How to make "Pumpkin" Coffee at home with regular coffee

"This comes pretty close to the pre-sweetened seasonal coffee you get in the store."

"Pumpkin" Coffee

1 measured cup of brewed coffee

1 dash of ground ginger

2 dashes of ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons of Monastery Creamed Almond Honey

 or 4 teaspoons of regular honey - more or less to taste

Milk or cream 

Stir and enjoy!

I always get disappointed when I read a recipe that calls for some obscure ingredient like Monastery Creamed Almond Honey. Certainly, you can use regular honey and it will still be enjoyable. However, almond honey does make the coffee taste better, and a trip to the Abbey to buy the almond honey makes life better, too.

I live near the calm oasis of Mount Saint Mary's Abbey, a beautiful place in Wrentham, Massachusetts. There is a lovely chapel here where you can sit down and find a few moments of peace.

The Chapel at Mount Saint Mary's Abbey, Wrentham, Massachusetts

I began visiting the abbey after the birth of my son almost 20 years ago. The nuns used to bake bread and sell it twice a week in a small vestibule that you would enter through a large medieval-looking wooden door. With an infant in my arms, I would do as the sign said:  "Ring the bell before entering and wait for the sister to come to the turn". Sister would appear in a booth-like structure, slide open the window, and greet you. If you asked for bread, she, in a calm and deliberate fashion, would proceed down a flight of stairs to the kitchen, retrieve the loaves, then walk back upstairs, and place the loaves, warm from the oven, into a paper bag.

Quite a refreshing change from the crazed outside world.

Although the nuns no longer sell bread, they do offer their wonderful candy that they make on the premises and sell in the gift shop. You'll also find the delicious Monastery Creamed Honey - in several flavors - made by the Monks of Holy Cross Abbey, Berryville, VA.  There are Trappistine jams and jellies, too, books and cards of a religious nature, and other lovely gift items available in the shop.

Inside the box of candy is a tiny brochure with the following:

With regard to those who live in a calm and deliberate manner, I invite you to spend a few minutes listening to Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh, speaking on mindfulness.

If you listen all the way to the end, you will learn that the practice of mindfulness can even lead you to getting more enjoyment out of a cup of coffee.

Peace.

Leave the light on

It's back to school, back to business - a hectic time for everyone.

The beginning of September really does feel like the New Year. The calendar is full, the days are spoken for, the night is often busy, too. When the family sits down together for a meal these days, it's a rare treat. When it's just not possible to get together, make 'em happy with comfort foods that will keep until they get home.

Monday is my day off, but it was full of appointments. Driving during the morning rush, I saw little ones walking out the door with giant backpacks and moms pushing strollers, leading the older children safely to school. I felt nostalgic watching them, remembering earlier days when my kids were little, thinking of the sweet innocence of children and the excitement of living in a home where everything is fresh and new.

I work Saturdays.  By the time I finish this last day of the week, I generally come home to a house that's been neglected.  Dishes piled up here, clothes strewn there, cupboards bare.

Imagine my surprise when I actually came home to a rare treat! Waffles were on the menu. My son Jeremy, who never cooks, realized that if he wanted to eat, he had to take matters into his own hands.

Necessity being the mother of invention, Jeremy made waffles.  Here is a quote from my oldest son that I never thought I'd hear: "I decided not to use vanilla. I used lemon extract instead." 

Waffles

"I got it online," says Jeremy

2 cups of flour

1 teaspoon salt

4 teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons white sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups warm milk

1/3 cup butter, melted

1 teaspoon lemon extract

In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking powder and sugar; set aside. 

Preheat waffle iron to desired temperature. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs.

Stir in the milk, butter and vanilla. Pour the milk mixture into the flour

mixture; beat until blended.  Ladle the batter into a preheated waffle iron.

Cook the waffles until golden and crisp. Serve immediately.

As I write this, I'm the only one home.  Bailey's working out at the gym, Justin is working after school, and Jeremy is visiting his gramma.

I just finished making this delicious lasagna. They'll be happy to find this when they get home.

This wonderful recipe is an old standby from my friends, Janice and Tim. No ricotta in this one. Just hamburg or ground turkey, and the rest of the traditional lasagna fixins.

The original recipe calls for lasagna noodles cooked for a few minutes. 
Today I tried the "no boil" type noodles.
They worked really well.

Trader Joe's and Roche's Food Club brands featured in this one.

The delicious finished product.

All layered and lovely and ready to eat.

Classic Lasagna

16 oz. lasagna noodles

2 qts. spaghetti sauce

1 cup water

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

3 cups mozzarella cheese

1 1/2 pounds hamburger or ground turkey

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp. fennel (if desired)

Cook noodles in salted boiling water for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and cover with lid. Let stand 8 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water so you can handle it. Lay the strips on paper towels. Brown meat & drain fat. Season with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Stir in sauce & water.

Pour 1 cup of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. Put a layer of noodles, meat sauce, mozzarella, cheese & parmesan cheese; repeat layers finishing with the last remaining meat sauce, mozzarella and parmesan. Cover with foil.

Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

I call these tasty treats, "Back to School Brownies". Perfect with a nice glass of milk and not too sweet. This recipe is from the back of the Nestle Toll House Cocoa package. They're chewy and delicious.

Hits the Sweet Spot

Chewy Cocoa Brownies

1 2/3 c. sugar

3/4 c. butter or margarine, melted

2 TB water

2 large eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/3 c. flour

3/4 c. Nestle Toll House cocoa

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 c. chopped nuts (optional)

powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x13 pan. 

Combine sugar, butter & water in a large bowl. Stir in eggs and vanilla extract. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Stir into sugar mixture. Stir in nuts. Spread in prepared pan. Bake 18-25 minutes until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out slightly sticky. Cool completely in pan over wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cut into bars. Makes 2 dozen brownies.