Two Pumpkin Recipes + Leola's Vintage Home & Garden

We're smack dab in the middle of fall and if you ask me, there's nothing better right now than delicious pumpkin treats.

This first recipe for Pumpkin Swirl Brownies is from a really great, very seasonal food blog called Smitten Kitchen. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes to cook simple but delicious food with the freshest ingredients! I made these brownies just the other night and to be honest I was a little worried about the pumpkin/chocolate flavor combination, but it was really great; I normally prefer a fudgier brownie but these were fluffier and more like cake. Interested? Heeeeeere you go!

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for pan
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 to 3/4 cups sugar (the original recipe calls for the larger amount; I think it could be dialed down a bit)
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups solid-pack pumpkin
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts or other nuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch square baking pan or dish. Cut a length of parchment that will cover the bottom and two sides (makes it much easier to remove), and line the pan with it. Butter the lining as well. (Deb note: I used an 8-inch square, because it was what I had. It works, too, but the brownies are crazy thick and take much longer to bake, just to give you a heads-up.)

2. Melt chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth.

3. Whisk together flour, baking powder, cayenne, and salt in a large bowl; set aside. Put sugar, eggs, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; beat until fluffy and well combined, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in flour mixture.

4. Pour half of batter (about two cups) into a separate bowl and stir chocolate mixture into it. If you find that it is a little thick (as mine was) add a little more batter (a few tablespoons or so) until it is more pourable. This is important because mine was quite thick, and the pumpkin half was quite thin, so I had trouble swirling the two together.

5. In other bowl, stir in the pumpkin, oil, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Transfer half of chocolate batter to prepared pan smoothing top with a rubber spatula. Top with half of pumpkin batter. Repeat to make one more chocolate layer and one more pumpkin layer. Work quickly so batters don’t set.

6. With a small spatula or a table knife, gently swirl the two batters to create a marbled effect. Be sure to get your knife all the way to the bottom of the pan–I didn’t, and ended up with a chocolate base, not that it is such a bad thing. Sprinkle with nuts, if using.

7. Bake until set, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack. Cut into 16 squares.

The second recipe I wanted to share is from the kitchen of my friend's mom who once made this for me on my birthday (Halloween!). Most squash soups are somewhere between savory and slight natural sweetness but this one is all out sweet. I like to have some as dessert or even an appetizer, served with cold milk and some Trader Joe's Triple Ginger Snaps!

Cindy's Pumpkin Soup

2 - 29 oz. cans 100% Pumpkin

1 - 12 oz. can evaporated milk

1 - 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

Each of these ingredients is to taste:

brown sugar

vanilla extract

nutmeg

cinnamon

ginger

salt

Milk to thin the soup

Add first 3 ingredients and thing to liking with milk (or cream); add seasonings to taste while heating on low heat. That's all! My favorite thing about making this recipe is that it is completely customizable.  Enjoy!

My 3rd favorite pumpkin treat? Braum's Pumpkin Ice Cream. I highly recommend. 

The last thing I wanted to mention in this post is a favorite store of mine located in Ozark just behind Lambert's called Leola's Vintage Home & Garden. If you're into somewhat romantic, cottage style vintage stuff, you need to know about Leola's! It's a hard place to describe... but each time I go there I get inspired to make something or decorate something! I just went to their open house this past weekend (which they do each season) and got so inspired to start my homemade Christmas gift-making adventure! They don't have a website, but they often update their Facebook page with news and photos of the store (which might give you a better idea of the feel of it than I have described...). They're open every day of the week, from 9:30 until 5 p.m. on Monday through Saturday and on Sunday from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m.. 

Quick Etsy Roundup... No tengo tiempo para ti

You'll have to forgive me for the shortness of this post... okay, you don't have to, but guess what! This week has been incredibly busy: schoolwork, family time, my birthday this past weekend... and to top it all off, my brother is getting married in six hours. Yes, on a Tuesday. No, I'm not lying.

So, in lieu of a real post, here is a quick roundup of links to a few neat and local Etsy shops. Never heard of Etsy? Go check it out! It's a website that sells only homemade and vintage items from independent sellers, and it's the best spot to find great unique gifts, in my opinion.

Here they are:
Cool wall decals by Designfruit
Assorted baby items and other cute things by naomianselmo
Unique beaded jewelry by LaJubilee
Interesting woven things by weaver1141
Cool, earthy jewelry by lilruby

Oh, The Places You Could Go!

I'm one of those people who used to believe that there was nothing to do in Springfield and no cool places to spend a day off wandering around that were indoors. Then I took a look around. Downtown is a particularly amazing place these days, has anyone else noticed? Here are a few places I've been to recently and particularly enjoyed.

• Indie Boutique is located at 210 E. Walnut Street and features a nicely organized mix of vintage, locally made and independently designed items. They offer a fairly wide collection of clothing as well as vintage decor items, records, and more. A great place to check out if you're looking to buy clothes or accessories and would like to buy vintage or local items. Not only do they carry women's, but one half of the store is devoted to men's clothing. They don't have a website (that I could find, anyhow) but you can check out some photos of their inventory on their Facebook. 
• Tea Bar & Bites Bakery and Cafe is a quaint little restaurant at 621 S. Pickwick right by Homegrown Foods. The food is great and the atmosphere is cozy and unpretentious. They serve great sandwiches and interesting sides that are a departure from the average tea room menu. They also offer a huge selection of desserts, and you can check up on their daily specials on their Facebook page!
• Funtiques Market is a fun (or perhaps funny, to some) place to go, offering wacky, interesting items from many eras... walking into the store you see an explosion of color, and there is a lot to see, from a wall covered in vintage clothing to an entire room full of vintage furniture. Everything at this store is in great condition if you're looking to buy and is very entertaining if you're not! Check out their website or Facebook for more info. 
• Last but absolutely not least is Askinosie Chocolate! It's hard to believe that one of the best chocolate makers in the country is located just downtown on Commercial Street. I got to take a long-awaited tour yesterday, complete with samples and tons of info about their unique chocolate making methods. Not only is their chocolate amazing (if I remember correctly, their White Chocolate Bar was named one of the ten best chocolate bars by the London Times!) but they operate with a mentality to serve the global community and do good by direct trade with farmers and more. You can read up on the good they do and the great chocolate they make on their website - or better yet, take a tour! They're offered every Tuesday at 3 pm -the same day each week that they bake and sell 2 types of cupcakes: coincidence? I think not. 

Farmers Gastropub

This week's post will be short, sweet, and dedicated to informing you about a restaurant I tried today. I heard about it a while ago, and finally decided to go after spotting it last night while leaving The Moxie (another great local thing everyone should know about!) and I'm glad I did.

Farmers Gastropub can be found in the Wilhoit Plaza on Jefferson Avenue. Their hours are a bit complicated, you can find them on their website in the About section. The menu at this restaurant is constantly changing, which leads me to the coolest thing about it: Farmers Gastropub uses as much fresh, locally grown, organic and sustainable ingredients as possible. Today, on my first visit to the restaurant, I ordered a cup of the daily soup, which was a delicious butternut squash, the English pub staple of fish and chips, and finished it off with a perfect crème brulée. Everything was really great and I can't wait to go back again someday for Sunday Brunch! 

Springfield Hot Glass

My birthday is on Halloween, and last year my parents took me downtown to get me something special and handmade: a glass pumpkin from Springfield Hot Glass. Located at 314 S. Campbell Avenue, Springfield Hot Glass offers in-store demonstrations on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, meaning that if you come into the store any time on one of those days, you can stand and watch Master Glass Blower Terry Bloodworth craft all kinds of beautiful glass creations (and, from my experience, you'll hear some descriptions of what he's doing, step by step, as well).

The studio is also a staple of First Friday Art Walk, and this month, October 1st.  In addition to the usual demonstrations, Springfield Hot Glass will also be crafting Cake Plates and Goblets and providing treats from Amycakes.

For a quick look at the type of things sold in the store, you can visit their online store.
Springfield Hot Glass Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. and on First Fridays from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m..

Photo of Storefront from the studio website; photo of my pumpkin by me!

Homegrown Foods

There may be just one downside to relying on a farmers' market to stock up on your produce, dairy and other staples : limited hours of operation.  As it turns out, those of you wanting to head to the lake on a Saturday morning instead of C-Street or the Battlefield Mall parking lot don't need to fret about missing out.
Homegrown Foods, located at 601 S. Pickwick in the downtown area of Springfield, boasts a wide variety of foods from local produce provided by assorted local farmers to a wide variety of meats, eggs, and breads from larger businesses. Each produce item includes the name and general location of the seller along with the price. The store also sells items from major local vendors like Askinosie Chocolate and Ozark Country Kitchen jams, as well as a wide assortment of meats from Real Farm Foods and Rocking Z Ranch, sourdough and focaccia breads from Old Mill Bagel Company, and eggs (which currently sell for $4.00 per dozen) and milk (for which you can get $1.50 deposit back on each bottle you use and return) from Ozark Mountain Creamery.

The store's first focus is on providing locally grown foods to the community and also values organically grown food. They also request that customers bring any empty egg cartons to the store for their re-use. Homegrown Foods is open Tuesday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Saturday from 9:30 a.m. until 4 p.m..
For more information on Homegrown Foods you can sign up to get information on their webpage at homegrownfoodstore.com or visit their oft-updated Facebook page!

Does the availability to purchase local foods from a store rather than a weekly farmers' market encourage you to buy and use local more frequently?