The Joys of Fall: November Poetry

If you ask the members of my family what their favorite season is, the majority of them will say "Fall". And although it's not my first choice, I certainly see what they love about this season. The temperatures are less extreme, in fact my older son and I call this "sleeping weather". The colors of nature show themselves, although it's hard for me to appreciate the breadth of Mother Nature's beauty when you grew up in New England and now live in the Midwest. But it's there. 

We love the smell and the colors of a fire burning in the fireplace, especially on the weekends with football on the TV. Lazy Sundays spent with hot cocoa and grazing on appetizers through the day instead of planned meals. Yes, the joys of Fall are many.

So it seems appropriate that the Monthly Poetry Group chose Joys of Fall as our theme for November. I'm sure they'll all do the subject justice and I've included links to their poems at the end of this post. My particular interpretation, well that may be another story altogether.

The Joys of Fall

The joys of Fall,
lets count them all.
A roaring fire
and Sunday football. 

Done with all the fleas and bees.  
Exquisite colors on the trees.
No more mowing, yes please.
Not yet snow but lovely breeze.

Shopping sprees have now begun,
what for whom, so much fun,
store to store we happily run,
seeing their smiles, the best, bar none!

And oh, the food, I cook and bake,
family favorites we always make,
pecan pie, pumpkin spice cake,
of squash and apples, we partake.

Roasted Butternut Squash with Apples

The joys of Fall,
lets count them all,
it's a holiday windfall.
Celebrate blessings, big and small.

Before you go, click on these links to more poetry by some of my friends:

Dawn of Cognitive Script shares Indian Summer Jubilation. 

Lydia of Cluttered Genius shares Joy of Fall.

Diane of On the Border shares Princess, Me and Leaves.
Jules of The Bergham Chronicles shares Joys of Fall.

Roasted Butternut Squash with Apples

                                                                          ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
2 large butternut squash
1 large firm, tart apple (I like Honey Crisp or Braeburn)
3 TBSP olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp ginger
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg

2 TBSP maple syrup
salt, pepper, cinnamon

Directions:
*Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
*Peel, seed, and chop the squash into approximately 1 inch cubes. Place in a bowl.
*Peel, seed and slice the apple into about 12 slices. Cut each slice in thirds. Add to the bowl.
*Mix together the olive oil, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, ginger, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add to the bowl and gently stir so the seasoned oil coats all of the fruit and vegetables. 
*Pour onto baking sheet and spread out over the pan. Drizzle with the maple syrup, sprinkle with additional salt, pepper and cinnamon to taste.
*Roast for 20 to 25 minutes or until the squash is tender.

Caramel Topped Apple Spice Bread: Fall Favorites

Today’s post is the next in our series of Blog With Friends theme collaborations. Each month a group  of bloggers get together and each publish a project based on a theme. What I love about this partnership is that it’s not bloggers with similar interests or strengths but a diverse group coming up with a variety of posts. In any given month we may have a recipe, sewing tutorial, crafts projects, book review and/or a technology post all related to the theme of the month.

This month's theme is Fall Favorites.

There will be individual project pictures and links to what everyone else has to offer at the end of my post, but here’s a peek at what we all came up with:

I made Caramel Topped Apple Spice Bread.

Caramel Topped Apple Spice Bread

If you know me at all, you know it's no secret that when it comes to weather, I'm a summer girl. But when it comes to flavors, I'm all about the Fall. I love apples and pumpkins and all kinds of squash. My favorite apples are those with a bit of a bite, nothing too sweet for me. Braeburns or Honey Crisps are almost all I buy.

But it's the spices of the season, though, where my true love lies. The cinnamon, cloves, allspice and nutmeg. Bake a dessert with some or all of the above and once I get a whiff of those spices, I know it's Fall.

My mother in law, many years ago, gave me the recipe for an applesauce spice bread that had just a bit of baking cocoa in it. I thought that was strange, cocoa in a spice bread, but it worked. It was with that in mind that I developed this recipe. Like her recipe, there's some applesauce and a little cocoa. 

But there's also chopped apples in my bread, cinnamon baking chips, a bit of honey, a different spice mix, and just for the fun of it, I placed a line of caramel filled chocolates across the top before baking.

It's really that simple, mix it up, bake, cool and slice. You can see the caramel filled chocolate at the top and the chunks of apple inside.

This bread is really versatile. It's delicious with a cup of coffee for breakfast, but I heated up a slice in the microwave and topped it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert. No matter how you serve it, you'll be glad you made it. Pinky swear!

As always, any time you make one of my recipes, feel free to post a picture of it to my Baking In A Tornado Facebook Page. I'd love to see it!

Be sure to visit all of this month's other Blog With Friends projects:

Alicia of TaylorLife shares Favorite Fall Foods that Help Fight Depression.

Kia of Think In English shares Fabulous Fall Activities and Resources for ESL Teachers.

Rabia of The Lieber Family Blog shares Fall Wall or Door Decor.

Lydia of Cluttered Genius shares Proven Fall Favorites for Kids.

Dawn of Spatulas on Parade shares Chocolate Faux Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Be sure to stop by again next month for more theme based projects.

Caramel Topped Apple Spice Bread

                                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 stick butter, softened

1 egg, room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 TBSP honey

1 2/3 cups flour, divided

1 tsp baking soda

2 TBSP baking cocoa

1 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp cloves

1/4 tsp apple pie spice

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup apple sauce, divided

1 apple, cored, peeled and chopped 

1/3 cup cinnamon baking chips

7 caramel filled chocolates

Directions:

*Grease a loaf pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

*Cream the butter, egg, sugar, brown sugar and honey. Carefully beat in 2/3 cup flour, baking soda, baking cocoa, cinnamon, cloves, apple pie spice and salt.

*Beat in 1/2 cup applesauce, then the remaining flour, followed by the remaining apple sauce. Mix in the chopped apple and cinnamon baking chips.

*Spread into the prepared loaf pan. Place the caramel filled chocolates across the top.

*Bake for 45 - 50 minutes or until the center springs back to the touch. Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edges, remove from the pan and allow to cool completely.

Leave Tomorrow for Tomorrow: Secret Subject Swap

Welcome a Secret Subject Swap. This month 11 brave bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret   in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts. Read through mine and at the bottom you’ll find links to all of today’s other Secret Subject participants.

My subject is: You have a chance to go forward one year in time. How has your life changed? Better or worse?
It was submitted by: Minette of Southern Belle Charm.

I should have gotten this prompt last month for Halloween because even thinking about it is terrifying. Even if I were given the option, the need to decide whether to do it or not stresses me. Could I? Should I? Would I? I don't know how I'd answer.

I think, quite honestly, getting through today is sometimes tough enough, do I really need to know what tomorrow holds? It's a double edged sword, of course. Maybe if I knew the decisions I am now making work out in the future, I'd be more confident. Knowing what's to come can possibly do the opposite too, leave me unable to deal with today.

I think I, I think anyone, with a prompt like this would want to be positive. It makes today more meaningful. I expect my youngest, PurDude, will have graduated from college and be settling into a job and a new life. Will I get lucky? Will he be somewhere where I can see him more often than I do now? Doubtful. It will be another difficult transition for me. But it will also be another source of great pride in him. 

Where will College Boy be? He's taking time off from school and is now close to home. Will he make good choices about his future, his direction? Will he even put effort into making these choices? Sadly, I'm not confident at all. I worry about him more than I can bear, and I'm afraid this may very well be unchanged a year from now.

I expect my home life will be very different a year from now. Will I still find joy in cooking? You know what, I doubt it. Dinner for four became dinner for three and a year from now, possibly dinner for two. I'll probably feel less need to make a big meal, to prepare a lot of food. Sitting down for dinner without my boys there will be sad. 

Orange Honey Mustard Chicken

I imagine I'll still bake, just not as often. My love of baking has been fed by the looks on the boys and their friends' faces as the treats came out of the oven. My relationship with the kitchen will most likely revolve around holidays, on those occasions I will go all out anticipating the joy of having us all at the table once again. 

The biggest change may very well be an ongoing decision I anticipate I'll be making, where to live. I know I'll be questioning staying in a house with 5 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, and a 3 car garage. But the thought of what's next is terrifying. I cannot even imagine cleaning out this house, making choices as to what I want to keep and what's expendable. Selling furniture and treasured belonging, sending clothes to charity, asking the boys to go through what's left in their rooms. And where will we go? I've made no secret of the fact that I hate where we live in the Midwest, always wanted to go back to the east coast, but can we? Will we? Will that put us closer to the boys? Or further?

Yes, this prompt forced me to look ahead, causing me all kinds of stress. But it did something else as well, it encouraged me to focus on now, concentrate on where I am and what I'm doing in this moment. Let tomorrow come slowly, all in good time. For now, I'll take living in today.

So thank you, Minette, for reminding me that for right now I'm where I need to be, doing what I need to be doing.

Here are links to all the sites now featuring Secret Subject Swap posts. Sit back, grab a cup, and check them all out. See you there:

Cognitive Script

The Blogging 911  

The Lieber Family Blog

 The Bergham Chronicles

Southern Belle Charm

Bookworm in the Kitchen
Never Ever Give Up Hope 
Part-time Working Hockey Mom 
TaylorLife 
Climaxed

Orange Honey Mustard Chicken

                                                              ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe


Ingredients:
4 bone-in chicken breast halves
1/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate
2 TBSP butter
1/2 cup honey
2 TBSP stone ground mustard
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Directions:
*Line a 9 X 11 baking pan with heavy foil. Rinse and pat dry the chicken breasts. Place in the baking pan, skin side up.
*Place the orange juice concentrate and butter in a bowl and microwave for 40 seconds. Whisk. Add in the honey and mustard. Whisk again. Add the almonds.
*Pour about half of the marinade over the chicken. Turn the breasts over so they're skin side down and cover with the remaining marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to a day.
*One hour before cooking, remove the chicken from the refrigerator and place on the counter. 
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Uncover the chicken and cook for 45 minutes. Remove from oven, turn the chicken over so the chicken is skin side up. Using a spoon, drizzle some of the marinade from the pan onto the chicken. Return to the oven and cook for another 45 minutes.