Pumpkin Love

I said it before, and I'll say it again: "I love pumpkin flavored things." From pumpkin beer with my pumpkin pie to pumpkin spice lattes, I love it all.

This time of year the pumpkin concoctions come out of the woodwork. I've been collecting recipes to drool over, but I might actually attempt one of these sometime soon. Thought I would share in case you're looking to make some pumpkin delicacies of your own.

1. Pumpkin Pie Milkshake
I can not get enough of Kevin from Toronto's "Closet Cooking" blog. I am enamored with 9 out of 10 things he posts on there. Recently he posted this Pumpkin Pie Milkshake recipe, essentially marrying my obsession with pumpkin flavor to my infatuation with milkshakes. This is very high on the "potentially will try" list. Though, if the laziness kicks in I may just head over to Jamba Juice for a Pumpkin splash smoothie.











2. Pumpkin Soups
The only thing that can make soup better on a cold, blustery, fall evening is if it tastes like pumpkin. Another recipe from Closet Cooking: Pumpkin and Black Bean soup. What a fabulously interesting sounding soup. Yes please! Or, for the pumpkin-lover on a tight schedule, just add water to Maggie & Mary's Creamy Pumpkin Soup.








3. Pumpkin Bread
There's a little cafe near my work that has a pumpkin gingerbread I've yet to try. And while I'm at it maybe I'll attempt these other pumpkin + starch sides. First off, cheesy pumpkin biscuits. I love cheese. I love pumpkin. I love biscuits. Cheesy biscuits I get. Even pumpkin biscuits I get. But cheesy pumpkin biscuits? It's so crazy it just might work. Next up is another interesting/awesome sounding combination: olive oil pumpkin bread. I think I've had olive oil bread before, and I can totally see the pumpkin twist working.




4. Dessert
Pumpkin is obviously delicious in dessert form, but it's fun to try it out in something other than a pie shape. Enter Paula Deen's (queen of butter)Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cakes. One needs only the read the name of that recipe to be sold on the idea. This is another I'd really like to try.







5. Breakfast
Finally, we end with breakfast (I guess that was an odd way to organize this) and two more recipes from closet cooking (perhaps I should have just put a link to his site instead of writing out this post): Pumpkin pie pancakes and Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal. Sounds like two fantastic ways to start the day to me.

Belly Dance the Night Away

Check out my sweet new hip scarf (to the right) I got last night at my first belly dancing class at Saffron Dance. Scott's roommate (and dare I say, my friend as well) Rachel found a deal through Groupon that gave you 4 belly dancing classes and a free hip scarf for about the price of a restaurant week dinner (before you order any alcohol). It was a sweet deal, so even though I've never really thought about trying belly dancing before, I decided to sign up.

I'm not the only one who thought it was a great deal. We chatted with a member of the staff last night and she said they were expecting to get maybe 90 or so responses from the Groupon and ended up getting over 300! Wow. They ended up having to add a bunch of classes to accommodate everyone. I think you'd have to call that a success.

After signing in and carefully picking out our hip scarves (I went for the one with the pink fringe. Surprise, surprise) we hung out for a little bit until the class before us was out. I thought it was cool that such a wide variety of ladies had shown up. Ages probably ranged from early twenties to late forties, every body type was there, and numerous ethnicities were represented. We were all ladies though. No men had shown up to shake their bums, but that's not surprising. I'm pretty sure belly dancing is traditionally a female thing.

Soon enough it was our turn to belly dance. We ushered in and were immediately struck by how warm the room was (bikram belly dance!). Dots on the floor marked where we should each stand to be spaced evenly. Throughout the class they rotated the rows so that every one had the chance to be in the front, middle, and back. Overall, I really liked the teachers. They were professional, friendly, and kept us moving the whole time.

During this first class we learned how to hold our hands, how to use our knees to drive our hips, how to shimmy, and how to move. It was way more of a workout than I expected. I definitely got an ab workout, but I was surprised at how much it worked my legs and arms as well.

One of the things I liked best about my first belly dancing experience was the jingling. A room full of hip scarves creates a musical, rhythmic, bell-like sound. I pretty much hopped my way out of class cause I didn't want to stop jingling.

I don't think this is something I'm going to really get into, but I have to admit, I'm looking forward to my next classes.

Ryan Gosling and Dead Man's Bones

This past Saturday Ryan Gosling's (yes! from The Notebook!) band Dead Man's Bones played at the Sixth and I Street Synagogue in DC.

Read all about it here: Rockin’ Out at the Sixth and I Street Synagogue.

I'll admit it, I went to the show to ogle Ryan Gosling (and I have a suspicion that most of the audience went for that reason. There were multiple instances of "WE LOVE YOU RYAN!" interjections). He (or at least his character in The Notebook) is so dreamy. The fact that his band ended up being really really good was an added bonus.

But you don't have to take my word for it, they have a bunch of songs on YouTube, so check them out and decide for yourself:

In the Room Where You Sleep



My Body's a Zombie for You



Name in Stone

Cookie!

She's done it again. Kelly, creator of bacon delights, impromptu pies, peanut butter decadence (last pic), has gifted me with a handful of her newest baking creations:

Behold, chocolate cookie dough/oatmeal cookie dough cookies with butterscotch chips (catchy name, no?).



I swear it tastes better than it looks.

I gave one to my roommate yesterday and watching him eat it was hilarious. First of all, he ate it with two hands like a chipmunk. And between each bite he commented on it. It went something like this:

*Nom nom nom*

"Wow, I haven't had something from scratch like this in a while."

*Nibble nom nibble*

"This is no chips ahoy"

*Munch munch hom nom*

"Does Kelly go for short balding men?" [That is a quote!]

*Yum yum nom*

"Mmmmm"

*Nibble nibble licks fingers*

"Wow, that was great."


Carry on Kelly! You are a master baker.

UPDATE: Kelly has informed me that there is a name for these bits of deliciousness: "Oatmeal Scotchies." And they are actually a "Nestle Tollhouse Classic." :)

I Heart Free

I love free stuff. Free food. Free concerts. Free hugs. Free is great. If something is bad, but it's free, it's often not so bad.

Luckily, there's a lot of free stuff to do around D.C. This makes me happy and I wanted to share this joy. So, my newest post at ProjecTravel is Free Fun in D.C. (much of it written on the new lappie! Which I've nicknamed PolkaDot).

I have to admit, I learned a few things writing this post. I learned of the Monday night concerts at the National Theater and I found this awesome blog (added to my RSS feeder faster than you can say "FREE!) called Free in D.C.

Ah writing, an adventure around every turn. :)

New Toy!

I ordered a new toy online last night and I'm so excited. Unfortunately it probably won't ship till next week and the anticipation is killing me! What did I get? An adorable little netbook!



At 10.3 inches across its so cute I want to pinch its cheeks. But don't be fooled by it's size on the outside, the hard drive is a huge 170 gigs (bigger than my current Godzilla sized laptop).

I can't wait till it gets here. I'm going to put it in my purse and take it everywhere (like a Maltese!). That way the moment I have a new blog post idea (oh, like this one), BAM! I can just type it out.

This is going to be awesome... and/or make me completely powerless in separating myself from the internet. Only time will tell. Can't wait! :)

Now at ProjecTravel!

Your favorite blogger (hint, hint, that's me) is now blogging for the new Washington, D.C. section of ProjecTravel. Check out my first post about this weekend's Crafty Bastards Arts and Crafts Fair in Adams Morgan.

I'm so excited to have a new writing project! Plus, it's an excellent excuse to take on some adventures I've been wanting to partake in in D.C. No worries, I'll still write here at inchoate. I don't think ProjecTravel readers are interested in what I'm eating, how much pink I have on, or my latest obsession with something cute. That's right, gems like those will be kept here for your reading pleasure. :D

Starbucks Via Ready Brew Verdict: Not Too Shabby

Not too shabby, not too shabby at all. The new Starbucks instant coffee is actually quite drinkable.

It's no illy (aka coffee nectar of the gods), but it's on par with if not better than work coffee (tainted by a carafe that just never seems to be clean enough).

I'll definitely drink the other two, probably on afternoons when lunch hits me just a little bit too heavily and I need a quick and easy pick-me-up.

Not bad Starbucks. I'd call this venture a success. I'm interested to see how the rest of your public responds.

Challenge! Starbucks Via Ready Brew

Starbucks unleashed a new product today: Starbucks Via Ready Brew. Or in simpler (and less snazzy) terms: instant coffee.

They've been heralding the coming of this new venture for weeks now. The Starbucks near my work has even been having a days till Via arrives countdown. And I will admit, I was intrigued. I've dabbled in instant coffee in the past, drawn in by its easy, portable, and single-serving nature. But every time I've tried instant coffee I've been disappointed, and more than once grossed out.

Could this time be different? Has Starbucks really transcended the instant coffee stigma? Is their new product justified in separating itself into a new category of "instant brew"? Or will this be again an experience of instant letdown?

I purchased a three pack of the Colombia variety of this ready brew this afternoon. And at $2.95 (less than $1 a cup), I may call "sort of drinkable" a success. Hooray for cheapness! Also, the packaging is pretty cute. See below:

The first look



Opening up



Single serving



Directions:
1. Pour contents in a mug.
2. Add 8 fl. oz. hot water
3. Stir



But, the burning question, the most important question, still remains. How does it taste? Check back soon...