Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread

The air is cold, the skies are grey. I find myself admitting that fall is here and here to stay. After several rainy days in a row, I want to wrap myself up in a blanket and drink hot tea whenever I catch a glance out of the window. The trees are just barely taking on color, the leaves not yet gathering on the ground. The air is damp with fog and humidity, not with the crispness I love and remember. With a miserable weather forecast for the next few days, including a prediction of snow, I'm happy spending my time indoors.

I wonder if fall will feel the same in this new town, as it did back home.

When I finally let my hold on summer pass, the warm scent of vanilla and cinnamon begin to fill my kitchen. Cinnamon is the feeling of autumn for me, the essence of the season all bottled up in a single smell and taste. While pumpkin or caramel or apples may define the season for others, it is this single spice that warms my soul.

Each fall, as soon as the weather grows cold, I like to buy myself a loaf of cinnamon raisin bread. Toasted, with a spread of butter, is my version of autumn happiness. This year, instead of finding my loaf of bread on the shelf, I decided to make it myself.

The dough is made with milk to give the bread tenderness and melted butter to add a richness. While I mixed in 3/4 cup raisins, I would recommend a few more if you are a raisin lover and a few less if you are not—it can be tweaked to your personal tastes. The swirl of cinnamon is what makes the bread for me. Though the cinnamon is only rolled throughout the dough, the scent and taste seems to pervade the rest of the loaf, giving a pleasant flavor to each and every bite.

Enjoy when the season beckons and cinnamon is on the menu.

Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread evokes feelings and flavors of autumn. Bread dough is scattered with raisins, rolled out, spread with cinnamon and sugar, and rolled together to create a cinnamon swirl. Even though the outside of the loaf may not be beautiful, it really is the inside that counts with this bread. Spread with butter, honey, or peanut butter, this bread is taken to another level and makes a perfect chilly morning breakfast.

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Banana Cinnamon Pancakes

Every so often, I forget to take time for myself. It is never intentional, but between work, school, and responsibilities, somehow "me time" gets pushed to the wayside. It can be weeks before I have realized what I have done. In some ways, this does not surprise me. Our culture glorifies being busy. You need to be doing it all right now. Our culture dictates that being busy is the only way to show your family and your coworkers how significant you are, how productive you are, or how important you are to the running of a business or a household. If you have extra time, then you are not "reaching your potential" or, as we have often been led to believe, you are simply being lazy.

All of this, of course, is not true.

While our culture may celebrate being busy, the reality is that we need time to ourselves, away from responsibilities, so that we can recharge and take a moment to enjoy life. When some level of perseverance is unavoidable, taking a moment to scribble "me time" onto the calendar can relieve the stress and exhaustion that comes from hard work.

I tend to go through periods of extreme busyness a few times a year (some avoidable, some not). If history is any indication for me, I am prone to overworking myself, taking on too much at once and realizing the consequences after it is too late. When I find myself frequently working on Friday and Saturday evenings just to keep up, the alarms in my head go off, giving me a signal that I need to make a change.

The alarms have been going off for a couple weeks already, warning me to slow down and take a break. This weekend I finally listened.

On Friday evening, instead of sitting down in front of the computer to get some work done, I went out and treated myself to my favorite drink, Vanilla Almond Coconut Boba Tea. After a week of getting less than six hours of sleep a night, I crawled into bed and went to sleep early. On Saturday I bought myself a couple new books—Paper Towns by John Green and Wild by Cheryl Strayed. Instead of writing lesson plans, I played board games with new and old friends late into the evening.

This morning, after rising with the sun, I took the time to make a batch of these Banana Cinnamon Pancakes before settling into an afternoon of catching up to do. I feel recharged and ready to face the next busy week ahead of me. It is weekends like this that remind me not to underestimate the power of "me time." Schedule a little time for yourself in the next week—you will feel grateful to have done so.

Banana Cinnamon Pancakes make for a hearty breakfast filled with familiar flavors. The pancakes are made with mashed bananas, whole wheat flour, and a good spoonful of cinnamon. The pancakes cook up fluffy and thick. A drizzle of maple syrup is all these pancakes need to turn them into an instant classic. I tried a few with miniature chocolate chips and would recommend it as well. Though simple, pancakes have a relaxing quality that wipes away the cold bowls of cereal from the previous week and replaces them with a warm, sweet memory.

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Bruléed Grapefruit

Simple pleasures bring small bursts of happiness into my life. So often I see people wait for happiness to come to them, to rush in and bring them bursts of joy. While happiness may sometimes sweep in like a wave crashing on the beach, more often than not I watch people sitting on the shore, dipping their toes into the water and wishing for more. I have found myself on that very same beach before, waiting for life to bring me something I could not find on my own. Instead of bringing what you desire, the waiting takes it from you, drawing it out to sea and leaving you in its wake, washed up on the shore.

Eventually, I could not wait anymore. Happiness, it seems, was something I'd have to make for myself.

It is not hard to find happiness in your own life, but some moments you may have to dig a little deeper to find it. I try to find my joy in the small pleasures of everyday life, to build happiness between the beams in the structure of my life. I wear fuzzy socks and lounge on the couch because it makes me feel content. I light candles at night and enjoy the flames dancing around a dark room because I deserve to see beauty. I buy rusted spoons and thrift store plates because these simple items bring me a silly amount of joy. I buy the expensive dairy-free butter because I finally decided I am worth the cost.

I eat chocolate every single day (and I will never apologize for it).

These small moments bring me happiness. I had to find happiness on my own terms, to remind myself that happiness surrounds me, to open my eyes to the world around me. I had to stop wishing and take action. When I feel myself crossing the sands back to the beach, I go to the gym and take my emotions out on the elliptical machine. I knead my frustration into bread dough and bake it into something delicious. Happiness in a conscious decision.

Where do you find the happiness in your life?

Bruléed Grapefruit is one of my simple, joyful pleasures. I like to enjoy one for a sweet breakfast or a bright afternoon snack. A grapefruit is sliced in half, sprinkled with spices and brown sugar, and broiled until the sugar melts into a sweet syrup. A dash of cinnamon and cloves brings a unique warmth to the tart grapefruit, which I find quite welcoming. Whether you serve one or two, Bruléed Grapefruit is a warm treat that adds a spark of energy to the quiet citrus fruit.

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