love might be where you find it

do you celebrate valentine's day? or do you eye-roll the holiday?

we'll celebrate.

i'll celebrate anything, really.

life is too short to give up the small celebrations in life--valentine's day, a lost tooth, a good grade, a clean bill of health, finding a twenty in your coat pocket.

so, is love a giant-red-foiled-heart-shaped-box-of-chocolates? or is it a dozen red long-stemmed roses? perhaps it's a diamond necklace?

i don't know.

around here, it's getting up at 6:00 am to finish painting a spongebob squarepants valentine's box for a certain 10 year old.

and it's also, cleaning the kitty litter box before leaving for school.

it can be leaving enough milk in the carton for the next breakfast-eater.

and turning on just enough light to see, but not so much that it wakes the whole house at five in the morning.

love is many things. celebrated in little moments, and when the day comes around that celebrates love with you....then a little chocolate won't kill you.right?

and sushi wouldn't hurt, either. :)


hugs and kisses, love and light
deborah

for anytime or all the time

i've mentioned in previous posts that i am not a baker. however, there is one recipe that even I, cannot mess up. trust me. i (with the help of our youngest) have baked 18 loaves and counting of this yummy-scrummy chocolate chip pumpkin bread since the wednesday before thanksgiving.

my dear friend and former neighbor would bring this to us every once and awhile. she also would bring us cake*pops*, cookies, soup. i miss her living so close....and i miss her cooking for us.

a few months after she and her family moved back to california, i made cookies. all by myself--they were pretty good too. when the boys came home from school i had them sitting on a plate with ice-cold milk. guess who made you cookies? the boys guessed amy. all the way from california. c'mon.

so here's her recipe:

3 1/2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
*mix above ingredients in large bowl.
add following ingredients--mix:
3 c. sugar
3/4 c. water
1 c. oil
1 small can pumpkin
4 eggs
1 (6 oz) pkg. chocolate chips
*grease loaf pans w/crisco. bake at 350degrees for:
1 hour for 4 small loaf pans
or 1 1/2 hours for 2 large loaf pans
let cool a few minutes, then turn out on rack.

i've made a teeny-tiny adjustment out of the idea i could make this a teeny-tiny bit healthier. i substitute 1/2 cup applesauce in place of 1/2 cup of oil. i still use a 1/2 oil. you could skip the chocolate chips. i've thought about doing it....but, i'm scared. what happens to people who pass on chocolate? it can't be good. ;)


best
deborah
p.s. you can move back here amy. that photo at the top of the page--it's from miami or bangladesh. not michigan. not even my backyard.