Pumpkin Panna Cotta

The Midwest has its own quirks, as does any region. It isn't until you leave the area for awhile that they suddenly become apparent (and oh do they become apparent). I've moved around a bit in my 20s—living in North Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, and Wisconsin for various lengths of time—but it wasn't until I spent some time in Europe that my Midwestern quirks really began to show.

As a child of the Midwest, I would occasionally see television shows or movies that would mock the Minnesotan "yah, sure, ya betcha" accent (Fargo and New in Town, I'm looking at you). Unlike the classic Minnesotan accent (which, by the way, is greatly exaggerated and I haven't met a soul who actually speaks like that except this woman), the quirks of the Midwest seem to stay in the Midwest. In fact, we hardly recognize we have them.

Lately, I've noticed the Midwestern use of the phrase I s'pose. Let's be clear; it is never "I suppose." It's I s'pose. Around the Midwest, this turn of phrase is used frequently and I've only recently started realizing just how often I use it myself. I s'pose has come to mean I-don't-want-to-talk-to-you-anymore when you are on the phone or I'd-really-like-to-be-going-now when you are visiting someone in person. It's perceived to be very polite, but it's nevertheless effective.

For instance, when on the phone with a relative or friend, simply saying "Well, I s'pose" will signal the end of the conversation and the goodbyes will soon begin. Just recently, when my family had the relatives over for Thanksgiving, everyone was sitting in the living room and it was getting late into the evening. My uncle said the magic words I s'pose in a short lull of conversation and everyone immediately stood up to head on home.

Who knew such a simple, grammatically incorrect phrase could hold so much power?

Perhaps the biggest Midwestern quirk is our pronunciation of very simple words. We use long vowels instead of short vowels in certain situations. Simple words like bag, magazine, or dragon are pronounced with the long a sound (as in baby or mate) instead of the short a sound (as in cat or mat). While most Midwesterners would hardly bat an eye at this, I've found you do get made fun of for it when you venture out into the rest of the world (and I have, on several occasions).

This was never more apparent to me than when I was at a grocery store checkout in England. I was packing my purchases up in my backpack when I realized everything didn't fit and I would need another bag. I asked the lady for a bag (using the long vowel "a") and she stared at me like I had grown a second head. "A bag?"

"Yes, a bag? One of those?" I said, pointing to the paper bags in her hand.

She still stared at me, uncomprehending this seemingly ridiculous request.

"A BAG?" I said once more, confused, resorting to miming the shape and function of a bag to get my point across.

"Oh, you mean a bag." She said, using the short vowel a, looking sorry for me, as if I had gone through my life mispronouncing such a simple word.

What quirks do you notice in the regions where you live?

Pumpkin pie has been a staple of the holiday season for as long as any of us remember (and for good reason, too—it's delicious!). This Pumpkin Panna Cotta is a twist on the traditional pumpkin pie. With the buttery crust gone, the pumpkin filling finally has a chance to truly shine on its own. Panna Cotta is essentially a thick custard and, when combined with the flavors and spices of the classic pumpkin pie, it becomes the perfect substitute to the real deal. Once you taste your first bite, I have a feeling you will forget pumpkin pie ever had a crust.

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Pumpkin Chocolate Granola Bars

This morning I did something completely out of the ordinary. I took a break. After working nearly eighty hour work weeks for the last month (or three? They all seem to blur together), I haven't had much free time. I truly enjoy what I do at each job but, at the end of the day, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Or really, just too much. Though the end of this madness is in sight (hurry up January!), there is still another month of workaholic tendencies to attend to.

Today, however, I found myself with an entire morning with blissfully nothing to do. Four hours. Four hours doing absolutely nothing.

It was a beautiful, beautiful morning.

Truth be told, I'm not used to having free time so it took me a moment to fully settle into my lazy groove. I caught up on Gossip Girl, my favorite guilty pleasure, while eating up the last of the leftover Honey Cinnamon Roasted Chickpeas from Thanksgiving (these are so addictive!). When I had my fill of television, I took out the arts and crafts. Last Christmas I received a card making kit and for some reason I never got around to putting them together. So I put on a little Ella Fitzgerald, brought out the scissors and glue, and got to work.

This was on track to be one of the best mornings in a long time, except for one minor detail. Can you guess what was missing?

Chips and soda, people. Chips and soda.

I almost never eat chips or drink soda. Since my life tends to often be consumed by sweets (if this blog and the fact that I work in a bakery weren't enough of a hint already), I often try to eat as healthy as I can at home. While this means I occasionally snack on chips or soda instead of apple slices or water, I never eat or drink both at the same time.

This morning, however, was a special occasion. There were chips and soda, cards and crafts, and enough of these Pumpkin Chocolate Granola Bars to round out a meal called lunch.

Is this what heaven feels like?

What guilty pleasures do you like to indulge in when you have free time?

These Pumpkin Chocolate Granola Bars are a spin-off of the Pumpkin Granola I made earlier this autumn. These bars feature pumpkin, chocolate chips, almonds, dried cranberries, and flaked coconut, though you could certainly play around with ingredients to adapt the bars to your personal taste. Most of the sweetness in the bars comes from the chocolate chips and, without any butter or oil, they are even good for you. These granola bars make for a healthy snack or a quick breakfast on the go.

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Spicy Pumpkin Taco Dip

The last week has been a study in the long-term effects of sleep deprivation. The truth is, after two solid months of waking up at five am every morning to get myself to work, I can't adjust to going to bed earlier. I average between five and five and a half hours of sleep every night and there's no one to blame but myself.

Trust me, I've already tried placing the blame on everything else.

I read a study recently that claimed women who consistency got less than six hours of sleep a night have the mental and physical capacity of a drunk person. I initially thought this claim was very bold. Are they operating less than 100%? I'd absolutely agree. But drunk? I'm not so sure about that.

Well, not until I started noticing the signs on myself.

It started with forgetfulness. I'd sit down to write out my to-do list for the day, knowing it was going to be endless, and suddenly not be able to remember what was supposed to be on it. I'd scribble down a couple items, but most of it had simply disappeared from my memory box of a brain. Luckily, I'd gradually remember things as the day went on, but rarely was a pen and paper handy and the tasks were lost in my head once again.

Then the forgetfulness turned into very real short term memory loss. Truth be told, I now find myself with the memory span less than a goldfish. It stands at roughly three seconds, if I'm lucky. Don't believe me? Let me give you a couple examples.

I was working in the Patisserie and needed both sprinkles and a cake board to finish the cake I was working on. The sprinkles were exactly ten steps away. Since I already knew I had forgetfulness issues, I reminded myself three times that I was going to grab the sprinkles and pick up the cake board on the way back. Three times. Ten steps. I could do this.

I couldn't. I forgot the cake board. In fact, it was so bad that I stood in front of the unfinished cake for a few seconds before I even remembered what needed to be finished. I went back for the cake board with a proverbial tail between my legs.

As for the second example? Well, I've already forgotten. How's that for memory loss?

It wasn't until the last week that I began to notice the physical side effects. I went apple picking with my family at my grandmother's house. Most of the apples had already been picked, but the highest ones in the tree still remained. My father braved the ladder and, as soon as he'd get a handful, he'd toss them down to me so I could place them in the boxes. It was a good system, in theory. In reality, I couldn't catch an apple to save my life. My body knew the task, but my motor skills had slowed down so drastically it was impossible for me to catch any of them. It would have been comedic had I not been so concerned for myself.

Now I have several boxes of bruised apples. The only good to come out of this is that I will now be doing a lot of apple baking which I will, of course, share with you.

So, sleep. It's important. Maybe even more important than you (or I) ever gave it credit for. This next week, I'm going to force myself into bed at a decent hour. The sleeplessness (and drunkenness) needs to stop. I want to be able to walk through the grocery store without running into shelves and people or forgetting my entire list the moment I walk through the automatic doors.

Let's eat some of this pumpkin dip and get a full eight hours tonight. It sounds like a plan to me.

My Aunt Nancy made this Spicy Pumpkin Taco Dip for Thanksgiving one year and I barely strayed away from it long enough to eat my turkey dinner. Though the base is cream cheese and pumpkin, the dip still manages to be spicy with that classic taco flavor you look for in a taco dip. The dip is stuffed with vegetables including red and green peppers, olives, and a bit of dried beef (which can be omitted for vegetarians). Served in a bread bowl or small pumpkin with a side of vegetables or crackers, this dip is sure to please any crowd.

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