I was going to save this recipe for December or sometime when oranges are actually in season- but I will not torment myself. I had a stray orange in my fridge and it was needing to be baked in a cake. Orangey baked goods are always surprisingly awesome. You forget about them, maybe, or they don't sound as irresistible as something with chocolate/peanut butter/bacon... but watch out, the orange goods may steal your heart. They quench a sweet tooth like none other. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you haven't tried these orange scones.

These cake bars could be really great muffins, but I didn't feel like scooping the batter out little by little, so I just spread it all into a square pan and called it good. They're dense like a quick bread and the right amount of sweet to be dessert or breakfast-y. Perfect for a morning coffee break, if you are into taking those. (What a great idea! We should all take one today!) I drizzled mine with an orange juice glaze and dappled it with coconut oil, which turns into a pretty white drizzle when it's chilled. Store in the fridge, please! They are worlds better when eaten cold.

Orange Coconut Cake Bars

slightly adapted from Nourishing Days
makes 1 8x8 inch square pan

6 eggs (room temperature)
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1/4 cup coconut milk, full-fat
6 T. honey
1 tsp. vanilla
zest and juice of one orange, divided
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. sea salt

In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, milk, honey, vanilla, and zest of 1/2 the orange. Add coconut flour into the bowl by pouring it through a fine strainer, breaking up any clumps that are caught. Add baking powder and sea salt, and mix well. Pour the batter into a greased pan and bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
When the cake is still a bit warm, poke holes all over with a toothpick or fork. Juice 1/2 of the orange right over the whole cake.
Glaze: Stir together remaining orange zest and juice, a teaspoon of coconut flour, and a spoonful of honey/coconut sugar. I happened to have coconut sugar on hand, so that's what I used. Adjust all ingredients to taste and texture preference. Drizzle over top of cake and then follow with a drizzle of coconut oil. Store in the fridge and serve chilled.

 Hello tractors and harvest time, and mums on door steps.

 Hello double-crusted pies and cinnamon-scented kitchens.

Hello orchards. Hello quilts and naps. Hello snug, homey evenings.
Hello cider and chicken soup. Hello golden and scarlet maples.

Is it cold in your house yet? At this moment, you'll find a hot cup of tea sitting next to me (which I made in an effort to get warmed all through), my fingers are chilled to the bone, and I have socks on. Yes. This morning is the advent of fall in our house. How often do I take warm hands for granted!
So, naturally, I have a frozen recipe to share today. Frozen, to match the current state of my toes. Not exactly what I need right now, but by the afternoon we will be opening up windows and shedding socks. Plus, it's never to late for an end-of-the-season milkshake. After a bowl of steaming soup for dinner last night, a thick and frosty dessert actually sounded just perfect. Soup and shakes. I may just make that a thing.

Chocolate Banana Milkshake with Coconut Milk

This was the first ever coconut milk milkshake in my kitchen. The fact that I'm posting it should already tell you this, but I'll say it anyway: Huge success! I loved it! It was majorly creamy and smooth. Probably should keep the blender on the counter for the next few days because once is not going to be enough. I used only a banana to sweeten it, giving it a nice mellow dark chocolatey flavor and making it a super simple dessert (after school snack? breakfast???) with super simple ingredients. Nothing to feel bad about here. And this baby is thick. Don't even try to stick a straw in it. You're going to need a spoon. 

1/2 cup more or less coconut milk 
(the canned full-fat kind, not the watery stuff in the refrigerator section) 

dash of vanilla

1 tsp. cocoa

1 spoonful of almond butter

pinch of sea salt

Blend all together, pour into a frosty glass, and indulge.

*I throw freckled, over ripe, turning-black bananas into our freezer all the time. It's so handy to grab them for making banana bread, banana cinnamon quinoa, or a smoothie. They thaw lightning fast if you stick them in a mason jar full of hot water. For a shake or smoothie I still want the banana to be frozen, so I only let it thaw about 1 minute in hot water. Just long enough to be able to pull the peel away. 

Hadley June, sidewalk queen. 

To see more photos like this and my everyday adventures,
you can come find me on Instagram!
@summerharms 

Baking!!! I'm so excited. I don't even care if it's 90 degrees by the afternoon, the oven has been in use, churning up the smells of fall. So far it has supplied a loaf of zucchini bread, some orange coconut cake, and banana nut bread.

 More pickle making. We are hooked. The first batch of pickles turned out so crunchy and delicious. The grape leaves worked like magic! Oh, and Hadley likes to gnaw on them on those sore teething days. Pickles for teething! Who knew?

 We finally bought a grill! You know we love it. Grant is already a master. Here you can see grassfed burgers, an avocado up top, and onions, carrots, and okra on this Cuisinart grilling platter. I love that our kitchen is staying a lot less smoky these days. 

Another banana breakfast! I can't help it. I've gotten used to having a heap of bananas at our house because they're Hadley's favorite, and now I completely depend on them for snacks and baking. The sweet speckles of banana in these pancakes make them extra cozy and warming on a chilly fall morning and you hardly need any syrup because they're already fairly sweet. And they are scrumptious!

And so simple. If your kitchen isn't stocked with all those fancy gluten free baking supplies... xanthan gum, arrowroot, tapioca starch, etc... have no fear. Neither is mine. This recipe is ONE step to gluten free. One! Just swap out rice flour for wheat flour and you're good to go. I bought brown rice flour from the bulk section at our grocery store, it was right next to the wheat flour and very inexpensive.
You do have to let this batter sit longer than you would with a normal (wheat) pancake batter, but it gives you time to get the dishes done or go take a shower. Or, you can stick your batter bowl in the fridge overnight and they'll be ready for the griddle in the morning.

**Make sure not to skip the resting time for the batter. I've tried it and it really does make all the difference. :)

 Gluten Free Banana Pancakes 

(made with rice flour)

3 eggs

1/2 cup coconut milk (or regular milk or buttermilk)

1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 T. melted coconut oil

1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda

3/4 cup to 1 cup rice flour*

1 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg

1 ripe banana, lightly mashed 

Melt coconut oil. In a mixing bowl, whisk eggs. Stir in milk, vinegar, vanilla, and melted oil. Whisk in rice flour, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon until lumps are gone. Cover bowl and let rest on the counter for 1 hour or put in the fridge overnight. 

Heat an oiled skillet over medium-low heat. Stir in mashed bananas to the batter right before cooking. Don't worry if the banana isn't smooth- lumps are recommended! Drop batter onto the griddle with a large spoon and cook until bubbles form and edges move easily. Flip and cook until browned.
* I use 3/4 cup sprouted brown rice flour and it makes a perfect batter, but sprouted flour does soak up a bit more moisture than regular flour. If you are using regular rice flour, start with 3/4 cup flour and if batter is too thin, feel free to add more, up to 1 cup total flour. 

I like to cook mine in coconut oil in a cast iron pan. They almost smell like mini donuts! These pancakes cook nicely- not running all over the place, and you don't really have to "spread" them like some batters. They're soft and tender and puff up slightly, but are too dense to be considered fluffy pancakes. I actually enjoy them thick like that. 

Dot with butter, drizzle with maple syrup or honey, and sprinkle with extra cinnamon. Enjoy!

Hey guys! Some of you have been asking about the print from yesterday's post. Thanks! I designed it (and others) in Photoshop and had it printed up. Then I put it in this IKEA frame. 

If you'd like a copy of this sign (or another image from my blog) for your home, send me an email. For $0.99 I will email you a file that you can have made into a print. 

If you would rather just have a print shipped to you (instead of a file) let me know and we can work out a way to get a print to you. Or if you have a quote, verse, or saying in mind that you'd like made into a custom sign, step right up! I'd love to design it for you! 

Talk to me! 

summer.harms@gmail.com

On the mornings when I don't have eggs and sauerkraut (have you tried that yet?), I have this. Quinoa + Banana + Cinnamon = Perfect Porridge-like Alternative-to-Oatmeal Cozy Breakfast. It tastes like warm banana bread in a bowl. Sometimes I make it for a late night dessert, too. I always have cooked quinoa in my fridge to throw this salad together or make a veggie bowl, so this is really fast and easy.  We've never been really into oatmeal in the morning- or anything soupy for that matter. I make this quinoa more sticky than soupy, so it feels like I'm biting into something. 

This is on our stove so often that it's become a non-recipe in my mind. I don't think, I just make it. I'm really having to think to get the recipe out for you guys! Here we go:

Banana Cinnamon Quinoa

a hearty breakfast porridge

1 T. coconut oil or butter

1 ripe banana, mashed

1 heaping cup leftover cooked quinoa (soaked*)

1/4 tsp. sea salt, or more to taste

1-2 tsp. cinnamon 

1 spoonful of almond butter for topping

Heat oil or butter in a small pot over low heat. Stir in cooked quinoa, salt, and cinnamon. When this mixture is warmed through, stir in the mashed banana. If it looks too wet, add more quinoa to the mix. Stir a few times until heated through. Swirl in almond butter and eat while steamy. Makes 1 hearty serving.   

Variations I've tried and liked: add a dash of vanilla, a scoop of shredded coconut, walnuts, a bit of coconut milk if you like it more like cereal, a drizzle of maple syrup or honey, or try it with rice instead of quinoa! 

*How to soak and cook quinoa: Rinse 2 cups of quinoa under running water for at least 1 minute (it has a bitter coating). Add to a glass bowl and cover with 2 cups warm filtered water. Stir in 2 T. of lemon juice, whey, kefir, or raw cider vinegar. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 8 hours. Drain and rinse well. Add quinoa to a pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to low and let simmer about 15 minutes. 

"There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. We are today accepted in the Beloved, today absolved from sin, today acquitted at the bar of God. Oh! soul-trasnporting thought! ....

Let present privilege awaken us to present duty, and now, while life lasts, let us spend and be spent for our sweet Lord Jesus."

Grant and I had both bookmarked parts of this devotional from C.H. Spurgeon's Morning & Evening. That last line in particular just stuck in my mind for weeks. What is the meaning of today? Oh, yes! To spend my time, effort, money, thoughts, and words for Jesus. So, am I being used up today? Good! That's the whole point.

Since I loved this quote so much, I designed a new print for our kitchen. We love it.

This book. is so good.

I had been hearing people talk about it and I knew I wanted to get in on it. Of course, it's a topic that I'm super interested in: baby food! And how food matters in general. It was a great buy- very quick and fun to read. I read part of it on the drive down to Nebraska, and finished it on the drive back. You'll just slip through the pages because the information is so valuable and illuminating- it makes you want to hurry up and get it all in you! The format is lovely and easy to read, and the last half is an entire collection of great recipes. I've already started making them. mmmm.

If you have a baby or are planning on having one, I absolutely, positively recommend reading it. Even if you aren't, you would still find it interesting and possibly revealing! The information you get in this book is exactly what I've spent a year getting educated on from 20-some different sources; all about the gut, all in one place. If you're wondering about tummy troubles or wanting some helpful info on what to feed your baby, here you go. It's fantastic. 

 Over Labor Day weekend we took a road trip to Nebraska. We reunited with wonderful old friends (most of them held me as a newborn baby, and now they got to meet MY baby! crazy!) We joined the Sea of Red at a Nebraska football game, melted in 100 degree heat, and I got to cheer for my home team.  

GO HUSKERS! 

 Memorial Stadium

Me and my twin sister Haley- 29 weeks pregnant :) She looks so cute!