Homemade Cocoa Wheats!

One of the absolute favorites here at The Pumpkinhaus is Homemade Cocoa Wheats for breakfast (... that is, when I am not making waffles!) This is so easy to make, and the kids totally freak out for it.

Homemade Cocoa Wheats

makes four good sized bowls

• 3 cups water
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 1 cup farina
• pinch o' sea salt
• 2 heaping tablespoons natural process cocoa (I like Penzeys)
• up to 1 teaspoon cinnamon (Penzeys the Korintje Cassia Cinnamon is my fav and the Extra Fancy Vietnamese is wonderful too.)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract (Penzeys you haven't had vanilla until you have had theirs.)
• 1 teaspoon almond extract (Penzeys one small bottle has lasted me 3 years so far, and I use it all the time)
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar or more, depends on how sweet you like it

Put water, milk and pinch o' salt in a good sized pot with a fitting lid. As this starts to heat up, add all of your spices and extracts minus the butter and sugar and stir well to melt the cocoa.

Just before the mixture starts to boil, slowly pour in farina... stirring the whole time (this is the secret to no lumps). Stir until it begins to boil, and then turn the burner to simmer and leave it for about 8 min or so, stirring occasionally. Then, put the butter and brown sugar right on top, put the lid on tight, and move it to the back burner and leave it set for about 10 minutes. While it is setting make your toast for dipping, and perk up a fresh pot of coffee.

My kids like it served up with a splash of milk and some extra cinnamon on top to make it pretty. Try dipping with a slice of buttered toast... that is the Dani and Ro special!

Enjoy!

Mmmmmm... Today's Snack

CINNAMON APPLE MUFFINS

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 t. baking powder
• 1 t. cinnamon
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 egg
• 1 cup chopped apples
  
  Heat oven to 375°F.
  Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon in medium bowl. Add all remaining ingredients. Stir just until flour is moistened. Spoon batter into muffin liners.
  Bake 18-23 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes.

Pumpkins and Popcorn Balls

Fall is here and the leaves are starting to turn to beautiful shades of red, orange and yellow. This season is one of the biggest reasons Joe and I decided to leave sunny Southern California and trek back to the Midwest.
Halloween is, of course, my favorite holiday and I have many, many fond Halloween memories, but one of my most favorite was when Josh, my Brother-in- law, lived with us in Claremont. It was 2000, and lets see.... I was 25 and he was 21. We made these amazing faerie masks and wings, and trick-or-treated for hours. We were sooooo popular! We cleaned house in the candy dept!! It was very apparent that no one cared a bit that we towered over all of the other trick-or-treaters!

So, last night Rowan went to the corn maze with her Aunt Dana and Uncle Ritchie. They came back and carved pumpkins for her and her little man Cael. I stayed behind and made popcorn balls, it was my first attempt, and they turned out great. Here is the recipe:

Popcorn Balls

• 1 c. unpopped popcorn
• 1 1/4 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. light corn syrup
• 3 T. unsalted butter
• 1/2 c. water

Pop popcorn ahead of time. White is best, salt to taste. You may substitute 2 bags of microwave popcorn, I recommend lightly salted with little or no butter.

Boil sugar, water, syrup, and butter until it forms hairlike threads ( about 8 to 10 minutes or 290 degrees with a candy thermometer)

Spread popcorn out in a roasting pan. Drizzle hot mixture evenly over popcorn and mix it all up with a wooden spoon. Work fast as mixture turns hard as it cools.Butter hands generously to avoid sticky hands and being burned. Work very quickly to shape popcorn balls much like you would make a snowball. Wrap balls in waxed paper and twist ends tightly!

Makes 8-10 popcorn balls