As much as I want this adventure, I am not sure I want the instability of not knowing where we will end up.  But that’s part of the fun, I tell myself.  Daily.  Actually after a while it all starts to feel normal.  Like the counter tops have ALWAYS been cleared and the house clutter-free!  I just have to remember that all our decorations, crafty things, etc. are in storage.

The best part has been doing this in the Fall.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Fall!  So it’s been easy to make LOTS of weekend plans so people can come see the house.  There are literally more Fall activities than you could possibly attend every weekend!  Even Johnny is calmer when out and about because, well, what else are you going to do?  Can’t go home!

Our next door neighbor is a home-brewer (as in, brews 15 gallons of beer almost every weekend!) and checks out who is looking at the house and chats with them a bit about the neighborhood.  He is a friendly guy and, well, who wouldn’t want to live next door to the guy who makes beer and SHARES?!  Yes, we do keep trying to talk them into moving next door where ever we end up, why do you ask?

So would you buy a house decorated with tons of Halloween decorations?  Because our 4 year old is getting into Halloween for the first time this year!  Who knows, maybe some ghosts and jack-o-lanterns and witches will brew up some buyers.  If not, we will have a haunted good time!  muahahahaaa

I don’t know why it never occurred to me to make it when we went home.  It wasn’t until years later and after I was married that I wised up and asked for the recipe.  And even then, I only made it for the first time about 2 weeks ago!

Of course, then I just had to change it up!  It will never match the pumpkin bread made in my grandmother’s kitchen, so I am excited to experiment a little and create a version that suites me and my family.

SO – instead of a loaf  (or two) I made them into muffins, added some cranberries, and used whole wheat flour – and man are they tasty!!  The list of ingredients looks long, this is likely part of why I put making this off for so long… but really, it’s EASY!  I promise!  it’s just a lot of spices, but you dump it all into one bowl and use your mixer.

mmmmmm, muffins…

Pumpkin Muffins with Cranberries and Walnuts

Makes 12 muffins (plus a little extra)

2 Cups of Whole Wheat Flour
1 1/2 Cups of Sugar
1 tsp Baking Soda
3/4 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1/4 tsp Allspice
1/4 tsp Cloves
1/8 tsp Ginger
1/4 Cup of Vegetable Oil
1 Can (or 15oz) of Pumpkin Puree
1/3 cup Water
2 Eggs
1/2 Cup of chopped walnuts
1/2 dried cranberries
Sparkling Sugar (aka decorator sugar, completely optional but PRETTY and adds crunch)

Preheat Oven to 350F

1. Sift together the first 10 ingredients into the mixing bowl
2. Make a well and add gthe vegetable oil, pumpkin, and cold water
3. Blend on medium until incorporated
4. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each
5. Fold in walnuts and cranberries

Let batter rest while you prepare the muffin pan!  (This allows the baking powder/soda to work it’s magic!)

• Start by lining the pans with muffin papers sprayed lightly with cooking spray.  Or you can skip the papers and just spray with cooking spray and coat each of the muffin cups with cinnamon sugar!  YUM!
• Fill the muffin cups to nearly the top of the paper/edge.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes, turning half way through baking time. Muffins are done when a tooth pick in the middle comes out clean or with a few crumbs.  Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooking rack as soon as you can possibly handle them!

I used a mini muffin pan for my left over batter and made minis!  they cooked up in about 20 minutes – gotta watch them closely because the bottoms tend to burn.  let’s just say they are good to taste so you can save the big muffins for sharing!