DIY Slab Pumpkin Pie

I wanted to bake a pumpkin pie that would last us a little while, so I made a large rectangular pie. This makes a delicious 9x13 pumpkin pie, so you have plenty to share or enjoy for several days. Although it didn't last as long as I had planned, because it was really good. If you don't want a rectangular pie you could use two regular pie pans.

Oil Pie Crust Recipe

• 2 cups flour
• ½ cup oil (vegetable, canola, sunflower, etc.)
• 6 Tbsp or more ice water
  (makes enough for a standard double crust pie, two single crust pies, or a 9x13 slab pie)

1. Mix together oil and flour with a pastry cutter.
2. Add ice water, and continue mixing until firm dough forms.
3. Let rest at least 15 minutes before rolling. 
4. Bake at 350 F for 10 minutes to avoid a soggy crust.

Homemade Pumpkin Pie Filling Recipe

• 3 cups pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin
• 1 1/2 cups (12oz) of cream, half-n-half, evaporated milk, or even plain whole milk for a light pie
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 3 whole eggs
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp cloves

1. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl, stirring until well combined.
2. Pour into prepared pie crust shells.
3. Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until center is firm.

DIY Pumpkin Bread

My husband loves pumpkin bread, probably because his mom is famous for her great pumpkin bread she makes at Christmastime. Nate says he likes that pumpkin bread is less sweet than the scones and you have room to put butter on it. This it the recipe I used this time to make him some pumpkin bread this time. It turned out really well, nice and moist. You can use it to make great mini loaves or muffins as well with less baking time.

Homemade Pumpkin Bread or Pumpkin Muffins Recipe

Pumpkin muffins made using this recipe with
spiced glaze from scone recipe

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 cups pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup milk
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

1. Mix all ingredients in a large mixing bowl, stirring until well combine.
2. Pour into greased pans.
3. Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes for large loaves, 25-35 minutes for small loaves or muffins.

(Makes about 1 large loaf, or 2 medium loaves, or 8 mini loaves, or 12-18 muffins depending on how full you fill your pans.)

DIY Spiced Pumpkin Cookies

I changed the scone recipe just a little to make these pumpkin cookies. They are really quick to mix up and just drop by the spoonful onto the cookiesheet.

Homemade Spiced Pumpkin Cookie Recipe

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup oil or melted butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/8 tsp (or a pinch) cloves

1. Mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl until well combined.
2. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto a cookie sheet.
3. Bake at 400 F for about 15 minutes until just lightly brown
4. Remove from oven, and let cool.
5. Make spiced powdered sugar glaze.

Spiced Powdered Sugar Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 Tbsp milk
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

Combine spices and sugar, and add milk a Tbsp at a time until a nice consistency. Stir until smooth. Drizzle over cooled cookies. If you want to serve these for company, wait an hour or so for the glaze to harden, but I really have a hard time waiting more than a couple minutes to eat some myself. These are a great with tea, coffee, or milk.

(Makes about 2 dozen good sized cookies)

Mandarin Mondays:交通

One thing that is markedly different about living in a big city in China, instead of the suburbs or countryside of America, is transportation (jiāo tōng, 交通) around town. Kunming is relatively modern and packed with cars (chē, 车). Some foreigners even drive here, although it takes a bit of effort to get a driver's license here and a bit of an expense to purchase a vehicle. However, if you are spending most of your time within the city, you don't really "need" a car unless you just love to drive.

The option we use the most for traveling in the city is public buses (gōng jiāo chē, 公交车), which will take you all over the city for a very reasonable price. Once you learn the bus routes, it feels very comfortable to just hop on a bus and ride to your destination. My husband has even used Google maps to figure out bus routes to and from destinations. If we are going somewhere new, we can figure out ahead of time what number bus to catch, if we need to change buses, and the names of the stops we want to get off at.

Some other foreigners use small motorcycles (diàn dòng chē, 电动车). Motorcycles will probably get you to your destination as fast or faster than any car, but they're not our preferred method of transportation. Regular pedal bicycles (zì xíng chē, 自行车) are more popular and perhaps the most popular method among foreigners. They can get you to your destination on our own schedule quite quickly and have very little fees, other than an occasional very small parking fee.

I think the last option for getting around town is the simplest, although it will take you longer, and that is simply walking (zǒu, 走). We often do this to places nearby, and usually push our little boys in the stroller or use baby carriers to carry them on our backs. This is a great option for things that are close to you. It has all of the benefits of a bicycle, and you don’t have to lock your bike. It will take you longer and you'll be more tired, and obviously it is not a good option for getting all the way across the city, but for a quick run to the store, we like this option best. Walmart, fruit and vegetables markets, and a lot of restaurants are all within easy walking distance from our house.

DIY Cinnamon or Pumpkin Spice Syrup

We are loving all things pumpkin right now at our house, including these delicious pumpkin pancakes. This weekend, I made some pumpkin spice syrup to go with them. I briefly adapted the recipe from here. I really like the combination of spices, but if you feel like this would be pumpkin spice overload, simply using the cinnamon will tone it down a little.

Homemade Cinnamon or Pumpkin Spice Syrup Recipe

• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• Dash of ginger
• Dash or cloves

Combine all ingredients in a pot, and stir well. Make sure flour is thoroughly dissolved. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, until the syrup begins to thicken. Pour over pumpkin pancakes, and enjoy, or cool and refrigerate for later use.

DIY Pumpkin Scones

This is my new favorite pumpkin recipe of the year. Last year, I discovered pumpkin soup and love it, but this may just be the best unusual use of pumpkin puree ever! I adapted a recipe I found here, making it a little simpler in my opinion. I'm lazy enough to not like the extra step of cutting in the butter, so I substitute oil or melted butter and they still turn out amazing.

Homemade Pumpkin Scone Recipe

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup oil or melted butter
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/8 tsp (or a pinch) cloves

1. Mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl until well combined.
2. Divide dough in two, and press or roll out into circles on greased pans until about 1/2 inch thick. 
3. Score into about 16 total triangle-shaped scones.
4. Bake at 400 F for about 15 minutes until just lightly brown
5. Remove from oven, and let cool.
6. Make spiced powdered sugar glaze.

Spiced Powdered Sugar Glaze

• 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2–3 Tbsp milk
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

Combine spices and sugar, and add milk a Tbsp at a time until a nice consistency. Stir until smooth. Drizzle over cooled scones. If you want to serve these for company, wait an hour or so for the glaze to harden, but I really have a hard time waiting more than a couple minutes to eat some myself. These are a great with both tea or coffee.

Family Fridays: I Like Your Funny Hat

Today at a friend's house, the boys had a blast using her plastic containers as hats. I am so thankful that they are still so easily entertained by little things like this and that they can create lots of smiles and laughter for us adults as well.

DIY Pumpkin Biscuits

These are a great low-fat twist on traditional biscuits. These are really good with butter and/or honey and as an accompaniment to pumpkin soup.

Homemade Pumpkin Biscuits

• 2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp oregano or cinnamon (optional)

1. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir until well combined.
2. Drop rounded tablespoons onto a greased cookie sheet.
3. Bake at 400 F for 10–20 minutes.

DIY Pumpkin Soup

This is an unusual use for pumpkin, but we all (except for Aaron) love it. Like most soup, you can customize the taste quite a bit by varying the meat and vegetables to your liking.

Homemade Pumpkin Soup Recipe

• 4 cups chicken broth or water
• 2 cups pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin
• 2 cups whole milk or half-and-half
• 1 pound of sausage, chicken, or ground beef (cut and cooked)
• 4-6 potatoes
• 3-4 cups carrots, corn, celery, peas, beans or a combination (cut)
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 2 cloves garlic chopped
• 2 tsp salt (unless using salty sausage)
• 2 tsp oregano or cinnamon (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a large pot, and simmer for 30-60 minutes. Or combine all ingredients in a crock pot, and cook for 4-8 hours.  These are great served with pumpkin or cheesy biscuits.

DIY Pumpkin Pancakes

This is a great fall twist on traditional pancakes. It is a great use for pumpkin puree and uses less milk than regular pancakes in case you are running low.

Homemade Pumpkin Pancake Recipe

• 3 cups flour
• 1 cup pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tbsp oil
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg

1. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl, and stir until smooth.
2. Pour 1/2 cup of batter on hot greased frying pan, and fry until underside is lightly browned.
3. Flip over, and brown the other side.