What I Wrote Wednesday

I decided that since I failed last year, I would try to send more cards and letters this year.  Last week, I mailed my dear friend Monica a card.  She just recently had baby Autumn (in November), and I've only gotten to hang with them once since then.  :(  I miss her so much and can't wait to see Autumn (and Rob!) again!  She's already growing so fast, and it's a joy to watch Monica become a mama.  :)  Here's a little trip down memory lane...

 back in 2006--our first picture together

Monica and I actually met on Facebook before we met in real life:  Originally, Facebook was just for those enrolled in universities, and Monica was in a few of my classes sophomore year.  I had to miss a few days in October, and I sent a message to a few folks that had added my two literature classes about the assignments I missed.  And we never looked back!

 This is with our dear friend Katie on Monica's birthday in 2007.  We were at the Electric Cowboy, and if you know us, you know that really isn't our kind of place.  *haha*  Senior year, we were a trio; if you saw one, you always saw the other two.  We had so many fun times together (as you can see by this picture)!

For example, here we are at Monica and Katie's graduation in December 2007.  Katie is actually now expecting a baby, and we find out this month if baby J is a boy or girl!

And this was on my graduation day in May 2008.  :)

Zach and I had a joint bachelor/bachelorette party the night before our wedding in 2009.  We went to The Flying Saucer, where we met, with all of our friends.

This was after Zach and I graduated with our Master's degrees in 2010.  We were at The Flying Saucer again with our friend Whitney (who was partially responsible for Zach and my match!).

 

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 premiere in July 2011

We are nerds.  (Hey, we were English majors!)

At Monica's shower this past fall 

meeting Autumn Gabrielle Elizabeth

We all matched!

I just love my dear friend and am so glad my card helped her have a great day.  I already know who I am writing next!

Menu Monday: HOGWARTS' PUMPKIN BREAD

In case you didn't know, I'm a little obsessed with Harry Potter:

The Elephant House: one of the local establishments in Edinburgh where Rowling penned the first HP

my seventeenth birthday cake

my husband as The Boy Who Lived

One of the Gryffindor scarves I made :)

Next on the list: a Gryffindor beanie.

Monica and me at the midnight release party of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Zach got me a Dobby minifig for Christmas 2010

Magical and Muggle at the showing of Part 1 of Deathly Hallows

my collection of HP books along with my Freeing Dobby Lego set & the Harry Potter Sorting Hat charm holder Sara got me for my birthday once upon a time

(We recently got rid of all our paperback Harry Potter books.)

with Harry

I recently had a $10 Amazon voucher from Coinstar I needed to use, so I consulted my Wish List. And what did I find I really, really, really wanted? This. :)

The week when it arrived we had tried to bake PUMPKIN BREAD in our bread machine. It did NOT turn out. The recipe called for canned pumpkin, but all I had on hand was pumpkin pie mix. It was my understanding that you could substitute the pumpkin pie mix for the canned pumpkin as long as you omitted the seasonings and (part of) the sweetener because these are already included in the mix. The first loaf we tried did not have nearly enough pumpkin for our tastes. It did not have that dense, rich texture either. So we tried to double up on the pumpkin pie mix. Well...the bread machine rebelled and did not mix the dough enough, so it did not rise. Alas, alack, we decided to discard that recipe.

When we had all but given up hope, luckily this gem came in with a pumpkin bread recipe. Even though it wasn't a bread machine recipe, I baked it up. It turned out beautifully! :) The following recipe is based on the one in the cookbook:

HOGWARTS' PUMPKIN BREAD

1 1/2 c. flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

a sprinkle of each of the following: cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground cloves

1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter or margarine at room temperature

1/2 c. sugar

2 large eggs

3/4 c. pumpkin pie filling

1/3 c. whole milk

powdered sugar, for dusting

-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.* Grease and flour a loaf pan. Whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and seasonings.

-In a separate bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about four minutes. Add the eggs one at a time. Add the pumpkin and beat until combined. Add the milk and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture in thirds and mix on the lowest speed until combined. Scrape and fold with a rubber spatula to finish.

-Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes, rotating halfway through baking, until the top is golden and the loaf is well risen and feels firm when pressed lightly in the center. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan. To serve, remove the loaf from the pan and dust with powdered sugar.

[Makes 1 loaf]

*If you are using a glass or dark metal pan, reduce baking temperature by 25 degrees to prevent overbaking.