The Shepherd's Apprentice: Mmmmmm.... Fall

Elly when she was 3. My friend Valerie, awesome photographer chic, took this......I love how she captured Elly being herself....

Wow, has it been that long already? I haven't been here in over a month, and I have sooo much to say and so little time! I'll be posting before and after pictures soon, so be on the look out, and that's all I'm gonna say about that.... :-) I did find a couple of pictures of Elly and Maddy that my awesome photographer chic friend took when they were much smaller.....where has the time gone.....the following two were taken at our church's Reformation Day party....loads of fun!!

Maddy was 5 (she's now 13) and she was a magical monarch butterfly that year, this is one of my favorite shots of her....

Elly was 3 (she's now 10) and she was the little lion with her blankie, too cute for words!!!

Today, I'm baking my first loaf of pumpkin bread of the season. As a lover of pumpkin anything, our family recipe for pumpkin bread is the best I've ever tasted!! (Not that I'm at all biased or anything........lol!) I made some changes a few years ago, and the kids couldn't even taste the difference, so we kept em'. I reduced the sugar by 1 cup, and used applesauce instead of the cup of oil, white whole wheat flour instead of white flour, and, since we like our pumpkin bread spicy, I upped the spices a bit. Yummmm, with a cup of pumpkin spice coffee, it's the epitome of fall yumminess!!!

"Healthy" Pumpkin Bread

3 1/2 c white whole wheat flour (I like King Arthur or Trader Joe's)
2 t baking soda
2 c succanat or sugar
1 c water
4 eggs or 1 cup egg beaters (for the 2pt per slice calculation, use egg beaters, but it turns out yummy either way :-)
1 c unsweetened applesauce
1 can pumpkin (around 1 3/4 - 2 cups of pumpkin puree)
1 t cloves
1 t nutmeg
1 t allspice
Dash of ground ginger
2 t cinnamon
1 c chopped nuts (optional)

Mix dry ingredients, add wet ingredients and mix well ( all in one bowl). Pour batter into two loaf pans that have been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Bake at 350 F for around 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from pans immediately, and place on rack to cool. Can be served warm with butter, or we just like it plain. Somtimes we even have it for breakfast with cream cheese. Enjoy!!! (for those of you on Weight Watchers, the recipe has been run through the points calculator, and it's 2 points per slice of a 10 slice loaf...just fyi :-)

I just love pulling out my great grandmother's mixing bowl, and making the same recipes I imagine she would've made, this unassuming bowl is one of my dearest possessions. I love the feel of it, the weight of it , even the color of it. I remember using it when I was a kid, and my Mum and I mixing this recipe, using this bowl. Amazing that. Now, I'm doing the same with my daughters, my little sous chefs, always wanting to help, to stir, to create......just like their Mama.....and their Nana.......generations of women creating for their families, making home.....well....home.