Anyone could see that the wind was a special wind this night, and the darkness took on a special feel because it was All Hallows’ Eve.
Ray Bradbury
For the past year I have been bemoaning the “Groundhog Day” effect. The fact that every day seems like the day before. For example, On Friday, I went to the eye Dr. then I went for a fall walk on the beach before I went home and used some of the pumpkin puree I made the day before to baked 2 loaves of pumpkin bread. That night, I was looking through Facebook memories and it showed me 1 year ago to the day… I went to the eye Dr. then I went for a fall walk on the beach before I went home and made pumpkin puree and baked 2 loaves of pumpkin bread 😬.
Groundhog LIFE!
Until Sunday.
On Sunday we did something COMPLETELY different and brand new! We spent Halloween with my Sis, BIL and my 2 sweet Nieces!!! I have DREAMED about watching them all trick-or-treat together and this year it came true! It was heart bursting! We spent the afternoon hanging out and carving pumpkins and laughing. It was SO great! We recreated me and my Sis’s traditional Halloween dinner, we used to make Caesar Salad and French Onion Soup on All Hallow’s Eve, this year I made French Onion Pasta with Kale Salad!
Dad and J came with us when we took the Littles house to house and Ninja took all the kids up to see Grandma and Grandpa before we went out. It was just an all-around family fun day! 💛 This was HBear’s first year to go out on her own, with her friends 😩. It was hard. She is growing up and it is just hard. More to come on that another day 😂.
Everybody looked so cute! HBear was Boba Fett, SBean was movie theatre popcorn, SweetPea was Rena Rouge from the TV show Miraculous for school and recycled SBean’s donut costume for trick-or-treating while CabbagePatch was the cutest little doctor I have ever seen! Even the adults got into it and my Sis was an avocado and her hubby was the toast 😂 I stuck to my cheeky costumes and went as a chip on the shoulder 🤣.
I have so many things to be grateful for! We had a wonderful Halloween, everybody is safe and healthy, I get to watch my daughters giggle with their cousins on a regular basis, I get to have both sets of our parents involved in our every day life and the holidays too, I also get to walk with my Husband, Dad, Sister and my brother-in-law and chitchat as our kids happily trick-or-treat together. My heart is so full 🧡.
Check out How Was Your Week, Honey? Episode #248: You’re Sucks-ing My Life! HERE! This week we get together on Halloween Eve to discuss: Gate Night, Kristin’s costume, old posts, Sydney bakes, Black Antler, A Year of Us, hockey update & live music.
HBear and Ninja put out a 2 part episode on Our Liner Notes last week! The theme was AT AGE 12 and the music & stories were amazing as they chatted about the good and bad of being 12. I am SO proud of HBear ❤️ I wish I was HALF as self aware at 12 as she is!! Proud of Ninja too as he navigated some tough topics and had a GREAT conversation with our HoneyBear ❤️. Check out Part 1: HERE and Part 2: HERE!
As I said above my Sister and I had a French onion soup/Halloween ritual and seeing as this was our first Halloween together in over a decade, I wanted to continue our tradition! However, French onion soup is pretty labor-intensive! Plus, Ninja hates it! I know, that’s completely crazy but it’s true! So, instead I did a French Onion Pasta and it was incredible! Like, better than incredible! The noodles had a nutty caramelized onion flavor, it was creamy, it was cheesy, and it was absolutely freaking delicious! I made it in 1 pot AND ahead of time so all I had to do was pop it in the oven as I chatted with our guests and dang, delicious dinner on the table! I urge everyone to try this recipe as it might be my favourite one of 2021 and not just because of the memories attached to it 💛.
SBean also wanted to help with dinner! She used some of the pumpkin purée I made a few days before and made sweet and tasty Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes with Pumpkin Buttercream! Now I know that sounds a bit intense but she’s 8 and she made them all on her own so I feel confident that you can too! She did let Daddy and HBear frost a few cupcakes but for the most part she nailed it all by her big self!
One Pot Creamy French Onion Pasta
Adapted from Half Baked Harvest
4 tablespoons butter
3-4 sweet onions, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons honey
1 cup red wine
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons thyme, chopped
salt and pepper
4 cups vegetable broth
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
1 pound of bow tie pasta
1 1/4 cups milk
2 cups gruyere cheese, shredded
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
In your Dutch oven melt the butter, onions, and honey together over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally until softened, about 5 minutes.
Slowly add 1/2 the wine, 1/4 cup at a time, until the wine cooks into the onions. Continue to cook another 8-10 minutes until you’ve used 1/2 cup of the wine and the onions are deeply caramelized.
Add the garlic, mushrooms, thyme, and season with salt and pepper, cook another 3-4 minutes.
Add the remaining 1/2 cup wine, the broth, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, and the pasta. Bring the mixture to a boil. Stir frequently until the pasta is al dente and the broth has been absorbed, about 8-10 minutes.
Stir in milk and 1/2 cup gruyere cheese. Remove from the heat.
Top with the rest of cheese and transfer to the oven and bake 20 minutes or until the cheese has melted and is lightly browned on top.
Cool 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh thyme.
Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes with Pumpkin Buttercream Frosting
Adapted from Baked By Rachel
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2/3 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 cup pumpkin puree
Frosting:
3/4 cup unsalted butter
6 tablespoons shortening
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
6 tablespoons light brown sugar
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
6-7 cups powdered sugar
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a cupcake pan with liners.
In a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
Beat in egg and vanilla, scraping the bowl as needed. Mix in baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices.
Mix in flour and cocoa powder, followed by pumpkin puree.
Continue mixing until fully combined and no streaks remain.
Divide mixture between liners.
Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pan until easy to handle, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Prepare frosting. In a stand mixer, beat together butter and shortening. Mix in vanilla, cinnamon and brown sugar. Scrape bowl as needed. Mix in pumpkin puree, followed by one cup of powdered sugar at a time. Continue mixing until fully combined.
Transfer frosting to a large piping bag fit with desired piping tip.
Frost cupcakes.
It was a busy week of excitement and anticipation for the big Halloween celebration on Sunday! Happy Halloween I hope everybody enjoyed a safe and happy holiday!
