F. F. F. FALL!

We've been enjoying some crisp fall days here! The expected low Wednesday night was 27.

So I picked a huge bouquet of the cosmos to grace my bathroom. I have to admit that it is my first vaseful in the bathroom since May!! How disappointing. .I like to have fresh flowers from the yard in the bathroom throughout the summer. .but the gardens were not very productive. .and my motivation was less than enthusiastic! So I have been LOVING them this week.

I also picked as many of the jalepenos as I could handle. It seems that I will have another 4-5 days with low temps above 40. Maybe I'll get some cherry tomatos yet!!

I was hungry for some fall-like flavors and searched out some pancake recipes to try! I thought they were great!! Though the two cooks shown were less than thrilled about them after they tasted them! Not plain enough I guess! They were wonderfully apple flavored and very moist!

I like flavored syrups on my pancakes. This one had a syrup recipe using cardamom. .which I have never tried in my life. I tweaked the recipe with cinnamon and nutmeg instead, and it gave a nice tart flavor to the pancakes. The kitchen even smelled crisp and seasonal as they baked up!!

Apple Cider Pancakes

1 cup oat flour ( 1 cup uncooked rolled oats blended in food processor)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 tablespoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

3 eggs

2 1/2 cups apple cider

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 large apples ( peeled, grated)

Combine flours, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Combine eggs, apple cider, oil, and apples then mix with dry ingredients just until moistened. Spray hot griddle with cooking spray, ladle 1/4 cup batter onto griddle, cook until bubbles form on top, flip, continue cooking until golden.

Serve with Cinnamon Cider Syrup.

Cinnamon Cider Syrup

Serves: 6 Yield: 1 cup 

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 cup apple cider

Combine cornstarch with cider. Stir until smooth and add spices. Cook over medium heat until thickened. Try to keep from licking it out of the bowl!

The leftover cakes warmed up great. .and, while the syrup didn't look very pretty warmed up, it still tasted really good! I really was hoping to have posted this earlier so you could all try them out for your Sunday breakfast!

 It still amazes me that everyone's lives are always a second and a phone call away from change. .and it is so easy to take life and schedules for granted daily! Yesterday morning we were notified that Jeremy's grandpa, who has been afflicted with a debilitating case of dementia, had fallen ill in the wee hours. Pneumonia was diagnosed. .and the decision to keep him comfortable, but not actively treat the infection was made. A merciful decision, I might add. Though his mind has been a fragment of what it once was, requiring a year long nursing home stay, his spirit is tough, and he is still somewhere between life and death as I write tonight. It has been an emotionally draining time for our family. .with a difficult week to come. .We appreciate your prayers for comfort and healing!

Ecclesiastes 3:1-4

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:

2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, 3 a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build, 4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.

Have a blessed Sunday!