Pumpkin Carving

God bless him, Flamenco Dad spared me from the icky task of carving the pumpkins this year. Last year, he carved the pumkins with the kids. FD was SO good at it that I saw an opportunity to delegate: "Hey honey, why don't we make YOU the official pumpkin decorator? You're so great at it, and the kids really love when you did it last year?" Having sufficiently appealed to his ego, he agreed. Hooray!

What a job he did! The jack o'lanterns turned out wonderful. Well, except for the fact that they are already rotting. They are now sitting in my back yard, scaring the squirrels and birds away. Tomorrow we'll cut up the pumkins and feed them to the critters living in the trees behind my house.

Bob's GF Cinnamon Raisin Bread

I admit it: I've been very lazy in the kitchen these days. I'm on the lookout for shortcuts, tricks, and ways to get good results in the kitchen with not-too-much effort. I picked up a package of Bob's Red Mill GF Cinnamon Raisin Bread Mix, and thought I'd give it a shot. This is a yeast bread, so those of you that are avoiding yeast will want to steer clear of this one. I was pleasantly surprised by the texture of the bread as it came out of the oven. . . it looked liked cinnamon raisin bread should look. I did not use the recommended 9X5 loaf pan (have I mentioned that I burned something in my loaf pan a while back? Long story, I'll get to it another day), so I opted for an 8X8 pan instead.

Here are my two main gripes about how this bread turned out. First of all, it is just not sweet enough. I don't like when bread like this is overly sweet, but this was in serious need of some sweetness. This bread was crying out for some jelly, if for no other reason than to add some much needed sugar. Also, the bread has a pretty noticeable saltiness to it. I'm not sure what is causing it. My guess is it have something to do with the yeast, but I could be wrong about that. I will give credit where it's due: the texture is quite good, and I was glad the bread didn't have an overwhelming garbanzo bean taste like some other bread mixes I've tried. I have a hard time with breads that use liberal amounts of garbanzo or fava bean flours. To me they give baked goods an odd aftertaste. Fortunately, the folks at Bob's left that out, opting for a different flour mix.

So would I buy this again? Maybe. The kids liked it, though even they asked me to pass the jelly.

Back In Town

We're back from our vacation, and what a wonderful vacation it was. Once I get around to uploading the photos, I'll be sure to share a few pictures. We had a blast, and I'm sorry the trip had to end...but alas, it's time to get back to the real world.

Oh yeah, and there should be some cooking going on on this blog, right? Today I picked up a package of Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Cinnamon Raisin Bread Mix (wow, that was a mouthful) to try out. The kids will be home from school soon, and I can't think of a better thing to come home to than the smell of fresh baked goodness.

This weekend we're hitting the pumpkin patch and the costume shop. Halloween is just a week away, and this slacker has yet to look for costumes for Ayden and Zoe. Party City here we come!

I'm thinking of making this picture my new profile picture. Thoughts?

With These Kids, I'll Never Run Out of Blog-able Material

My son wins the prize for the funniest line of the week. This week the school fundraiser began...and Lord help me they are selling cookie dough. I say "Lord help me" because they are difficult to resist; I want to eat them even though I can't. Zoe can't go anywhere near them, which means Flamenco Dad, Ayden, and my mother-in-law are going to be getting their cookie on.

Anyway, I digress...

Since Ayden is new to the school thing, naturally he is also new to the school fundraiser thing. He hops into the car and announces that the school is having a cookie-dough fundraiser. The class that sells the most gets an ice cream party. He TOTALLY wants the free ice cream. And he tells me that he's going to miss out the ice cream party because he can't sell cookie dough, 'cause he doesn't even know how to MAKE cookie dough!

Had I been drinking a beverage at the time, it would have shot clear out my nose.

Looking Forward to a Vacation

Well, it's almost that time of year again...the Flamenco Family is headed on another road trip! I know, I know, I've been gone from this blog for so long...everyone probably thought I was taking a permanent vacay from this thing. But no! I'm still here, I've just been a slacker.

This weekend we're renting a cabin in Ellijay, Georgia, which is about an hour away from Atlanta. As luck would have it, the Georgia Apple Festival is this weekend, so we'll be there at just the right time. Our cabin has internet access (how rustic!); I'm planning to post at least once while away. Our itinerary includes visits to attractions like Amicalola Falls State Park, the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway, the Tennessee Aquarium, and the Appalachian Trail (we hope), so I'm looking forward to some picturesque views and many photo opportunities.

The familia is in some serious need to time out of town. Flamenco Dad and I have been working hard, and the kiddies--especially Miss Zoe--have been putting in lots of time on school work. Ayden is loving kindergarten, and he already has a group of buddies to call his own. We are also bringing my mother-in-law along. She doesn't get to travel much, so we thought it would be nice to take her with us.

We're all really excited about the upcoming trip. I'll try to post here at least once before we hit the road.