Autumn Treasures

Candles and teapots and pumpkin pie playdough.....these are a few of our favorite things! (sing to the tune of "My Favorite Things" for greater effect:)) Here are just a few reasons why autumn is one of our family's most beloved seasons. We've been enjoying these autumn treasures all week.

~The music of Fernando Ortega and David Nevue

Here are Reaches Up and Whistler singing along to Ortega's "The Shadow of Your Wings" cd. It was a beautiful way to start the day.

~Yummy Apple Crisp

This one is so easy that it's almost too tasty to be true.

Easy Apple Crisp

6 apples-peeled, cored and sliced (we like the taste of Granny Smiths)

1 c. water

1 (18.25 oz.) white cake mix (we've used butter flavor with success, too)

1 c. packed brown sugar

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 c. butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and lightly grease a 13x9 inch baking dish. Arrange apples in an even layer in bottom of baking dish. Pour water over apples. In a medium bowl, mix together cake mix, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Stir in melted butter until ingredients are thoroughly blended; mixture will be crumbly. Sprinkle mixture over apples. Bake for 50-55 minutes.

(from Allrecipes.com)

~The beautiful colors of autumn.

After ten years here, we FINALLY planted some trees. Each tree will be named after a family member. Above is my tree and below is Mountain Man's. It's lovely to see even these small trees display God's majestic work in His creation.

~Pumpkin Pie Playdough

After finding this on the internet last year, I made a batch with the help of Boo this week. It's simply yummy smelling, and the children are enjoying displaying their creativity with these masses of autumn-colored dough.

Reaches Up likes to make battles with even his playdough creations.

Whistler enjoys making pots and bowls, and she made some amazingly realistic creations.

Boo focuses on creating appetizing cookies and cakes for everyone to sample.

Pumpkin Pie Playdough

5-1/2 c. flour

2 c. salt

8 tsp. cream of tartar

3/4 c. oil 4 c. water

pumpkin pie spice (we used 2 tsp., but I'll try 4 next time)

orange food coloring (2 part yellow/1 part red)

Mix ingredients together. Cook over medium-low heat and stir until lumps disappear. Knead on floured surface (we just did it on wax paper without flour) until nice consistency. Store in airtight container (we keep ours in a gallon ziploc bag).

This made enough playdough for all the Littles to have plenty to use.

~Buttermilk pancakes

We love having these during the week. We tried a new recipe on Wednesday, and it is our favorite so far for quick and easy homemade pancakes.

Buttermilk Pancakes

2 c. all purpose flour

2 T. sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 c. buttermilk

3 T. unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 large egg

vegetable oil for the pan

Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk the buttermilk, melted butter, and egg together. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, pour the buttermilk mixture into the well, and gently whisk together until just incorporated with a few lumps remaining. (from one of my favorite cookbooks The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book)

~A steaming teapot on a chilly morning

The children love waking up to a pot of tea or cups of hot cocoa. I love my large teapot from the Plow and Hearth company. It's used everyday.

~The delicious smells of Yankee candles

We're a candle-lovin' family. Even our boys have learned what candles can do for atmosphere, and often get them lighted before I do. Candles are such an easy way to spell "COZY HOME."

(Note: Amusing trivia--Webster in the 1828 dictionary states that while some writers use "lit," it is an "inelegant" form of the past tense for light. Are you smiling?)