Saturday, October 22, 2011

The loveliest season of the year

Fall is my very favorite time of year. I love the weather, the changing colors of the leaves, pumpkin patches, apple cider, corn mazes and of course the food. The list could go on and on.

~*~
Autumn ~

When trees their summer splendor
Change the raiment red and gold,
When summer moons turn mellow,
And the nights are getting cold;
When the squirrels hide their acorns,
And the woodchucks disappear;
Then we know that it is autumn,
Loveliest season of the year.

~Charlotte L. Riser


~*~

I wanted to decorate my home this year to celebrate this wonderful season.


I've decided that my new buffet/dresser in my dining area will now be a display spot for decorating for the different seasons and holidays. I want to make our apartment as homey as possible. Making a big deal about a season is a lot of fun and makes me feels like this place is truly home.


I decorated the candle myself with some left over fall garland pieces and some raffia


~*~

Also, this fall my husband and I had a wonderful visit with our good friends from Grand Rapids. We wanted to take them to this special place we found last year where we did a corn maze at night. Not one of those scary ones, just a nice, family friendly place.

~ Three Cedars Farm ~ 


Click here to visit their website

A wonderful place for families to make memories and have lots of fun.


They have hayrides that take you out to pick your own pumpkins and to get you to their 7 acre corn maze




We stopped in first at the donut hut ~ The best cider and doughnuts that I have ever eaten!


Then we came out to this cute wooden train for children to play on


Next we visited a section called Story Book Farm



The three little pigs were lots of fun


We also visited Billy Goat Gruff, Mary had a little lamb, Peter Cotton tail, The Little Red Hen
  


Milked Maggie the Cow


Played in the barn that has a giant slide for the bigger kids


Then we visited the General Store and warmed up to get away from the cold and blustery weather for awhile


I wanted to get my picture next to this amazing giant metal chicken. I'm kind of obsessed with giant metal chickens after reading a funny blog post about an incident with one. I just needed to get inside to the warmth and forgot once we came back outside. Maybe next time...


Lots to see in the gift shop.


There were so many John Deere tractors for the kids to ride on near a corn "sand" box. This one is the real deal though.


My husband Nate and myself


It was a little too cold to venture out to the corn maze on this visit.
  
We'll see you again next year Three Cedars!

~*~

 I have been in the mood for pumpkin flavored things lately. I decided to try my hand at making pumpkin pie spiced creamer! I make my own homemade french vanilla creamer that goes wonderfully with my favorite coffee called Traverse City Cherry. I use just plain coffee for this creamer though.

Pumpkin Pie Creamer ~

2 Cups skim milk
1/2 Cup canned pure pumpkin
1 Can low fat sweetened condensed milk
2 tbsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
Saucepan
Blender
Airtight container

Warm the milk and pumpkin in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the vanilla and spices, stir until combined. Remove the pan from the heat and cool.


Pour the sweetened condensed milk into the blender with the pumpkin mixture and process for 1 to 2 minutes, or until foamy.


Store the creamer in a covered airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
  

~*~

My next recipe is my Mom's Pumpkin muffin recipe. I was able to use the rest of the pumpkin puree from the creamer recipe and ended up wasting very little.

Pumpkin Muffins ~

Preheat oven to 400 

Sift together ~
2 Cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Set aside,

In a small bowl cream together~
1/4 Cup sugar
1/4 Cup butter

Add ~
1 egg
Beat well,

Stir in ~ 
1 Cup pumpkin
1 Cup milk

Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture and stir just until moistened.


(doesn't this look delicious?)

Fill greased muffin cups 2/3 full, bake 15~20 minutes. Remove from tin at once. Serve hot.


I just love this homemade muffin recipe! It reminds me of my childhood.

(I halved the recipe for just the two of us)

Enjoy the rest of this wonderful fall season. I know that I will!


Virginia Sweet Pea ~ Throwback Thursday

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Found this post on Pinterest. My husband and I got married at Three Cedars Farm in Oct. 2010! After the ceremony (which was upstairs in the barn) we served their amazing donuts & cider! We visit every year for our anniversary. What a great place to visit!! :)