Five on Friday | Welcome, November!

When I lose my blogging mojo, I find that a Five on Friday is a good way to just hop back into Blogland without a lot of explanations or fanfare. So here we go . . .

{one}

I happily welcomed November! It is one of my favorite months. It's cozy and comforting and filled with thanksgiving. 

{two}

When November arrives, I start playing my Thanksgiving playlist on Spotify. Around the house. In the car. While I am cooking. While we are eating Thanksgiving dinner, of course. I try to include a little something for everybody. For the little ones, there is Alvin and the Chipmunks' rendition of "Over the River and Through the Woods" and Steve Green's "Give Thanks to the Lord" from one of his Hide 'Em In Your Heart albums. There is a Crowder song for my daughter. Some Michael Card for my son. There are traditional songs like "Come, Ye Thankful People, Come" (which I remember learning in elementary school) and newer songs like Matt Boswell's "O Give Thanks." 

If you have a Spotify account, you can click on the image of my playlist below to listen. 

{three}

I also welcome November with fall foods. This week I made some pumpkin butter (recipe ~ here ~) which is so yummy on hot biscuits or toast. It's easy to make and it fills the house with the spicy aroma of fall. 

{four}

For this week's Bible study, I went November-y with cranberry streusel muffins. The streusel topping is the same one that I use in ~ this ~ recipe, but the muffin itself is a bit different. Maybe you'd like to try them? 

CRANBERRY-OAT MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup oats
1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup fresh (or frozen) cranberries
1/4 cup butter

1 cup milk
1 egg


DIRECTIONS:

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Butter muffin cups.

In a bowl, combine dry ingredients and blend well.

Toss the cranberries with 1 tablespoon of dry ingredients and set aside.

Melt butter. Off heat, stir in milk and egg.

Stir butter mixture into dry ingredients and, when well-mixed, stir in cranberries.

Fill muffin cups. (At this point I added ~ this ~ streusel.)
Bake 15 to 20 minutes until lightly browned and toothpick inserted into muffin comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes before removing from pan. 

{five}

This past year, our ladies' Sunday School class has chosen a Bible verse each month to memorize. I have created iPhone wallpaper for some of those verses to aid in our memorization. It is helpful to have that little reminder each time you pick up your phone! Here is November's wallpaper:

Happy November, my friends! 

Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

Happy November, everyone!

Did I say that October was my favorite month? Well, November might be a tie! There are SO many things to love about November. The weather. My Kati was born. Coziness. Focusing on gratitude. Thanksgiving.

I have done post-every-day-for-a-month series several times over the years that I have been blogging and I don't have any intention of doing that this month. But I do plan to post more frequently in November. Maybe we could call it a mini series? 

To begin . . . 

It's time for a pumpkin recipe here at Thinking About Home! I didn't start out planning to do an annual pumpkin recipe, but somewhere along the way that is what happened. So here's my offering for 2021. 

(Pumpkin Recipe Roundup found ~here~ and  Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream is ~here~.)  

I have made these pumpkin streusel muffins a couple of times this fall.

I have used this muffin recipe for years, since I first discovered it in Country Living magazine in February 1982. Sometimes I have added pecans, sometimes chocolate chips. Most often, I have made them just as they are. 

This year, I decided to add a streusel topping because I have found a streusel recipe that I love and is there anything that is not delicious with a streusel topping?

PUMPKIN STREUSEL MUFFINS
(Makes 12 standard muffins.)

Muffin Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 stick butter, melted
(Optional: 1/2 cup golden raisins OR pecans OR chocolate chips)

Directions:
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Butter 12 muffin cups.

In a bowl, combine dry ingredients and blend well.

Beat egg with milk, pumpkin, and butter until smooth.

Stir pumpkin mixture into dry ingredients and blend until moistened.
(At this point, stir in raisins, pecans, or chocolate chips if you're adding them.)

Spoon batter into muffin cups.
Press 2 tablespoons of streusel mixture (recipe below) on top of each.

Bake 15-20 minutes until lightly browned.


Streusel Topping:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup confectioner's sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of salt

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl.
Mix with your fingers until mixture is moist and crumbly.

Grab yourself a cup of coffee (and maybe a friend) and enjoy this autumn treat! 

Blueberry Streusel Muffins

When my daughter-in-law Sarah came with the children for their piano lesson last week, they brought us a quart of freshly picked blueberries. Yum! We nibbled a few, and added a few to our yogurt and our morning cereal. But I wanted to make one special blueberry-something before they disappeared.

I suggested a few possibilities like Blueberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake or Blueberry Crisp, or Blueberry Cheese Pie, but Ron requested muffins. 

So I have a blueberry muffin recipe that I have been using for many (38!) years. I have shared it before here on the blog before. I absolutely love the photos that accompanied that post, photos of the grands picking wild blueberries when they lived in Maine. Here are some . . . 

Throwback to 2013

(Oops. Got a little sidetracked with those cute grands.)

Back to this post and these muffins . . . 

As much as we enjoy those muffins, I wanted these to be something special, so I pulled this clipping out of my recipe collection.  It was a feature in an old issue (June 2002) of Martha Stewart Living called "Muffins 101." The article included several basic muffin recipes, suggestions for add-ins, recipes for a variety of toppings, and basic how-to's. 

Using this article as a guide, I created some blueberry muffins with a scrumptious streusel topping. 

These muffins are moist and delicious. One person in my house said that they could just eat the streusel topping with a spoon! Martha's recipe for streusel uses confectioner's sugar which gives it a perfect consistency. Of course, there is also plenty of butter in the topping, so that doesn't hurt!  

These muffins met my requirement for something "special" to make with our blueberries! If you want something special for your summer breakfast table or for guests, give these a try!

P.S. You can substitute another fruit like raspberries or chopped peaches. They will be just as good!

BLUEBERRY STREUSEL MUFFINS

(Makes 12 standard muffins)

Muffin Ingredients:
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup milk, room temperature 
1 large egg, room temperature
1 1/4 cups blueberries
streusel topping (recipe below)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter or grease a standard muffin tin.

Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl; whisk to combine.

In a medium bowl,combine butter, vanilla, sugar, milk, and egg; whisk to combine.
Fold butter mixture and fruit into flour mixture just until mixed. (Don't overmix!)

Spoon 1/4 cup batter into each cup. Press 2 tablespoons of streusel on top of each.
Bake until tops are golden, 15 to 18 minutes.
Remove from oven; let cool in pan 15 to 20 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

Serve warm or at room temperature.
(I think these muffins are just as good - or even better-  the next day!)   


Streusel Topping:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup confectioner's sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of salt

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl.
Mix with your fingers until mixture is moist and crumbly.

gather. {teas}

Winner of the happy package is announced at the end of this post.

Lately I've been gathering our teas after a warm weather hiatus. From the tray atop the refrigerator, from the pantry shelves, from the cabinet above the coffee pot. Time again for a warm cuppa.

The Friendly Village cups and saucers also had a spring/summer break, but they are ready for service once again. 

We love the flavors (and the tins!) from The Republic of Tea. We also like the descriptions under the names. Who wouldn't want to sip a cup of "tea of conviviality"? :)

Uh oh. My Pumpkin Spice tin is empty! Time to order...

I have filled the pumpkin bowl with an assortment of tea bags.

It doesn't hurt to have a little something sweet alongside. A scone would be good, or a shortbread cookie, or a piece of warm, streusel-topped coffee cake. But a nibble of chocolate will do!

I am rather a latecomer to the world of tea drinking. My son once told me, "Mom, you like the idea of tea," which hit the nail soundly on the head. It just seemed so pleasant and cozy to sip on a cup of tea, but I didn't really like the taste. I was (am!) such a coffee girl. 

Over time, I learned to love it. I found flavors that I liked, and I discovered turbinado sugar and the "right" amount to sweeten my tea. My daughter Kati is a tea lover, and she brought me along into her tea world. (And I am still enamored with the idea of tea.)

I like a cup of tea with an afternoon read aloud, or after a walk, or on a chilly morning. When do you like yours?


Do you gather your tea supplies in the fall? Or do you drink hot tea year round? Or not at all?

Since Ben was sleeping over last night, I asked him to help me choose a happy package winner from the bowl. He asked if Crow could help him. :)

Congratulations to Happy@Home!! 

Send me an email (thinkingabouthome@gmail.com) with your postal address and I'll get your happy package on its way asap!

This is day 25 in the series gather.  Click ~here~ to see more.

Fruit On Tuesday ~ Week 5 {Blueberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake}

When you're choosing a fruit recipe to share for Fruit On Tuesdays, 

and the day is rainy and dreary (again), 

you just might make this Blueberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake 

and indulge in a middle-of-a-rainy-afternoon snack.

(So you can get some good photos, of course.  You will do such things for your readers.)

Cake Ingredients: 1/2 cup butter, softened 1 cup sugar 2 eggs  1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 cup milk 2 cups all-purpose flour, divided 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 8 oz. package cream cheese, cold 1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen) Streusel Ingredients: 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 cup flour 3 tablespoons butter, cut into cubes Directions: Preheat oven to 350F.  Cream butter and sugar in large bowl.  Add eggs, vanilla, and milk. In separate bowl, combine 1 3/4 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to butter mixture and blend well.  Cut cream cheese into small cubes; set aside. Combine blueberries and remaining 1/4 cup flour in small bowl.  Add blueberries, along with cream cheese cubes, to cake batter.  Gently fold in.  Spread in greased 9x13 pan.  Topping: Mix brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour together in small bowl. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly.  Sprinkle over cake.  Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Do you ever indulge in a mid-afternoon snack? 

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins With Chocolate Streusel

When my grandchildren came for the weekend, I made these muffins.  The chocolate chips give them kid appeal.  (Who am I kidding?  Chocolate chips appeal to me too!)  The oatmeal makes them healthy.  (Okay...maybe healthier?)  And they just plain taste good!

I love for my guests to be greeted with yummy smells from the kitchen.  Years ago I read a hubby-pleasing pointer suggesting that you provide his olfactory sense with something appealing when he comes in from work, even if it is just some onions sauteing on the stove.  It is a welcoming feeling, just knowing that dinner is "in the works."  I have also heard that the aroma of freshly baked bread can aid in "staging" a house for a prospective buyer.  

So on the morning that my grands were coming, I took a little time out to make them a snack...and to make Gran's kitchen a warm, inviting place.  

Here's a peek at reality...on the counter along with my recipe notebook is the math answer key, as Bekah was reading off her answers as I baked.

By the way, the muffins were a hit--not only with the grands, but also with Kati and Bekah who have both asked me to make them again!  

Streusel Ingredients: 1/3 cup sugar  1/4 cup all purpose flour 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder 2 tablespoons butter, melted  Muffin Ingredients: 1  1/4 cups all purpose flour  1 cup uncooked oats (quick or old-fashioned) 1/3 cup sugar 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips  1 teaspoon baking powder  1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 2/3 cup buttermilk  1/4 cup vegetable oil  1 egg, lightly beaten Directions: Preheat oven to 350° F.   Butter muffin pans, or line with paper baking cups.      For streusel, combine all ingredients in medium bowl; mix well.  Set aside. For muffins, combine flour, oats, sugar, chocolate chips, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl.  Combine buttermilk, oil, and egg; blend well.  Add to dry ingredients all at once, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.   Fill muffin cups almost full.  Sprinkle with reserved streusel, patting gently.   Bake 20 to 22 minutes or until light golden brown.  Cool muffins in pan on wire rack 5 minutes; remove from pan.

Do you like to welcome your guests (or your hubby) with yummy smells?

Monday Morning Miscellany

There is just something about a Monday morning. It is fresh and new and promising.

• Waiting for this coffee cake to come out of the oven...this time made with 2 cups of blueberries and extra streusel.
  
  
• Looking foward to a week with fewer errands and events, more stay-at-home time, lots of reading. Let's see...we're reading Of Courage Undaunted (James Daugherty), A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens), Abraham Lincoln's World (Genevieve Foster), and Pippi Longstocking (Astrid Lindgren). These are books that we're reading aloud; the girls both have other selections that they're reading for school and for pleasure. I am hoping to treat myself to a reread of a Jamie Langston Turner book this week. (If you have never read any of her books, I highly recommend them. They are not fluff. I don't have time to read fluff. But I will take time for this kind of fiction.)
  
  
• Hoping to get back into some spring cleaning. Cleaning has willingly given way to celebrations this month (Resurrection Day, Bekah's birthday, and a couple of vacation days for Ron), but I would love to accomplish a bit more on the home front before summer arrives. (Summer is normally the time to do "extras" for this family of homeschoolers, but this summer promises to be different from all others. More on that later.)

But with all of my planning and doing, I pray on this fresh April Monday that I will be sensitive to His voice. That my time will be His...and that I will redeem it. That I will be a blessing to someone this week with a word of encouragement or a listening ear or a helping hand. That I will invest in things eternal.