pumpkin

It’s the MOST wonderful time of the year….

~ stephzuniga ~ Leave a comment

…nope not Christmas.  Thanksgiving.  

Thanksgiving is my favourite holiday of all time of the whole year.  It’s not typically celebrated in Australia, but I love celebrating it.  This year is no different.  We (I) am hosting a Thanksgiving Potluck for a few American friends.  I’m doing the turkey and corn casserole (and mash potatoes)everyone is bringing side dishes so it should be quite the feast.  

I mean Thanksgiving is the purest holiday I can think of.  Every family does it differently, there’s no need for gifts, and everyone can celebrate it.  It’s truly an opportunity to come together and hang out and eat.  What could be better!!!???!!

It’s great to see it gradually seep into Australian life– mainly through Americans but it’s seeping in nonetheless.  I’m doing my part to spread it.  This week’s cookies are Pumpkin Chocolate Chip because, well, Thanksgiving.

What else is happening? Still enjoying my spring/summer break!   We are gearing up for Christmas and the big birthday in a few weeks.  I can’t believe my baby is turning 9!  And on that topic, we went out for a family dinner the other night at Ms G’s and I was MOST impressed!  He ate everything we ordered and loved every bit of it.  We didn’t even order special “kid” things and he even tried (multiple bites) of the steak tartare.  I was shocked and also quite pleased and impressed.

Also, I caught up with some girlfriends for brunch at Theeca and we tried Savoury Chocolate toast.  I didn’t know what to expect- sourdough, chocolate mousse, olive oil, sea salt.  Ummmm, possibly the best thing I’ve EVER eaten for breakfast.  Seriously, life changing in the best way possible.

This has been a weekend of excellent eating.  Not going to lie- from the Thanksgiving Pie Bake off on Friday, to trying the new burger place on Friday night to Ms Gs last night and breakfast this morning at Theeca.  It’s been a weekend full of good food and great friends– no better way to kick off Thanksgiving week!

Mexican Chocolate Icebox Cookies Take 2…and Cinnamon Bun Cookies

~ stephzuniga ~ Leave a comment

This week we’ve revisited an old favourite and are trying a new favorite!

The old favorites are the Mexican Chocolate Icebox Cookies from Jenny Rosenstrach’s “Dinner: A love story” cookbook.  I’ve always really liked this cookbook- it’s full of easy and tasty recipes that are great for families.  I’ve had it for years now– in fact, even before I was married or a mom.  She has a great blog, (Dinner: A Love Story) too which I follow.   It now leans more plant forward but it’s really good.   I’ve made these cookies before and they’re yum!  Spicy, chocolatey and very easy.

I also tried Christina Tosi’s Cinnamon Bun Cookies from her All About Cookies cookbook.  I love all of her cookies, and these are no exception!  They’re not quite as easy to make (because you have to stuff them with cream cheese) but they are tasty!  They’re small batch- maybe only 10-12 per batch but they were excellent.  So tasty and moist.

I’m also on the hunt for Thanksgiving cookies.  I have a couple of cans of Libby’s pumpkin to use, and probably won’t be making any pies with it– so why not make cookies?????  I’m kind of getting Deja Vu from last year– I think I wanted to make Thanksgiving cookies last year too!   Hopefully this year, I find some crowd pleasing pumpkin cookies- or maybe ChatGPT can help to invent some!

I’m not working at the moment but spending a lot of time working on myself- specifically the physical activities I love pole dancing, gym tennis- and tomorrow I try pickleball for the first time! I’m very excited!