Chicken and apple curry

Autumn apples, apple cider, and warm Indian spices come together in this delightful and unique chicken curry meal. 

Pumpkin spice loaf cake

Behold, my first pumpkin recipe of the season! I couldn't wait any longer! Over the weekend I decided it was high time to kick off pumpkin season with this pumpkin spice loaf cake. This loaf is pretty simple to make and while I usually love to toss in nuts and/or chocolate chips when I make pumpkin baked goods, I wanted this to be all about the pumpkin and pumpkin spices that we all crave in the fall. While baking, the whole place smelled of warm pumpkin spice, which was perfect for a crisp day. This is a lovely treat for after a day outside or with a hot cup of tea for an autumn weekend snack.

This recipe will make one 9 x 5-inch loaf. Most quick breads/loaf cakes have at least one cup of sugar in them, but I almost always cut down the sugar. Feel free to add more for a sweeter cake. I dusted it with powdered sugar only to make it look prettier for the photo - that's completely optional. A glaze would also be nice, or a smear of pumpkin butter on individual slices would be even better.

Have you made your first pumpkin recipe of the season yet??

Jalapeno popper chicken chili

Soup and chili season is arriving! I absolutely love making and eating a hot and hearty soup when the weather is crisp and cool. 

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My husband and I took a walk at the nearby park yesterday evening and noticed that the leaves are starting to fall and that they were crunching under our feet. The squirrels were packing away acorns, crane flies were hovering over the grass, and the smell of fall was in the air (although it's still a bit warm). It's my favorite time of the year.

This hearty and spicy creamy chili has the flavors of jalapeno poppers in chili form.

Stir-fried paneer and peppers

The warm weather has arrived here and when it starts to get hot, I like to eat all sorts of Asian foods with Indian food being toward the top of that list. 

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This amazing dish was inspired by this recipe, although mine is quite different. Ever since I learned to make paneer and used it to make Saag paneer, I've been thinking about other ways to use this cheese. This idea of using it with peppers sounded really good to me (plus I had a few different colors already in the fridge). 

The whole dish was bursting with flavor and freshness - perfect for a warm day. You may be able to find paneer at your grocery store, but if not it is quite simple to make your own at home.

My husband and I enjoyed this a lot. I mean, a lot - we ate the whole plate ourselves with no lunch leftovers. I served this with a side of steamy Basmati rice and some sliced cucumber, but Naan bread would also be a good accompaniment. 

This dish has a bit of heat to it, but it is mellowed by the cheese and sweet peppers - the rice and cucumbers also help with that.

Pennsylvania Dutch flannel cakes

Flannel cakes are a type of pancake that is special because the egg whites are beaten separately and folded into the batter resulting in a lighter and softer pancake.

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There's also no sugar in the batter, making these less sweet than a traditional pancake. I made these flannel cakes after finding them in one of my Pennsylvania Dutch cookbooks (pictured below). 

Since I was making an old-fashioned recipe, I decided to beat the egg whites by hand, which was great exercise for my arm. My slightly adapted recipe made about 14 flannel cakes. I served them with some frozen blueberries I cooked with a bit of water and honey along with some butter. Maple syrup would also be great.

These cookbooks came from our family - one from my grandmother and one from my husband's grandparents. They are full of old-time recipes from the Pennsylvania Dutch, who are the early German-speaking immigrants to Pennsylvania. 

This is where my grandfather's family is from (and probably why my grandmother had this cookbook). I love flipping through old cookbooks like these and finding recipes to try. You can bet I'll be making more soon.