Delicious Pumpkin Muffins

This is my favourite recipe for pumpkin muffins and is also great as pumpkin loaf if you are lazy like me and don’t want to bother filling all those paper cups 🙂

I purchased these muffin wrappers which I think look a little more spooky for a Halloween party I went to, but if you would like to make your own, you can find a tutorial here.

Pumpkin Muffin Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 2 Cups white sugar
• 1 1/2 Cups Oil – I use light olive oil which is pricey but healthy. Any quality vegetable or canola oil should do
• 1 3/4 Cups pure pumpkin from a can (be careful not to get pumpkin pie filling by mistake)
• 3 Cups all purpose flour
• 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 Cups rasins or chocolate chips
• Brown sugar for sprinkling on top*Note: if you double the recipe, you can use a full 796ml can.

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º
2. Mix together eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the rest of ingredients (except the brown sugar).
4. Add bowl of dry ingredients to wet and mix all together thoroughly.
5. Fill muffin tins and sprinkle top with brown sugar.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes (until toothpick comes out clean after poking centre)

Enjoy!

Halloween: Tissue Ghosts (easy and fun with kids)

Of all the fun crafts my mom involved my sister and I with when we were kids, this one stands out as my favourite and my kids seem to love it too. It is about as simple as you can get as far as Halloween crafts go and great for all ages.

Supplies:
– Kleenex (tissue)
– White thread
– Marker

1) Take one tissue and scrunch it into a ball.
2) Wrap second tissue around first and twist to form the head.
3) Wrap thread around neck of ghost and tie knot leaving enough tail of thread to be used to hang onto something.
4) Make dots on face with marker for eyes and mouth.

We have hung them from our dining light but are also great in a window or anywhere really. Another great option is to pick a branch and hang them from the it.

On The Doorstep Of Fall

Just thought I would post a few pictures from yesterday and today. The seasons definitely feel like they are changing. The air is crisper and clearer. The trees are on the brink of changing colour, and the animals are all very busy preparing for the winter.

Evening and dusk

Moon setting behind a cloud early this morning


Crisp, clear evening

Sunrise reflected on trees with morning fog

Saw the first otter since spring!

Heard what I thought was knocking at the door (apparently so did my dog because she started barking). It turned out to be this guy on the tree beside our house!

Love our bedroom in the fall…

…and the sparkling reflection of the water from the living room.

The trees are just on the brink of changing colour.

One thing about fall I can’t say I am fond of is it also means a rush to be prepared for the long winter ahead. Here are our wood piles in various stages of chopping.