Eleven days ‘til Christmas. Eleven days to plan and shop and wrap and bake and cook and write notes and clean and get everything ready for our Comer Christmas.

Eleven days of joy. And maybe just a little stress and a bit of worry.

Will I get it done? Should I stop everything else to work more? Longer? Harder?

And I already know the answer.

No.

For the next eleven days I’ll just mix all these tasks with a heart overflowing with love and memories and anticipation of my family coming together to celebrate.

My favorite days with my favorite people in my favorite place.

Would you like to see? To watch what happens at our house?

(My grandma gave me this angel on my first Christmas- 53 years ago. She's frayed and crooked and full of rich memories just like me. I think she must be in style again... vintage.)

Leading up to Christmas Day and then on into the week after, I’d like to invite you into my home and heart. Let you see our Christmas, our family, our ways of celebrating the story of God coming close.

Let me warn you: we love Christmas. All of it. The extravagance of gifts for each other, the scents of cinnamon and ginger and chocolate and good things coming fresh out of the oven, even the mess we make in the midst of all this fun.

(pine cones from my parent's house in the Sierras)

We are neither minimalists nor perfectionists. We just love Christmas.

From my heart,

Diane

Crisp orange leaves that crunch beneath your feet. Bins overflowing with pumpkins and squash outside every grocery store.

Apple cider, apple pie, homemade applesauce.

That’s right, FALL IS HERE! 

(you know you are a true Oregonian when the first rainy day of the season feels like Christmas morning... sometimes I forget that I'm actually a Californian)

I’m am so excited to be back cooking with you and ready to share some new fall recipes that have been making it to our table these past few weeks.

A few things to note before we get cooking… and eating…

1. If you are curious what this page is all about, click at the top of the page where it says “learn more about The Kitchen”.
2. In these weekly posts you can count on finding plant based meals that are pretty easy to make and use all real and fresh ingredients. I am passionate about sharing recipes that satisfy your taste buds AND benefit the body God has given you.
3. You should be warned butternut squash is now in season and I’m slightly obsessed. I will try not to bombard you with too much of it but I make no promises.
4. All of the warm comfort foods and baked goodness we love to enjoy on cold rainy days can be made with real ingredients and actually be good for you! I will do my best to recreate some of those “comfort” foods and be sure to pack them with fresh and healthy ingredients.
5. I would love to hear from you! Please leave comments and feel free to ask questions. It fuels me to keep creating when I am in conversation with you!

ENJOY!

Elizabeth

PUMPKIN SPICE GRANOLA

INGREDIENTS:

4 C  oats (slow cooking)

1 C chopped pecans

1 T pumpkin pie spice

¼ t salt

½ C canned pumpkin

¼ C real maple syrup

¼ C honey

¼ C coconut oil

1 C raisins or dried cranberries

TO MAKE:

Preheat oven to 300F.

In a large bowl combine oats, pecans, pumpkin pie spice and salt in a bowl and stir well.

In a smaller bowl combine pumpkin, maple syrup, honey and coconut oil and whisk all together. It’s ok if there are small clumps of coconut oil after you have mixed it all up.

Add wet mixture to dry mixture and stir well. Make sure that you evenly coat the oat mixture.

Divide into two baking sheets and spread it out so that you have a thin layer on each sheet.

Bake for about 45 minutes total, stirring half way through. You want the granola to get brown and crispy.

Allow it to cool completely, then mix in the raisins.

TO SERVE:

We love it with unsweetened vanilla almond milk. It is also delicious with fresh fruit on top.

ENJOY!

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INGREDIENTS:

• 4 C  oats (slow cooking)
• 1 C chopped pecans
• 1 T pumpkin pie spice
• ¼ t salt
• ½ C canned pumpkin
• ¼ C real maple syrup
• ¼ C honey
• ¼ C coconut oil
• 1 C raisins or dried cranberries

TO MAKE:

Preheat oven to 300F.

In a large bowl combine oats, pecans, pumpkin pie spice and salt in a bowl and stir well.

In a smaller bowl combine pumpkin, maple syrup, honey and coconut oil and whisk all together. It’s ok if there are small clumps of coconut oil after you have mixed it all up.

Bake for about 45 minutes total, stirring half way through. You want the granola to get brown and crispy.

Allow it to cool completely, then mix in the raisins.

TO SERVE:

We love it with unsweetened vanilla almond milk. It is also delicious with fresh fruit on top.

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