Pumpkin + bourbon + caramel = &hearts

Well friends, as of today, it is officially fall. My favorite season of the year. There is just something so magical about the transition from the hot summer sun to cooler autumn weather - it calms the soul and quells the busyness that always accompanies the hotter months. It's as if the weather is inviting us to take a deep breath in, trade our sandals for boots and cuddle up inside with a fuzzy blanket. It's wonderfully relaxing.

Image Credit: Google Images

Sadly, where I live, the change in the seasons will not be as significant. The fall equinox symbols the "warm season" turning to the "less warm season"as opposed to a complete shift in nature's backdrop. Having always lived in cooler places, my mind is busy thinking about things like scarves, bulky sweaters, and football games in 50 degree weather drinking spiked hot chocolate. If the weather won't cooperate, I will just have to make a little fall for myself.

The reemergence of pumpkin as the flavor of choice is one of the key occurrences symbolizing that autumn has officially made it's entrance. One of my favorite things about the holidays has always been my mom's pumpkin pie, which has a surprising secret ingredient - bourbon. All of the over 21 part evaporates during baking (no, my mom was not spoon feeding me spiked pie as a baby) and what you are left with is the perfect flavor to accompany the spiciness of pumpkin desserts.

This pie was the inspiration behind one of my grand cupcake plans: a pumpkin-bourbon cupcake with salted caramel icing. I wanted a cake that mimicked the nostalgic flavors so synonymous with the holidays for me, topped with a salty-sweet buttercream that would compliment the spiciness of the cake perfectly. And I am proud to say that I have achieved exactly that.

I converted a family applesauce cake recipe for the cake, and simply poured homemade caramel sauce into my favorite buttercream recipe to create the delicious topping. Of course, as with everything I create, this recipe is gluten and dairy free, but can be easily converted depending on your favorite ingredients.

Pumpkin-Bourbon Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Icing


Cake:


2.5 cups gfree flour blend (I use a mix of superfine brown rice flour, potato starch and tapioca flour)
2 cups of white sugar
1.5 tsp baking soda
1.5 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1 1/4 cups pumpkin
1/4 cup bourbon (I use Seagram's 7, just like mom!)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs

1. Heat oven to 350⁰. 

2. Whisk together all dry ingredients, set aside. 

3. Combine all wet ingredients in large mixer bowl, then add dry ingredients. Beat all ingredients on low speed for 30 seconds, then scrape the sides. 

4. Beat on high speed 3 minutes, then scrape down the sides.

5. Fill cupcake prepared cupcake tins 3/4 full with batter. (I find the easiest way to do this is with a large spring loaded ice cream scoop, like this one).

6. Set timer for 20 minutes, then check. Add time in 3 minute increments until cupcakes are slightly browned and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

© meghan brittany.

Caramel Sauce:

I found this recipe for Vegan Caramel Sauce and made half:

1/2 cup butter or margarine (1 stick)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1. Melt the butter in a medium sauce pan over medium heat.

2. Once melted, add sugar, corn syrup, salt and vanilla - continually stir until mixture simmers.

3. Once it is simmering, add the baking soda and remove from heat, stirring vigorously.

4. Keep stirring until the mixture is smooth with no large bubbles.

5. Let cool for about 30 minutes.

Frosting:

I have been making this buttercream so long, that I don't measure - I make it based on taste, look and feel. What follows is my best guess. Although my advice? Use your favorite frosting recipe - just only mix together the butter/margarine, powdered sugar and enough milk to combine the mixture.

2 tbs butter or margarine

2.5 cups powdered sugar

splash of milk or non-dairy substitute

Half recipe of caramel sauce, cooled

Additional powdered sugar/milk

1. Combine first 3 ingredients until coarsely mixed.

2. Add in the cooled caramel sauce and mix until well combined & smooth.

3. Continue to add powdered sugar and small splashes of milk until desired texture is achieved. (Should be smooth but not drippy - easily tested on sneaky fingers!)

Frost cupcakes with an icing spatula or pastry bag affixed with a decorative tip. Admire your hard work and get ready for the compliments, from gluten and non-gluten eaters alike. It might seem like a lot of work, but I promise you, it will be worth it. 

© meghan brittany.

Happy Fall : )

♥mb.

Healthy Tips for Busy Bees.

If you are anything like me, just eating anything at all can be difficult. Let alone eating healthy. I have had a couple of times where I have literally eaten ice cream for dinner because I a. didn’t have anything I could quickly throw together or re-heat, b. didn’t have any ingredients on hand to make anything or c. I simply didn’t have the energy to create anything more complete and nutritious. Such is the life of a busy 20-something, especially one with some pretty significant food allergies that make getting take-out more of a hassle than a convenience. Plus, who can afford regular take-out on an entry-level salary? Definitely not this girl. *sigh*

Now I am no expert on healthy eating, but I was raised under the supervision of a mother who majored in nutrition in college, and a father who calls fruit “nature’s candy”. There were always veggies on my plate at dinner and I remember being that weird kid who absolutely LOVED broccoli. I also have the disadvantage of having a sensitive tummy that doesn’t like things with gluten and dairy in them – aka, just about everything that is processed/easy to fix. One thing I love about veggies and fruit is that there isn’t a label to read – I know automatically that they are free of the things that make my stomach angry. Some of you may think that this makes eating healthy “so easy!” but let me be the first to tell you, there are plenty of “bad for you” things out there that don’t contain gluten or dairy. And trust me when I say that I have found nearly all of them. Sugar, for example, does not include either of those ingredients, and can be just as detrimental to your health if consumed as often as most people consume fried foods and whipped cream.

But like they say, you live & learn. In these past 8 months that I have spent transitioning from semi-employed & having too much time on my hands to working 40 hours a week with the exact opposite problem, I have accumulated some knowledge on how to eat healthy (or at a minimum get 3 servings of fruit/veggies a day) on a time crunch.

1. Stay hydrated.

If there is one thing that will not help you if you are maintaining a busy schedule, it’s being dehydrated. I started obsessively drinking water when I was in high school, so I am one of the lucky few who developed that skill at a young enough age that it stuck with me, but the vast majority of people are walking around with draught-ridden cells. When you wake up, drink at least 8 ounces of water (or, as I like to do, coconut water) especially if you drink coffee as part of your morning routine. Everyone wakes up dehydrated, most people just don't do enough to fix it. Invest in a recyclable aluminum water bottle  (such as Sigg) or a BPA-free plastic bottle (such as CamelBak). Or even better, invest in a couple – one for work, one for home. Commit to drinking a bottle full before lunch, and a bottle after. Then additional water in the morning when you wake up and if you work out. You will be amazed at how much healthier you will feel just by resolving to get enough fluids.

2. Eat a veggie or fruit with every meal.

Eating fresh vegetables and fruit is one of the first things that can slip away with a busy lifestyle. The easiest way to make sure you are still getting enough of these natural goodies is to eat one with every meal of the day. Two things that help me with this are a standard list of fresh veggies/fruits I buy every time I go to the grocery store and Ziplock baggies. I also find that pre-slicing fruit such as strawberries and cantaloupes make it easier to eat them on the go or toss them in a salad. Baby carrots are easy to throw into a Ziplock bag and eat later at work. Dried fruit such as Craisins also work (although these do have added sugar, so just be mindful!) Also, don’t let the lazy connotation that comes with convenience foods scare you away from them. I took a lot of crap when I told people that I bought pre-sliced apples but a. I HATE cutting apples and B. if it’s going to encourage that I eat more apples, why not? I buy pre-sliced apples and pre-shredded carrots. I make my own salads but if you know you won’t, buy pre-packaged mixes. It’s better than nothing!

MY LIST: baby carrots, salad ingredients (green leaf lettuce, red cabbage, green onions & shredded carrots), spinach, strawberries, cantaloupe, pre-sliced red apples and bananas, along with the occasional cucumber, zucchini and tomato.

Trust me when I say that this task is less daunting than it seems – just requires a little planning. As soon as you get used to it, you will feel like your meal isn’t complete without a big bowl of salad or a banana while you check your inbox first thing in the morning.

3. Your fridge & freezer are your best friend.

Make things in bulk when you have time and store them for when you don’t. You can even freeze things like fresh chicken or ground beef, as well as pasta sauce, soups and muffins/cake.  Just make sure to label things you freeze – things have a tendency to get lost in the vast expanses of that frozen tundra, and the last thing you want to eat is year old beef that expired months ago.

 If you plan to eat something over the course of the next few days, invest in some Tupperware and keep it in the fridge. A few minutes in the microwave and you’ve got yourself a meal. I also try to make green salads in bulk and keep them in the fridge so that all that’s standing in the way of me and a big bowl of salad is a pair of tongs and clean utensils.

In a perfect world, I would come home and cook every night, but I have learned in reality, that just doesn’t happen. Use the tools you have to ensure you get good meals to maintain your energy throughout your busy week.

4. Snacks are important.

This is something I have learned being gluten-free. I always have some kind of bar or trail mix stashed in my purse and I literally have a snack drawer at work for days when I don’t get lunch or my appetite is just harder to satiate than normal. We all know that nothing is worse than a busy day that is so busy in fact, you don’t have 20 minutes to run out and grab a quick bite. Solution? Snacks. Also, another universally known fact is that we human folk get grumpy when hungry. The blood sugar gets low, and so does the tolerance level for just about anything that isn’t kittens and/or someone giving you a gift. This is probably the most easily avoided circumstance in the adult world, but our diet obsessed culture has led us to believe that things like “snacks” and “eating after 7 PM” lead to weight gain and subsequently an unhappy life. In reality, it works backwards – if you are TOO hungry and under nourishing yourself, your body will go into starvation mode, and instead of letting the fat go, it will hold on to it like Rose held onto Jack at the end of Titanic. As long as you are snacking healthfully and when you actually feel hungry, it’s quite beneficial. If you avoid getting over-hungry you will be able to avoid over-eating and you will keep your metabolism functioning at a normal rate.

Some of my favorite snacks: baby carrots with hummus, a mix of Craisins, almonds and if I’m feeling fancy dark chocolate chips, protein bars made with natural sugar (either agave or rice syrup), fruit leathers, un-buttered popcorn and the not-so-healthy rice krispy square. I also have a special spot in my heart for Trader Joe’s cinnamon almonds, made with sugar, but taste like a snickerdoodle. (For those of you not doing the math at home, the almonds are healthier than the cookie.) I also find myself snacking on cereal and milk (almond or coconut) before hitting the sack.

So in essence: snack up.


5.  Remember that you aren’t perfect.

You aren’t Giada DiLaurentis. You don’t get paid to stare out at the ocean from your Malibu mansion and make delicious, healthy food.  Some days, you barely have the time and mental capacity to even remember what celery looks like. We all have those weeks where our personal food triangle (or whatever shape it has morphed into these days) consists overwhelmingly of takeout and fast food, and we all have those days where we missed lunch and are so ravenous that upon getting home we eat an entire bag of salt & pepper potato chips in one sitting (not that I am speaking at all from personal experience…)

Just because you have eaten poorly for a couple days (or a couple weeks) doesn’t mean you should give yourself permission to give up entirely. If you’re anything like me, after a long session of terrible eating, you could spend an entire day just eating cucumbers and dry cereal. Don’t launch into some crazy cleanse or punish yourself by working out harder than you are physically capable of – just stop, think, put things in perspective and realize that your body isn’t ruined because you filled it with junk for a little while. Pick up an apple, slather on some almond butter, and move on.


Being busy is not an excuse to malnourish yourself. But, as with anything in life, it's all about balance. If you are getting what you need to keep the inner you happy & healthy, give it a little chocolate. It would be unfair to deprive of it of such a wonderful indulgence...

♥mb.

Re-defining "Fitness".

I used to be somewhat of a "workoutaholic". I felt guilty if I didn't go to the gym, it was my go-to when I was upset or frustrated and it was absolutely UNHEARD of for me to go more than 3 days without donning an old tshirt and sweating a little.

Needless to say, since college, things have dramatically changed. For some reason, getting to the gym is more difficult and requires much more mental and physical effort than it used to. I think it's just because I've been out of the routine for so long, and as we all know, getting back into it is the most difficult part. I also, of course, stem from the mindset that unless you run multiple miles or burn 450 calories (via the cardio machines I'm sure always accurate records) that a workout isn't really worth it. This comes from 15 years of playing soccer, frequenting two-a-days during my last years of high school, and the fact that I used to run 3-miles 3 times a week like it was no big thing.

Since my body isn't used to the rigorous exercise (yet) and because I have a lot less free time than I ever did in high school and college, I am taking on a new attitude towards fitness and getting back in shape.

Image Credit: http://www.pinterest.com/

No matter how short, a workout is still a workout. Got 10 minutes? Run a mile. Got 20? Run a mile, do some free weights and a couple sets of crunches. On the nights I can make it to an hour long yoga class, it will just be icing on the cake (which I will feel a lot better about eating once I start rewarding my body with regular workouts again.)

In time, the strength and the fitness will come back, and running or yoga or whatever phsyical activity it happens to be will seem less daunting. I will start to crave it again and love it with all my heart like I used to. I will re-learn how to love the burning in my muscles and the exhaustion after pushing myself to my physical limit.

It all happens in time, but that doesn't mean it can't happen 10 minutes at a time. SWEAT.

♥mb.

Happiness is...

...chamomile tea and pumpkin-bourbon cake with salted caramel icing.

Don't worry folks, recipe post coming soon : )

♥mb.

10 years come and gone.

Yesterday was a Sunday. An overcast day turned sunny and beautiful in the part of the country I happened to be in. Nothing seemed extraordinary - I still needed my morning coffee, I was with my friends like I love being, I caught bits of a couple NFL games...just another normal Sunday afternoon in September.

I guess I expected it to feel different. I kept saying over and over, mentally and to the people I was with, "I can't believe it's been 10 years, I can't believe it's been 10 years". To be perfectly honest, a part of me still can't even believe it actually happened. I read an observation from someone yesterday that articulated my exact feelings and thoughts so perfectly I feel compelled to share it:

When I was a little girl, I coudln't understand why someone would crash a plane on purpose. Now, ten years later, it's even harder to understand.

I was 14 when September 11th, 2001 happened. I had a dream either the night before, or a couple nights before, that something really terrible happened. (To this day, anytime I have a catastrophic dream like that, I always check the New York Times website to make sure that nothing bad has happened). I remember waking up shortly after the first tower had been hit, when we still thought it was an accident. I also remember getting ready for one of my first days of high school in my bathroom upstairs, listening slightly to the news my mom had on the television downstairs, when the second tower was hit. 

At first, I didn't really understand the significance of it. My little sister was terrified, especially given that at this point, it was all but blatant that America had been attacked, and we didn't know what else was planned. My dad was working in one of the tallest buildings on the West Coast in San Francisco at the time - a building that, if the terrorists were looking to hit skyscrapers, could have easily been one of the next targets on the list. Worried for his safety, at the insistence of my baby sister and more-or-less forced to by airport closures, my dad rented a car and drove home from Northern California that night.

I tried to be strong for her - my natural reaction is to act like things aren't a big deal, even if I know that they are. I dismissed it, didn't grasp how truly tragic it was - afterall, I was just a teenager watching these events unfold on TV, like a disaster movie from the comfort of a theatre. It didn't really seem real until the towers started to fall. That was the exact moment in time when I understood the human toll these events were taking. Before, when it had just been those few floors effected, it didn't seem quite as bad. But sitting there, watching images of those enormous towers collapse upon themselves, all I could think about were the people inside. And that is precisely when my heart began to break.

I think part of the reason this milestone in immortalizing this event seems so strange to me, is that I so clearly can hear my dad telling me, a couple days later as I was looking through a magazine and crying about what happened, "Meghan, this is something that is going to be in the history books. You will someday tell your kids about this when they ask you about September 11th."A day that used to only be just another day on the calendar as the summer turned to fall would become an iconic "day that will forever live in infamy", just like that event on December 7th in Pearl Harbor that I learned about in my textbooks. And now, ten years later, I can truly understand what he meant. 

The other thing that makes this tenth anniversary so strange, is that this is the first time I can clearly remember something so major effecting me so much. Not that this is in any way, shape or form is about me - I was seeing this tragedy from the eyes of a 9th grader on the complete opposite side of the country. I didn't know anyone who had perished, and I don't think at that point in my life I even knew anyone who knew anyone who had passed. And yet, all that aside, it still left such a huge emotional scar.

Although I remember all of these horrible things, the other thing that I so clearly remember is how much pride I felt at seeing our country come together during the time of tragedy. I always find it so interesting that in times of utter darkness, the grace of people finds a way to shine through the smoke and bring peace. If it weren't for grace - the grace of people, the grace of community, and the grace of God - events like September 11th would be so much more tragic. Flight 93 is a perfect example of how something so horrible creates the absolute portrait of what it means to live an honrable life - I am still so proud to call those who died as heros my fellow citizens.

Although the news channels and internet were flooded yesterday with content about the 10th anniversary, I only read one article. I didn't post anything to Facebook or Twitter or really even discuss it with anyone, other than my periodical statements about the time lapse since it occured. I felt like the only people I could have watched any documentaries about it with (because there is no way on Earth I could endure something like that by myself) were my parents, because they are the only people who truly understand how much something so detached from my life personally, except as an American citizen, affected me. 

Even though ten years is a long time for a twenty-something like me, I can still envision those smoking towers, that wreckage in the Pennsylvania field, the iconic Pentagon with a plane splitting it in two. Those emotional wounds are still so raw that, even after a decade, just reading that one article brought tears to my eyes and a familiar sense of fear into my soul. It is still so raw, that I can't imagine having watched an entire day's coverage of it all again. It would have felt like the worst possible kind of deja-vu.

Instead, I chose to remember it in my own way. By writing about it and thinking about it, and realizing that because it happened in my lifetime, it will always be a part of my personal history. I will always remember walking by that hole in the skyline during my time in New York City three summers ago, and getting an eerie feeling that something was supposed to be there. I will always remember going to Ground Zero, 3 and a half years after the attacks, and seeing how much damage there still was, and how much work there was left to do to repair it. And I will always remember the steel beam cross, found in the wreckage, draped in the American flag that symbolized that although broken, with the help of God, we would persist.

My heart aches for those who lost someone. For the children who are now old enough to comprehend what happened to their loved ones. For the parents who lost a child too soon because of the senselessness of a confused religious extremism. I will never be able to understand how people can kill in the name of God, but I take comfort in knowing that they will someday get their justice. And that, through their violence, America came together, stronger than ever, and has remained as such ever since. Funny how things backfire for those who do not consider all of the possible consequences of their actions.

9/11/01. Never forget.

♥mb.

Thoughts on forever.

Last weekend, I was the Maid of Honor in my cousin's (sister's) wedding, which resulted not only in one of the most emotional days (for me) on record (I tried to hold it together so that people woudln't be chatting about "that hysterically crying bridesmaid" over cocktails at the reception) but also in one of my favorite pictures of all time:

©meghan brittany.

One of the things I kept thinking about going into this wedding was that someday, we would sit down on the living room floor during family get-togethers and show our kids the pictures of us at her wedding. This photo is much more than a picture to me - this is a captured memory of me with someone I have known my entire life, that will live in some kind of frame in my every one of my residences for the rest of my life. This is the one I will pull out time and time again and say "this is what we looked like on your/her/your "aunt's" wedding day" or, really far in the future, "this is what we looked like at your age".

The funniest part about her September 3rd wedding, was that I had two other friends get married on the same exact day. I would have attended each had they been on separate dates - the way that worked out was kind of funny. (But, I guess on the plus side, I saved myself a whole lot of moolah in not having to book 3 flights home to Seattle!) It was just so strange to me that three ladies in my life changed their last names on the same exact day.

I am dumbfoudned by the fact that, in marriage, one moment you are an independant entity, and as soon as you are "pronounced man and wife" you suddenly become only a part to a whole. You are no longer "first name, last name" and "first name, last name". You are THE "last names". People will address things to "Mr. and Mrs. Last Name" instead of "first name" and "first name". I understand that certain people my age are ready for that. But I could honestly not think of anything more scary at this point in my life.

I know that my opinions about this only stands because I haven't found "the one" yet. I don't think I've even found the "two" or the "three" at this point. I guess, for me right now, at 24 and a half years old, forever just seems like a really, really long time. And honestly, it's hard for me to imagine finding someone that I like enough to spend my forever with.

That man is going to have to be someone really, truly special. Somoene that knows which buttons to push and which buttons will lead directly to "you really hurt my feelings". Someone who loves my family and dogs and college footall as much as I do. Someone who is just the right amount of similar to me as he is different from me that it fits. And who, perhaps most importantly, loves breakfast as much as I do.

I'm pretty sure that I haven't met him yet. And sometimes, it seems like I never will. But instead of viewing this time as "loneliness" like so many people do, I will choose to view it as an extended lease on my independance that is special and to be enjoyed. There will be plenty of time for shared beds and closets and the rest of the togetherness that comes with sharing your life with someone.

image cred: www.pinterest.com

I only have this time right now to be young and free. I mean, countries spend centuries fighting for freedom, and I've already got it. It would be a missed opportunity to not be thrilled about that.

Forever will be there when I am ready for it. Thank goodness it's more patient than me.

♥mb.

Things I can't live without...Cinnamon Dolce Americano.

I don't go to Starbucks as often as I used to. In high school and college, I was a borderline addict. (Ok, maybe there were no "borderlines" about it.) Anytime I was in a bad mood, my mom would tell me to do one of two things: go to the gym or go to Starbucks. Both worked their magic every time.

Now that I am living on an entry-level salary, my Starbucks runs are usually limited to the days when I unearth a Starbucks card in my purse that still has some money on it. Also, since moving to So Cal, I much prefer to purchase my overpriced espresso drinks at Kean Coffee, for the simple reason that I can actually get milk in my coffee there (they offer almond milk, I could hug the person that made that business decision) and they also have a few varieties of gluten-free muffins in their pastry case. And ok I admit, I also love the decor...

Sometimes though, nothing satisfies my caffeine craving like a tried-and-true Starbucks original, especially when someone else is treating (which thankfully, happened this morning). A grande, 2-pump cinnamon dolce Americano did the trick to kickstart my Friday. It tastes like a cinnamon roll - except without all those nasty glutens and with caffeine. I can't imagine anything more perfect.

All things aside, being from Seattle, there is something truly comforting about the paper cup with that iconic green logo. Reminds me that I am never too far away from my roots.

♥mb.