I did stop crafting long enough yesterday to talk on the phone for several hours, until the phone actually died, and bake the Ginger Pumpkin Bread from Everyday Food. I like baking little loaves because you can keep one and give away the other, which is always nice. This one is for my crochet class this morning. I did an experiment with my oven yesterday. When the oven said that it was preheated to 375 degrees, I checked the temperature on the little thermometer I keep inside the over and it said 275. I waited another 20-25 minutes for it to get all the way up to 375. Then I put the loaves in. Ten minutes before they were supposed to be done I could smell that they were getting a bit dark so I whisked them out. Not only were they done, they were dark. So now I don't know what to think. (Where is algebra when I need it, see what I mean? And is it even algebra that I need?) Well, the bread's good anyway, though I forewent it's glassine sugar-glaze. It's sweet enough, and perfect with a cup of coffee.
My little "made with love" tags came yesterday from Namemaker.com. A lot of people use these — you can find the order forms in almost every fabric store — and I kind of like them for that reason, like it's a sort of Brownie patch for handmade gift-givers, all of them pretty much the same. I've been ordering labels from them for personal use for years and they take about twice as long as they say they will take, so if you're thinking of getting some in time for Christmas I would say you'd better get over there. These took over six weeks. Not that I'm personally planning to make anything handmade for Christmas gifts this year, alas, but you never know. They're good to have around.
That really is a darling little tag. It makes me think of the tags in vintage clothes, and I wonder who the maker was and what their life was like.
Ginger Pumpkin bread sounds yummy :)
That looks very yummy - but I have to laugh because when I first saw the photo, I thought that it was SMOKED SALMON!! And I was thinking, "she made that?" It was a bit confusing until I read that it was pumpkin bread and things made sense again. Silly me.
Anyway, it brought back some good memories of how I used to make min loaves of pumpkin bread (with walnuts) every October and wrap them in plastic and tie with raffia and then put them in a box in the little red wagon, then walk around the neighborhood with my little boys delivering them to our neighbors. The tags said "Happy Fall from the McBrides".
I kind of forgot that I used to do Pollyannaish things like that. So thanks.
Oh I just made this the other day and it was sooo good. We added chocolate chips and that made it extra good.
Oh I love those tags!! I think I just may need to get some for myself! Thanks for the link.
our oven has the same temperament. can't figure it out at all.
love the tags. and will be adding these little loaves to my 'to try' list...
that looks great, might have to make some kind of bread myself now...
and, i am not sure you need algebra so much as an appliance repair man.
I was wondering if namemaker.com is also where you order your very lovely Posie labels as well?
Thanks,
Cerri
Sounds like it might be the thermostat on your oven--it just keeps heating and heating and doesn't know when to stop, hm? (Sounds like lots of us.) You might want to get someone out to fix it. Yum, pumpkin bread!
I thought that first picture was of very lean bacon at first...
My grandmother, an avid quilter, had those tags, with her name, Dotte Day, and I found one in her sewing room after she died; I brought it home, and now it sits on the shelf over my desk and is one of my favorite mementos.
I think I might have to get some of my own, too. Thank you for the link.
Thanks for the link to the recipe. This is exactly what I was looking for to make pumpkin bread/cake with my five year old. We ended up finding a pumpkin cake recipe from Bon Appetit online. It was good, but a lot of work! This sounds delicious and much easier.
Thank you so much for the namemaker.com site...and I'm so excited because they have size tags. I have been trying to find these for seems like forever!
Thanks for the tag info--lovely!
Regarding the oven, I would get a new thermometer and not keep it in the oven all the time. Mine was inexpensive and it worked great in calibrating both my kitchen and toaster ovens (a must for baking that polymer clay, don't ya know).
It's feeling a lot like, uh, Portland today in Portland, isn't it?
I think that's just how ovens work, and it's worked into the baking time...but I could be wrong.
Labels looked wonderful, as everything always does!
i'm definitely thinking i'll have to step up my pumpkin bread recipe to try this ginger one. yum. and I've been meaning to tell you, my dad, who reads my blog faithfully, said to me the other night at dinner when we were eating sour cream apple pie, "oh, isn't this janice's recipe??"...it took me a moment, and then I said, "um, do you mean alicia??!!"
too funny. especially to hear it from my dad over dessert and coffee!
do they make ones that say "made with excessive cursing and a modicum of blood loss by ____"? cuz i should maybe get those.
Im cracking up...thinking that the first photo was seen as bacon or salmon....soo funny! Conan O'Brian does a bit on his show from time to time..with zoomed in photos of things....reminded me of that...I can see what they are saying!! lol!
I am sure your bacon is incredible...and I bet posie can smoke salmon no problem!!
xoxo Jenny
Hi, everyone! I know for sure that they don't edit out obscenities at Name Maker. And the bacon and smoked salmon is actually my department, though today it is all about the chicken soup in the LeCreuset.
i really love those labels, but do i have to make something worthy of one before i order some? of course i like the customized versions at $33.00 for 50 - holy mackerel; i mean salmon – holy salmon.
oh dang it, i ordered apple green ribbon that says "erin made this" from namemaker about two weeks ago. they claim 18 day delivery! i'm x-ing my fingers! your labels and your bread and those wool flowers down thurr are presh!!!! as always. duh.
Hey - my oven does the very same thing! I had the oven guy out and he replaced some piece but that didn't fix it. Oddly, I feel better knowing that someone else is having the same trouble. You know, it's not just me, my oven doesn't hate me, nothing personal. The bread looks yummy, I can't wait to try it (oven trouble notwithstanding).
Hi...your little tags remind me of my mother's tags that she would put into our clothes when I was younger. I haven't see one of those in years! The cake looks delicious, too!
Yum! I made the same bread last week (sans sugar glaze, too!), and because of my tricksie oven, I had to take them out a bit early as well. Do your loaf pans have a dark, "non-stick" coating? I find that they seem to make things brown quickly compared to my pyrex ware and vintage Foley pans.
What lovely tags!
Yeah - namemaker is great! They are slow and they are local to me, but still slow. fortunately if you call them they answer and usually can help you out. The price is right though. The bread looks great and I have that cookbook so I might give it a go for my friend (I don't care for pumpkin).
Thanks for the idea - now I have a nice treat for my friend!
Thanks for the link for the tags...I've looked all over around here for something similar but no luck, and now I'm very excited. Hello, b-day wish list!
I've had a similar problem with my oven in the past and someone told me it might be a result of having used the self-cleaner setting...it gets SO hot (like 800F or something crazy) that it throws the thermostat all out of whack. It might just be an age thing, too...I've found those little hanging thermometers to be a handy, inexpensive solution.
Oddly enough I made these ginger pumpkin breads about a week ago and I had to rescue mine from the oven over 10 min early. And they were baked in vingage Pyrex. It's probably my oven, but all of us taking them out early, sounds like a bit of the fault could lay on the side of the recipe as well.