Pumpkin Espresso Bread

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Pumpkin Espresso Bread

Pumpkin Espresso Bread

I am beginning to feel like a bit of a hypocrite. After spending the majority of the summer in a heat induced stupor, I was ready for fall. I was ready to embrace wearing pants and drinking hot beverages, going outside without breaking into a sweat, and sleeping under the bed covers instead of on top of them. I often whined about the heat of summer to anyone who would listen until I couldn't find anyone to listen to my grievances anymore. I secretly wished for snow and cold winds as I sat in front of an industrial fan.

And now, on the first real day of fall weather, I must eat my words.

Pumpkin Espresso Bread Pumpkin Espresso Bread

This morning was genuinely cold. In the middle of the night, I had pulled the covers up to the tip of my nose, trapping the heat under the blankets. When my alarm went off with a loud beep, I snaked a hand out to turn it off and immediately brought it back into the warmth of the blankets. The shock of chilled air was unexpected. I groaned audibly, wanting to stay beneath the covers forever, dreading the moment when I would have to leave the sanctuary of my bed. After a few minutes of indulging myself, I finally pulled off the covers and crawled out of bed.

Breakfast has an uncanny ability to lure me out from the land of dreams.

Pumpkin Espresso Bread

Even though my body may not be ready for the shock of crisp air, my taste buds are more than ready for autumn to arrive. I'm looking forward to roasting freshly picked apples in the oven with a little brown sugar. I'm looking forward to devouring warm rice pudding, sprinkled with a little cinnamon and nutmeg. Most of all, I'm looking forward to eating anything and everything with pumpkin (so much, in fact, that I jumped the gun and started stocking my cupboards with cans of pumpkin early this year).

After making most of this Pumpkin Espresso Bread disappear in less than a day, I feel like beginning autumn baking early was an excellent decision.

Pumpkin Espresso Bread

Pumpkin Espresso Bread is the quintessential loaf of autumn. With the flavors of my favorite coffee house drink in mind, I infused espresso into pumpkin bread batter and topped the loaf with a brown sugar espresso crumble before baking. In the oven, half of the crumble soaks into the top of the bread while the other half stays sweet and crunchy on top. The pumpkin bread is incredibly moist, with a tender crumb, and strong flavors. I would be surprised if this lasted more than a day in your house.

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Mocha Granola

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Mocha Granola

Mocha Granola

There is something indulgent and romantic about a hot cup of coffee. The steam swirling out of the mug creating a thin fog that hovers delicately above the liquid, only disrupted by the wafting air of a mug lifted to the lips for a hesitant, fleeting first sip. The smell of coffee is familiar, embracing the soul while sleep is rubbed away from tired eyes. The heat from the mug is a welcome touch on cold winter mornings when it feels too early to crawl out of bed before the sun.

It's an ancient drink, creating an invisible connection between people both near and far with a single, simple message.

The day is about to begin.

Mocha Granola

It was the smell of ground coffee beans that aroused my love for coffee. Long before I became a coffee drinker, I sat at the kitchen table with my grandparents during breakfast, listening to them talk over cups of coffee as the dawn light spread pastels across the sky. The coffee maker faintly dripped in the background, a simple sound in a quiet room, with a rush of steam as the last drop of water fell into the pot. There was something exquisitely romantic about the whole affair.

I wanted to capture all of these sensory moments, to keep them inside as a comforting moment for a day when the world felt bleak. I turned these moments into vignettes, of coffee and newspapers, of yawning faces and quiet moments, wanting to hold them in my mind simply because I found them beautiful.

Mocha Granola

It was a quiet morning when I made this mocha granola. I was tired, even after a long night's sleep. The sun seemed to agree as it hid behind the clouds, keeping the sky covered in a gray blanket. The warmth of the oven and the moody, shadowed lighting through my camera lens painted another Tuesday morning.

Perhaps unremarkable to another eye, it was peaceful for me. The scent of the coffee infused granola wafting through the apartment made it difficult to imagine a more tranquil morning.

Mocha Granola

Mocha Granola is indulgently moody, with an unmistakable aroma of espresso and dark chocolate. This is an adult granola, with a rich coffee flavor, almonds, and hint of chocolate for sweetness. While I enjoyed it mixed into Greek yogurt, it's not hard to imagine this granola being equally at home covered in milk or grabbed by the handful on the way out the door.

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Tiramisu Cake

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Tiramisu Cake

Tiramisu Cake

Sometimes I feel like Life is a charismatic game show host. Microphone in hand, he leads you to the center of the stage, your stage, as an unseen audience applauds and whistles. When the convivial music swells and the lights dim, Life turns to you and his voice resounds across the room as he announces that it is time for you to make a decision. The audience immediately hushes to a whisper, rapt with attention, waiting to hear your answer with anticipation.

Three brightly colored doors stand in front of you. As your palms sweat and you wonder how you found yourself here, in this moment, Life turns to you and asks the question again.

Will it be Door Number One, Door Number Two, or Door Number Three?

Tiramisu Cake Tiramisu Cake

I have a decision to make, and soon. The clock is ticking down and I find myself acutely aware of each minute as I panic to choose between the three doors standing before me today. Big Life Decisions were never my forte, but I'm not as afraid of them as I was just a few years ago. I've grown up a little since then (and gotten to know myself a little better). After fumbling around with Big Life Decisions for the last couple years, I've realized that, though they may be "big," there is nothing about them that needs to be permanent.

I don't do well with permanence or finality. As if to illustrate my point, while shopping with my mother yesterday, we stumbled across a set of brightly colored mixing bowls with a pricetag at seventeen dollars. I was thinking of buying them since I don't have a set to call my own. Discussing the pros and cons, my mother joked I would probably have these the rest of my life. The rest of my life?

I put them back on the shelf and walked away, not ready to make a decision that would have such far reaches, even if it was just a set of mixing bowls.

Tiramisu Cake

I can recognize the irony of needing to make a Big Life Decision when I can't even make a seventeen dollar decision. However, if there is anything I've learned about Big Life Decisions, it's that life tends to sort itself out and everything ends up all right, even if there are times when it feels like it won't. If I bought the mixing bowls and they weren't what I expected, the world wouldn't end. The walls wouldn't come crashing down. I'd trust that I would find a way for everything to be all right, even if it was just to toss them out and start anew.

So today, I choose door number one. I'm not sure quite what it will hold or where it will lead me. The ideal job for me might not be behind any of those three doors and, if it isn't, it's because it's not the right time in my life for me to find it. I've spent the last few months fearing the need to make this decision and, now that it has finally been made, it's time to find out the answer to the question on my mind.

What's behind door number one?

Tiramisu Cake Tiramisu Cake

This Tiramisu Cake is light, creamy, and divine. I made it as a joint birthday cake for my sister and grandfather. The nine of us present at the party managed to finish off all but two small pieces (even after an Easter feast). This cake tastes just like tiramisu should. Two cake layers are soaked in espresso and covered with a creamy mascarpone frosting. The cake is sprinkled with a layer of cocoa powder and covered in a layer of chocolate shavings. To take it over the top, I added a ring of homemade ladyfingers around the edge and secured it up with a ribbon. Now this is one cake I wouldn't mind unwrapping...

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