Pumpkin Spice Donuts

Although I'm totally out of season with these babies, I bought a donut pan mid-Spring semester of my senior year in college. I decided to use up the cans of pumpkin I had stashed from the previous fall semester when I was in Greece (missing the American fall season of pumpkin everything). Instead of focusing on my senior thesis, this is how I spend my time... 

Pumpkin Spice Donuts

Adapted from Blue-Eyed Bakers

Makes 12 donuts

For the donuts:

1 3/4 cup flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/8 teaspoons ground cloves

1/3 up vegetable oil

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 cup milk (I used almond)

For the coating:

1/2 cup butter, melted

2/3 cup sugar

1-2 tablespoons cinnamon (more if you're a cinnamon lover, like me)

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Butter a donut pan and set aside.

In a bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt and spices together and set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, pumpkin and milk until combined. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the mixture and stir until just combined, careful not to over mix.

Using a spoon, fill each donut cup with the batter.  The donut cups should be fairly full, but not overflowing. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until donuts spring back when gently pressed (if you're using a mini donut pan, bake for 8-9 minutes).  Turn donuts out onto a wire rack and allow to cool for a few minutes.

While the donuts are cooling, melt butter in one bowl and combine the sugar and cinnamon in another.  When donuts are still hot (but not too hot to touch), quickly dip each donut in melted butter, then coat in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.  Serve immediately.

*Notes: If you're not going to serve the donuts immediately, you can bake them up to a day in advance and store them in an airtight container.  Do not coat them in the butter/cinnamon-sugar mixture until just before serving or they may get soggy.

Suzy's Baklava

I was asked to photograph baklava for another baker, which means I do not have the recipe for these delicious treats. I'm sure you can get an idea of how great they are from the images, so I guess it's just more incentive to buy from Suzy!

Blueberry Dutch Baby with Rosemary and Fresh Goat Cheese

With the help of my dear friend Kate, Valentines Day 2014 marks the official beginning of my attempt at food styling. Help.

 Blueberry Dutch Baby 
with Rosemary and Fresh Goat Cheese

Adapted from Three Many Cooks

Serves 4-6

1 cup whole milk
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon fresh chopped rosemary
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon oil
2 small containers (4 oz. each) fresh blueberries
3 ounces fresh goat cheese, crumbled
confectioner's sugar for dusting

Adjust rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees F. Whisk milk, eggs, rosemary, and salt in a medium bowl; vigorously whisk flour until mostly smooth with a few small lumps; let stand a few minutes and whisk again (for instantly smooth batter use a blender). Meanwhile heat oil in a heavy-bottomed 12-inch skillet (cast iron works well). Add blueberries to hot pan; sauté until heated through, a minute or so. Add milk mixture and sprinkle with goat cheese. Transfer to the oven and bake until puffed and golden, 15 to 17 minutes. Remove from oven. Top dutch baby with fresh blueberries and additional confectioner's sugar.

Sundays are the Best Days

I'm not sure if there are words to describe how much I love Sundays. In Greece, the church bells still ring. The morning streets are quiet and slow, and as you near the church, you begin to hear the distant chanting. Jenna, Josh, and I attended St. Gerassimos this morning and the church was full with little standing room left. The church was bright, allowing much sunlight. The iconography was particularly beautiful with bold colors. The hymns and prayers being chanted seemed to bounce off the walls and fill the air. It was one of those liturgies where you can truly feel His presence and the sense of unification within the community. After liturgy we met new friends and went for cappuccinos and frappes, and got to know each other through broken Greek and English conversations. We stopped at a sweet shop on our walk home before we parted ways. It was a day of Christ, coffee, community, and successful studying.  There is no way to describe it other than perfect.

Studies @ Stadium

The past month we have been getting to know our neighborhood in Παγκράτι and very quickly, found our favorite cafe and homework spot, Stadium. We have yet to find another cafe that gives you a cappuccino and a bottle of water for €1.50. We pass it every morning on our walk to school and have gotten to know the owners very well. When they're not teasing us, they help us practice our Greek and give us free treats or alcohol when we stay there to study. Today, we finally got a picture with one of our new friends! Yay!

Santorini

Despite the island's reputation, Santorini was never a place I desired to visit. Its blue water, white sand beaches, and quaint white houses look beautiful on postcards, but my idea of traveling is not exactly the vacation type. If I am spending the time and money to fly across the world, the last thing I want to do is run around sightseeing, drink a cold beer, and lay out on the beach. 

Our weekend plans to Santorini happened overnight and I was grateful to travel with Markella. She has a heart of gold, and as you can tell from the photographs, a smile and laugh of pure joy. Together, in the "Disneyland" of Greece, we were able to practice our Greek and were flattered when locals asked if were indeed Greek or maybe Australian. We ate chocolate and nuts for breakfast every morning, paid a whole 3 Euros for Greek coffees, watched the sunset in Oia, had ice cream with the Yiayiades, swam in the hot springs and mud bath before hiking the famous volcano, and danced with our "toast". 

Although the weekend was truly a gift, we agreed that the only thing missing was our families. <3

Glory to God for all things.

4:12pm

I can’t believe it is Sunday again! I haven’t journaled or blogged in exactly a week. I am on the bus back to Athens, but feel like I literally just left for my weekend in Florina. Where is the time going?

Needless to say, it has been the best week spent with my family. Meeting my cousin’s adorable kiddies for the first time was so worth every page of reading and homework that I neglected.

Also, what kind of a photographer leaves her extra battery and camera charger in the States when she is going abroad? What is wrong with me?

P.S. Aren't they muffins?