Dark Chocolate and Pumpkin Swirl Cake

This is one pumpkin treat you will want to try.  It is delicious!  If you like to give little gifts to neighbors or friends at Thanksgiving, this would be great. And get ready because they will be asking for more.  It is called a cake and its very moist and it's a wonderful break from your traditional pumpkin bread.  

1 3/4 cups flour

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice ( I used 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/8 t. clove and ginger)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 ;arge eggs

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup canned pumpkin

3 oz. dark chocolate, melted

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon finely shredded orange peel

2 to 3 tablespoons orange juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Coat a 9x5 inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.  Line pan with parchment; coat with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.  

In a large bowl whisk together flour, spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl whisk together eggs and sugar.  Add butter, buttermilk,and vanilla. Whisk until combined well and fold in pumpkin.  

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients all at once and whisk until no lumps remain. 

Divide batter in half and add melted chocolate and coco powder to half the batter, stir to combine. 

Alternately add batters to pan.  Using a knife swirl through batter. 

Bake for 55 to 65 minutes until cake has risen and crackled and a toothpick comes out clean.  Remove,let cool 20 minutes. Invert on a wire rack and cool completely.

For orange glaze, in a small bowl stir together powdered sugar, orange peel and orange juice.  Spoon over cooled cake.  I spooned my glaze over the cake while still warm.

Best Things In Life Are Free

An hour outdoors can be worth ten
in the therapist's office.  Make the most of nature's blessings: fresh air, sunshine, trees, grass, falling leaves, creeks, rivers, lakes and the ocean if you are lucky enough to live by it.  This time of year, the best things in life are free.  We are to celebrate the abundance of the Earth and all of it's many gifts to us.

There have been times that a day didn't seem so great starting out and was totally turned into a marvelous  day by getting outside and digging in the dirt or taking a walk or just sitting and listening to the birds sing and looking at the bluest sky.  It never ceases to amaze me how my perspective always changes.

My New Flower Beds

I'm really excited!  After many years, I finally have my flower beds sculptured.  We had some old bricks at our home when we moved in so I thought I would use them to make an edging for the flower beds.  I know this is an old fashion concept but I love it, this is totally me. I made a few beds with the bricks we had but have never been able to finish what I wanted to do.  I didn't want to buy a whole pallet of bricks because I didn't need that many.  So my wonderful husband was coming home from out of town and came through a small town about 30 miles from us where an old building had fallen down on main street.  I called the city manager and he gave us a permit to pick up the bricks. So we have made several trips actually 3 to pick up bricks.  I keep deciding to make one more flower bed.  Actually, the one in front of the green house is my last one. Gary is sure hoping it will be.  :)

I want to thank him now for helping me load and unload all these bricks.  I really had fun putting these in and looking at the finished product.  I still have to dig the grass out of some of them.  A lot of that has already been finished in the other beds but as you can see there is still some digging for the one in front of the green house.

Next will be the really fun part of picking out the shrubs and flowers I want to use.  I was listening to an author speak the other day and she talked about her passion of going into old books stores and that she loves them and just goes nuts when she enters.  I laughed to myself because I knew exactly what she was talking about I like old books stores but my passion is going to green houses, I love them and I go nuts when I enter one.

Enjoy these beautiful days outside~  xo

Carving Pumpkins

I saw this in a magazine recently and thought it was a different look from the traditional toothy grin.

What Fall is Looking Like At Our Home

Having Trouble with My Computer

I have ideas to share and pictures to show but for some reason my computer is not transferring them. We had my computer worked on but that aspect was not fixed.  Back to the repair man.

Fun Idea for the Fall

I saw this in a magazine and thought it would be a fun idea for your children or grandchildren.  Being outside, fall, pumpkins playing a game .........what's not to love!  And then have caramel apples waiting for when the games are over..

 

 

I thought these were some great ideas.  Melting dark chocolate, caramel, butterscotch, and white chocolate.  Then use different nuts, granola and different candies chopped up for dipping.