisture out of it but for now this is my go to bread recipe for Poppy and if she could talk she would absolutely tell you to make it!

• 1/2 cup cottage cheese, pulse in food processor if you don’t want any chunks
• 1/2 cup pitted dates + 1 tbsp water, puree in food processor until the dates turn into a paste
• 1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 1 super ripe banana, mashed
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 med zucchini, shredded and pressed between paper towels to get some of the excess moisture out
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon

You can also add about 1/4 cup flax seeds or other seeds, dried fruit, nuts, choc chip or carob chips if you want.

Preheat oven to 350. In a Med bowl mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. In a separate medium bowl mix the cottage cheese, date paste, apple sauce, mashed banana, pumpkin, oil and egg. Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. Fold in the zucchini ( and nuts, seeds, fruit, choc chips etc if using ). Pour batter into a well greased 9″ loaf pan and bake for about 1 hour 30 min. Insert thickest point of loaf with a wooden skewer; if it comes out relatively clean it’s done. Remove from oven let sit for 10 min and then turn out onto a cooling rack to finish cooling.

I serve this to Poppy as is or with a little organic apple butter for a treat.