Since I mentally start my weekends around noon on Fridays, I figure that's an appropriate place to start this "weekend synopsis" post... :)
After morning clinic this past Friday, my friend Bethany (also affectionately known as "work Mom") and I decided to have lunch at the 43rd Annual Greek Festival. The festival always takes place at the Greek Orthodox Church a couple of blocks down from our office. They have live music and an abundance of delicious food. My personal favorite was the loukoumathes, which are Greek donuts fried to perfection and topped with honey and cinnamon. Unfortunately, the Greek coffee left a lot to be desired. Ah, well, you can't have everything...
I must say, it was rough going back to work for the afternoon stuffed to the gills, but the rest of the day was pretty uneventful. Saturday morning, Jimbo headed out early to go to a car show, and I spent the first half of the day at yoga and the nail salon. What can I say? We working gals deserve a little pampering every now and then. ;)
Because we had plans to watch the Alabama vs. Georgia game with some friends later in the day, I also managed to make a loaf of cinnamon bread in the midst of all of my other morning fun (recipe to follow at the end of this post). The house smelled so divine, I was almost tempted to stay home and watch the game in my PJs. I don't think the hubs would have argued, since I found him fast asleep on the couch when I returned home from the nail salon. No matter, we gathered our things and left for the Holley household. After a warm welcome from Robert, Stephanie, their little girl, Ava, and their 2 weimaraners, we settled in to watch the game. I have to admit, I didn't expect to win this one, especially after a sad loss to Ole Miss a couple of weeks ago. Sooo, I was pleasantly surprised when we won 38-10. Maybe I should expect the worst every week from now on. Such a fun evening! Roll Tide!!
On Sunday, I worked on painting my kitchen chairs a little more, and I put a couple of coats of paint on our front door. It was a dark blue shade, but I decided to brighten it up with a light yellow color. It turned out a little too light, so I'm going to apply at least one more coat in a shade darker before I post before and after pics. In between coats of paint on my door and chairs, I decided to paint a pumpkin. I had a vinyl "W" that I hadn't made use of yet, so I applied it to the pumpkin once it was dry. It turned out really cute, if I do say so myself...
I love decorating our house for the different seasons!
Just like that, another weekend in the books! Below you'll find my cinnamon bread recipe. Enjoy!
Cinnamon Bread
*Note: This is a slightly healthier version of my aunt's recipe. I will include the original version for those of you who like to really indulge every so often. :)
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 to 3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup buttermilk (can also use regular milk or almond milk)
1 tsp vanilla
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine dry ingredients and wet ingredients in separate bowls. Mix all ingredients well and pour 1/2 of batter into a greased loaf pan. *For best results on greasing a pan, I use some old-fashioned Crisco shortening and sprinkle a little all-purpose flour on top.
Mix together and sprinkle over batter:
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/8 to 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/8 to 1/4 cup brown sugar
Pour remaining batter on top. Swirl through batter with a knife to marbleize. Bake at 350 degrees for about 50 minutes. Remove from the oven when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Turn out and cool on a rack.
*For the original version of this recipe, omit the whole-wheat flour and use 2 cups of all-purpose flour when assembling the dry ingredients. Also, use 1 cup of granulated sugar rather than 1/2 to 3/4 cup. The whole wheat version is slightly more dense, but uses much less white flour and sugar and is still very good.
What are some of your favorite breads and muffins for fall?
No comments:
Post a Comment