Author: foodjules

I missed my kids!

Yesterday, I was back in the classroom with my amazing students from our Arts & Imagination Food Jules Cooking Class. It’s been a couple weeks since we’ve been together with the week off due to the snowstorm and last Tuesday being Julian’s birthday. It was so refreshing to be back in the classroom and as soon as I saw the kids coming in to start our session, I was so excited to see them. I had missed my kids!

We continued our “Nutritious and Delicious” theme  with healthy and great tasting snacks. My very talented and sweet students made fresh Hummus, which we used for our Hummus and Cucumber Sandwiches, Apple and Cheddar Mini-Quiches, Granola for our Yogurt Parfaits and finally, a slightly sweet yet good for you, Pumpkin Pecan Scones. Yes, I always include a muffin or scone as part of a snack mix!

Yet again, everything was delicious and they ate it all up! Our scone team even made two batches so that they would have some to take home and share with their families! The students are all so considerate, always packing up some extras (if there are any) or saving some from their own plates, so they can bring home to share with their brothers, sisters, mothers and/or fathers. It is the sweetest thing ever! They are so proud of their hard work and are excited to share it with their loved ones. Us, adults, can learn a lot from our children!

I’m looking forward to next week…. when we cook Nutritious and Delicious Dinner! Until then, listen to your kids, appreciate all of their hard work (it’s not easy being a kid or an adult for that matter!), all of their accomplishments, their generosity, their sweetness, their innocence and most of all, enjoy their unconditional love!

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Food Challenge #5: Pumpkin Pecan Scones

Oh my…. these Pumpkin Pecan Scones are DELISH. Really, they are just a perfect blend of sweetness and crunchiness.

Let me tell you the story. I’ve been experimenting A LOT with pureed pumpkin. I’ve made ravioli, muffins, bread, pie, cheesecake, waffles etc. Well, it’s pumpkin season and one of my classes at the library was all about pumpkins… so I wanted to get creative. Anyway, a couple weeks back, while I was shopping at Whole Foods, I picked up a Pumpkin Pecan Scone. I loved it and decided that I just had to learn how to make it. As many of you know or have learned about me, is that I love to eat scones, muffins and breads. They are “healthier” then other sweet treats, since I make them low in sugar and substitute half the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour, yet give that sweet satisfaction. Scones have become one of my favorites and I have learned how to make a few different varieties, even though the Maple Oatmeal Scone that started my whole “love of scones” is still my favorite, until today!

These pumpkin scones top the chart. You just have to try and make them. I rate them EXCEPTIONAL!

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/3 cup organic brown sugar
  • ½ cup chopped pecans
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp ground ginger
  • ¼ tsp ground cloves
  • 1/8 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp baking soda
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ½ cup unsalted organic butter, room temperature
  • 1/3 cup organic buttermilk
  • ½ cup organic pumpkin puree
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 egg yolk for top of scones

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Combine all dry ingredients in large bowl: flour, brown sugar, pecans, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  3. Cut butter into small cubes and add to flour mixture. Combine with a pastry blender or your hands until you have a crumbly mixture.
  4. In separate bowl, whisk all wet ingredients: buttermilk, pumpkin puree and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and combine until moistened.
  5. On flour surface, form dough into square shape about 6” wide. Cut dough into triangles and place on parchment lined baking sheet.
  6. In small dish, whisk egg yolk with a dash of water or milk. Brush tops of scones with egg wash and sprinkle with organic sugar.
  7. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Grade: A+

Join us in our Cookbook Challenge and send us your grade!

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Freshly Baked

I just dropped off some sweet and delicious freshly baked goodies at Food Works in Monroe. Today, our Food Jules goodies are Pumpkin Pecan Scones, Apple Pie Crumb Muffins, Blueberry Crumb Muffins and Morning Glory Muffins!

These pumpkin pecan scones are scrumptious. It will be my next food challenge for all of you so you can make them for Thanksgiving.

For today… stop over at Food Works for your sweet, yet nutritious fix!

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The train.

Lilliana and Lucas created a train a few weeks back…. one car for each of us, all five of us. It’s so wonderful to see them thinking and talking about Julian so much. Maybe that’s why I find so much comfort in being with my children and husband, because they enjoy talking about him. Almost every day, Lucas brings up Julian and not in a sad way all the time, but he talks about him. It’s so nice to hear, so nice to keep him alive in our everyday life.

Lilliana's Train

Lucas always wanted to teach Julian how to play trains…. since that is his favorite thing to do. He still talks about that to this day.

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Visitors Welcome

Yesterday was Julian’s first birthday. It was a day filled with celebration, thinking about the day he was born, and with sadness thinking about how he isn’t here with us anymore. I wanted to focus on our sweet memories with him, but it’s so difficult to do that as those memories are quickly pushed away by sadness and anger at God and the world. The four of us visited Julian and brought him flowers, toys, a stuffed animal, a balloon, pictures and a handmade drawing. I wanted to give him what he would have had if he was still here with us, a birthday celebration.

We took pictures with “him” at the cemetary, which was so sad to take his first birthday picture there. We ate dinner at Julian’s Pizza in Monroe and we baked coconut cupcakes and sang Happy Birthday to him. The kids blew out the candle since he wasn’t here to do it. Again, so sad to be doing this without him. We also watched his home video and it was so nice to see his face again. I remembered what it felt like to hold him and kiss him. The kids loved watching the video but then the sadness and anger quickly returned, seeing him having difficulties breathing and remembering his days at the hospital and thinking about how he is not alive anymore.

This is not easy! We have to work so hard to manage each day and to try to live each day, but that is getting harder and harder to do each day. I find myself not wanting to open the shades in the morning to see the sun and wanting to just be alone more and more. Then, I’m quickly reminded how Lilliana, Lucas and Michael feel the same sadness and anger and how I am their mother/wife and I need to help them. It’s my job. It’s important because I love them too. So, I open those shades in the morning and I hug and kiss them and try to live each day as best as I can. It’s not always easy when people say or do the wrong things and sometimes I am really angry with the world and people around me. So, instead of being angry, I’m going to try to communicate better about my feelings and my needs. Which brings me to this…

To all that want to visit him and talk to him…. Julian is buried at the Gates of Heaven Cemetary in Trumbull. Please, go and visit him. I’m sure he would love to see you. When you drive up, you’ll see his beautiful eyes looking at you. It’s the most beautiful thing you’ll ever see. He was (is) the most beautiful little baby in the whole world and he has so much love to give.

If you can’t make it to the cemetary, then pray to him at home. Think about him. Think about his smiles if he were here with us right now. Embrace his love by loving others. Be kind to others. Give of yourself to someone else. Stop hiding behind fear, anger and resentment. Make someone smile today. Even though Julian is not here with us anymore, we are still here. Everyone that is reading this right now is still here and has the power to show others love, kindness, respect. I welcome your love and your friendship. I am still a wife, a mother, a sister, a daughter…. and my friends and family need me. Your family and friends need you too. Give them a hug today. Tell them that you love them. Listen to them. Make them smile. Laugh together and always, always remember our little baby, Julian.

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