these are our hunters, and they were hungry.

here's a few ideas on how to feed a hungry hunter, from the dishes of deer hunting 09.

01. marlboro man sandwiches, on homemade buns, with plenty of cheese.

02. sweet-crusted chicken tamales, with sour cream. mm.

03. homemade pizza, with pepperoni, green pepper, and black olives.

04. hungry hunter muffins, with a good spreading of butter. see recipe below.

spice muffins

via grandma vi tschetter.

1/2 c. butter

1 1/2 c. sugar

2 eggs

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 c. thick unsweetened applesauce

1 c. pecans, finely chopped

2 c. flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. cloves

1/4 tsp. salt

01. cream together butter and sugar, add eggs and vanilla.

02. mix dry ingredients in medium bowl and add to creamed mixture by alternating with applesauce.

03. add nuts last and fill muffin cups 2/3 full

04. bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, serve with butter.

makes about 20 muffins.

meanwhile, i'm following the waiting procedures.

wearing gym shorts and slippers and listening for the dryer to buzz. throwing in capfuls of softener and catching snippets of friends reruns. boiling eggs and eating tuna on toast. stacking turkey on his sandwich for tomorrow and making neat creases in his white tees. am holding out for dancing with the stars to tide me over until my man gets home.

deer hunting absolutely flew this year.. fast and fun.

the sun shined. cousins played. pies baked. football prevailed. many a doe was spotted. groves were flushed and fields were hunted. ann's sweet chicken tamales were savored. playdoh pictionary + four on a couch + tony's lattes transpired in the lounge. addie and symone smiled for my camera. and two buck are at the harms farm, ready to be butchered.

i got to see my husband at his manliest.

and camp shetek at its autumniest.

and the little ones walking about like that whole crawling phase never happened.

and my sisters in law being such sweet mothers.

and i got to 'walk the section' during naptime.

and chat on the sofas.

and eat seconds at every meal.

and accompany grant on a hunt.

and a good time was had by all.

yep, you've got it.

it's the first weekend of deer hunting season and everybody is coming home for the holiday. each year, all the harms kids gather round for this auspicious event and we celebrate an early thanksgiving together. the boys go a-hunting and the girls bring fancy vittles and we have a grand old time. sometimes there are even bonfires and rootbeer tastings and heidi's famous orange scones. mmm.

deer hunting 2009 brings a good dry weather forecast for the hunters and round two of grandma marian's pie making class for the bakers. (which i am thrilled over. more practice, just in time for the holidays.) plus there will be lots of little nephews to hold and nieces to hug and sisters to talk with. i can't wait. the festivities begin tonight! woohoo.

the menu planning for this affair began weeks and weeks ago, but today it all finally comes together. today is baking day, guys. big time. i will be stationed in the kitchen, turning up the music, whipping up a collection of goodies, feeling that lovely 'almost-christmas' sensation, and relishing one of my last days sans dishwasher. (because one day i'm sure i will look back long for the sweet times i had with this tiny little sink of mine, and the yummy palmolive smell + my yellow rubber gloves.)

recipes to come. you can count on it.

happy weekend and happy hunting.

why is the harms family all dressed up?

stick around and i'll fill you in.

ps. yes, that is me next to the bottle of tide, with my bangs blowing in the wind.

pps. aren't we a big crew? and this was two years ago, so we're four members bigger now. i think when i married in i was the #24 addition to the fam.

ppps. we have sweet photo of all of us in ugly christmas sweaters. i promise to break it out during the holidays.

i read somewhere that hymns are really in right now. i would have to disagree slightly. i don't think they were ever out. hymns will never lose their lustre, and they are far too good to be a fad.

but i do agree that hymns are in, in the sense that they seem to be getting more appreciation these days. it's like someone realized that just because they are labeled 'traditional' doesn't mean that they are no longer relevant or meaningful. on the contrary, i think hymn lyrics carry more meaning than most any other music and hold timeless worth for us.

and if you're like me, you'd love to have those simple melodies and sweet words filling the living room while you fold towels, instead of waiting for the right sunday to come along with your favorite hymn in queue. the problem is that it's terribly hard to find a good hymn album. i want one where the artist does not take too many liberties, one where you can still pick out the original tune and sing along with the weighty words. it's hard to find, but guess what. i found one.

roots run deep by jadon lavik.

am listening to it all the live long day.

as promised, it's the great pumpkin cookies.

in other words.. big 'n' fat extreme soft pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.

and they are super duper delish.

do you know that marvelous triumphant feeling that comes when a recipe turns out just right the first time? multiply that feeling by 10 and you'll get how happy i was with the result. when a cookie ends up being better in my mouth than it was in my imagination, i know i've found something special. they were everything i wanted and more. and now i know that pumpkin + chocolate is a perfect mix. thanks, joy the baker. they will be making an annual appearance, if i have anything to say about it. i need a little halloween tradition, and this seems like just the thing.

pumpkin chocolate chip cookies from joy the baker.

2 c. all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg (i used ground nutmeg.)

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

2 eggs

1 c. sugar

1/2 c. canola or corn oil

1 c. canned pumpkin

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. chocolate chips

01. position a rack in the middle of the oven. preheat oven to 325 degrees. line two baking sheets with parchment paper and butter the paper.

02. stir the flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and spices together in a medium bowl and set aside.

03. in a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar on medium speed until smooth and lightened in color, about 1 minute. stop mixer and scrape sides of bowl as needed during mixing.

04. on low speed, mix oil, pumpkin, and vanilla until blended.

05. mix in the flour mixture to incorporate it. mix in the chips.

06. using a 1/4 c. measuring cup or a large spoon, scoop mounds of dough onto prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 1/2 inches between.

07. bake the cookies one sheet at a time for about 16 minutes, or until tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry. cool cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

08. dust cooled cookies with powdered sugar. for jack-o-lantern faces like mine, simply cut two triangles and a pumpkin grin from parchment paper and arrange on top of cookie before dusting with powdered sugar.

*fyi. this is an easy one to cut in half. a half-batch made 8 huge cookies and that was just right for handing out to brothers and sisters in law and a few for us.

it's here, it's here! it's finally here! november. the month of anticipation. it has arrived and i can't wait for more of it.

on a different note, how was your halloween? ours, i'm happy to tell you, was the opposite of last year. 2008 brought a shockingly scant supply of trick-or-treaters, leaving me bitterly disappointed and missing my old neighborhood, but this year i would have none of that. determined to make halloween an eventful night, i threw together a last minute, tiny surprise party for two by printing out this super simple menu and party itinerary and tucking it into grant's side of the sheets on friday night. then on saturday, we partied. sort of. no costumes or dry ice or decorations, but i did borrow a dvd from the library, baked some cookies and plated caramel apple slices. we kicked things off with a showing of the thriller music video, handed out butterfingers to some cute nieces and a nephew, and watched the chronicles of narnia, which is about as scary as i can handle. i even got to chat with my sister and brother in law and their adorable yoda dressed boy. it was totally my kind of party.

when the party was over, we reminisced about halloweens of old. you remember what it was like. you lived in one of those costume hopping, candy crammed neighborhoods. it was the best. you carried around your 10-pound pillowcase in the cold night, the weight and workout of it keeping you warm, mindful of the places where they gave out full candy bars. you knew it was time to head home when your pillowcase became too heavy to lug around anymore, and the sweet looks of sympathy at the door had begun to diminish. they saw that you had plenty already, mom said that you had plenty already, and dad said that you would have halloween candy until easter.

back at home, you and your sisters would plop down on the living room floor, costumes intact, and pour out your takings. next came the best part of all.. the sorting. snickers and milky ways, hershey's and reese's, whoppers and milk duds, the weird-wrappers, the not-candy, the throw-aways, the favorites. each treat had it's own category. i remember it so clearly, the night the living room floor became a collage of sweet candy circles. and if you made a nice offer, sisters would sometimes trade you their gummy lifesavers and kit-kats. it was a magical night.

then there was always the next day at school, when evidence of the profitable night of trick-or-treating made an appearance in lunch sacks and lockers. that candy always seemed to be above the rules. you could eat it in class and teachers would not say a word. those were the days.

i hope your halloweens were like mine. i have such fond memories. i can't wait for future halloweens with tiny costumed kids of my own. someday, someday. i will love being the mom that stands on the end of the sidewalk and waits to hear the cheery sound of 'trick-or-treat' coming from my own little mouths. for the time being, i put a piece of candy in grant's lunch in observance of the day-after tradition.

back to november. happy anticipating!

and tomorrow expect to see the cookies from my scaled-down shindig. get ready, they're good.

until i have kids of my own, photos of haley and me from the 90's will have to suffice.

don't we have a clever mom? we even have pumpkin leggings on. and velcro shoes, oversized bows, and those plastic jack-o-lantern candy carriers. cool. and am i already taller than haley here? weird.

have a happy halloween.

you knew it was coming. the movie review.

i can't remember when i've felt so satisfied with a $7.50 purchase.

you'll want to get yourself a ticket to this. i watched the whole thing with wide eyes and an occasional shaking of the head or squeezing of grant's hand. i couldn't believe what i was getting to see. remember what i said 6 months ago? last night, my dream almost came true. it was like having a front row seat at the concert of all concerts.

and i'm happy to report that it was done well.

the movie was respectful, lighthearted, and entertaining beyond my expectations. everything about both movie and concert was 100% classy. you see michael at the top of his game, performing the songs you love, hearing his music exactly as you remember it. this it it was truly going to be an extraordinary production, entirely for the fans, and the movie focuses on that. the opposite of somber and mournful, you see these rehearsals in a celebratory light. i feel like even though it was never performed, this is it was his triumph.

oh, and if you're like me, you're going to love the way you make me feel, thriller, and i want you back.

go see it. you'll have fun.

ps. think i will dig up an old photo of my twin and me in costume for halloween tomorrow. that's always fun. (for us and our mom.)

greetings. i am an apartment dweller yet.

we have not closed on the house, nor have i had the slightest thought about packing. things are at a standstill, and that is fine with me. i need some time to catch my breath and maybe bake. we're thinking things might start rolling once we hit november. but there is some news.. we've been doing some painting. you can see the color i chose for the new kitchen in the advertisement above. it's the buttery looking square. {sweet idea for a little girl's room, right? the pattern is called 'neapolitan delight'. too cute.} i knew that i wanted something light because it is such a small kitchen, and something warm because i like to feel cozy. so i aimed somewhere between classy creamy white and very mellow yellow. hopefully i got it right. we went with macaroni by martha stewart. thoughts?

and on today's agenda..

shortly.. preschool, pumpkin party today.

later.. meat market, pick up ground beef.

tonight.. off to the 'big city.' dinner + a movie.

have a merry day. i'm wearing orange and ready to party with my 4 year olds.

i am celebrating because it is still fall. that bit of snow we got back on october the 10th is nowhere to be seen. the leaves are still flying their brilliant colors. woohoo. i was scared for a little while. would hate to have winter start too soon. so in honor of the state of still fall, something random and even a tad romantic.

grant and i wrote letters to each other this summer. in the letters, we each made a list of things we want to do together someday. then we exchanged letters and compiled all of our objectives into one giant list. and, of course, we put it in notebook, where it will never get lost and we can check things off as we go. pretty soon we are going to check the box that says 'move into our own home.' cool.

such an easy undertaking, but really fun. seeing what the other list-maker wrote down is maybe the best part. you could even convert this idea into a little date, if you are so inclined. maybe take your fellow lister to a little cafe and order a slice of carrot cake to split as you write your lists. wish i had thought of that before. one more thing. if you do it all in writing, i think that is so freeing. that way nothing gets shot down because it sounds too simple or common or immature. in pen, the words can be perfect. let no thing go unwritten. here are a few items from the g + s list.

1. sleep in a cabin during a storm

2. travel by train

3. keep some kind of garden

4. ride rockin' roller coaster at disneyworld

5. eat in a famous restaurant

6. play a duet

7. see ferris bueller's day off

8. do a crossword puzzle

9. sit in a coffeeshop and use their wi-fi

10. read through the entire bible together

11. see one of our favorite musicals on stage

12. eat at pinkberry again

13. put together a big puzzle

14. go out to breakfast

15. watch all episodes of arrested development and the star wars movies (again)

16. go to a special showing of an old movie in a cool theatre

a few reminders for today. tuesday, october 27, 2009.

no. 1 last year, a few of you mentioned that you would like to join me in my little non-scrapbooking venture. if that is still the case, this is your reminder to save any and all catalogs + magazines that turn up in your mailbox from now until christmas. there is plenty of free glossy paper out there, you just have to start stashing. december will be here before we know it.

no. 2 today you can pre-order john mayer's new album battle studies. hope it's a good one.

no. 3 this cool book goes on sale (and on my christmas list) today. check out the cool blog that goes with it. and the cool guy that wrote it. he reminds me of classy danny kaye.

no. 4 don't forget.. daylight savings time ends this weekend. more time for trick-or-treating.

no. 5 it's the great pumpkin, charlie brown is on abc tonight. don't miss.

no. 6 only 59 days until christmas.

no. 7 this is it premieres tomorrow. we're going to see it on thursday.

life is good'n'busy.

early alarms and late nights. preschool. a dinner party. football. making 14 pies in the camp kitchen (of the pumpkin pecan, autumn ice cream, and sour cream apple variety). grocery shopping at 11 pm. serving 100+ people a grand supper. and priming + painting our new kitchen.

in other news, tomorrow night we have a little fall program for our preschool. the kids will get up on stage and stumble through all the words to our songs and try to keep up with the actions and be utterly adorable. i hope. at the end they get to take home a balloon, so it'll all be good.

in other news, my hands have hundreds of tiny cuts and cracks from hard water and dry air. grant says that i wash my hands a ridiculous amount, and he is really right, but i can't seem to stop myself. does anybody have a heavy-duty, non-vanilla smelling lotion for me to try? preferably something that won't leave my fingers greasy for the next 14 hours?

in other news, my favorite fall threads are the farm girl shirt and a handmedown 100% silk long-sleever from my mother-in-law. superthin and superwarm. i'm trying to fit it under everything.

in other news, i have the tv on right now. during the day. so weird for me. but today, the pioneer woman is on the bonnie hunt show and i am not going to miss out.

in other news, i have discovered two good things about walmart.

1. a tiny cup of flawless chocolate ice cream. $1.00 gets you perfect brownie fudge taste. i'm happy.

2. sam. he's the guy at the paint department, and he is tops. he matched my martha stewart paint swatches perfectly, he enlightened us about primer, and he reminded us of our friend bryant. grant and i agreed, we would have bought anything from sam. we wished he would have walked around the entire store with us and advised us on how to spend our money.

must skedaddle.

there is a treadmill i must visit, chicken to put in the crockpot, and an apartment to clean because a potential buyer is coming to look at it this afternoon. have a killer monday.

good morning!

and it really is a good morning because 1. i have a bunch of top-notch little books to add to my list. big thanks to you all. and 2. today i'm talking about coffeecake miniatures.

intensely moist coffeecake in a muffin, guys.

brilliant, i know. that's why i decided to make them last weekend. can't believe i made it all week long without sharing these babycakes, but i really wanted to save them for a friday post. just in time to make them saturday morning. seems like there is some wisdom behind the idea of making saturday breakfast special, right? or you could go the tea party route. tea and cakes are very mary poppins chic. or load them up on a tray, bundle with plastic wrap, and share at sunday school. that's what i did.

do enjoy, however you decide.

ps. this recipe caught my eye because of the pudding mix. mm. pudding is a powerful thing. it always leads to perfectly moist. i'm the same way with yogurt and sour cream.. my eyes light up when i find them in tucked away in an average-looking recipe. then you just know it's gonna be good.

coffeecake miniatures.

adapted from 30 minute recipes.

1/3 c. butter, softened

1/4 c. sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1 pkg. (3.4 oz) instant vanilla pudding mix

1 T. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/4 c. milk

topping

2/3 c. brown sugar

4 T. melted butter

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

icing

1 c. powdered sugar

1-2 T. milk or cream

1. in a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar, then beat in egg.

2. in a medium bowl, combine flour, pudding mix, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk and beat until blended.

3. fill paper-lined muffin cups 1/3 full.

4. combine topping ingredients and sprinkle 1/2 of topping mixture over batter in muffin cups.

5. fill muffin cups with remaining batter and sprinkle remaining topping over tops.

6. bake at 375 degrees for 20 -25 minutes, cool for 10 minutes; remove from pan to a wire rack.

7. when cool, drizzle icing over tops.

yields about 1 dozen bakery size muffins.

+ if are ultra grown-up and like nuts in your baked goods, you can add chopped walnuts to the batter and the topping.

+ and if you're like me and dig cinnamon, go ahead and add a pinch more. i think you should be able to smell it over the brown sugar when you stir the topping. i think that should be my new rule.