Perfect for fall, I opted to make a pumpkin loaf with cranberries and pecans on Sunday. Super easy and super yummy, this loaf is also decidedly not-too-sweet – despite the ingredients – which is perfect for me as I hate sweet desserts generally.

 
2) you’ll need butter, a couple eggs, Dickinson pumpkin puree, brown sugar, pecans and cranberries for the ‘wet’ batch and 3) flour, lots of cinnamon, baking power and powered ginger for the dry ingredients


4) mix dry; 5) cream sugar and butter together


6) just about there; 7) add in the two eggs separately and mix


8) add in the pumpkin and all off the dry ingredients; 9) and finish with the cranberries and pecans


10) drop into a well greased loaf pan and; 11) bake at 350° for an hour

Done with the loaf, I then up and decided to make a heart Fall chicken stew that is finished with – get this – oatmeal dumplings. It did sound pretty awful but you know what, its superb. Kicking up the broth with some white wine and loads of thyme – just thyme – worked really well.

12) drawing together my ingredients; 13) saute the leeks and carrots then add in the chicken to get some colour

14) add in the broth and let it warm through while you prepare the dumplings; 15) essentially oatmeal, flour, thyme, butter and some milk to get a gooey batter which you drop into the broth for 15 minutes or so

And last night was the end-of-season Typhoons dragonboat team potluck party which we hosted here. There was food; there was poker; there was blackjack; there was Jenga; there was (much)toasting; there was G’s fabulous “Dragon’s Breath Martini”; there was mock hardware for a team that did it’s best through another summer of friendship.

Pepper Infused Vodka

Cranberry Juice

Ginger Beer

Lime

with

Star Fruit  Garnish

In an effort to protect the sacrosanctness of Team Typhoons partying, all other photos have been suppressed by team management because what happens at Typhoons’ parties stays at Typhoons parties.