The Big E 2021 NEW FOODS announced!

HAPPY SEPTEMBER!!

The official website for The Big E fair (my favorite state fair, also known as The Eastern States Exposition), just announced some new foods (and drink) that will be available during the 2021 season!

If you're a big fan of your local fall fair like I am, you know you've been counting down the days (17 days til The Big E opening day!!), and are hyped about any news that drops about it. Each year, the official fair site, and a local news site MassLive, publish a rundown of what's new for food choices.  

There are so many things to try at the fair that it's impossible to try them all, but it's still fun to think about the sensory overload that awaits, and to begin planning on what to eat that year. The Big E website has a handy Food Finder to help visitors track down their sought-after deep-fried something-or-others.

I definitely have favorites and must-haves every year (like the baked potato from the Maine building; for me, Autumn officially begins once I have that damn potato). I also make it a goal to try at least one new thing! I'm eating healthier these days so I might limit it to one new thing, but we shall see. There are some healthy choices at the fair, which is good news.

The thing I am most excited about and want to try in 2021:

THE PUMPKIN CREAM PUFF.

This is not a drill. THIS IS REAL. 

 

Yes -- The famous Big E Cream Puff will also be available in PUMPKIN VERSION THIS YEAR and I cannot handle my excitement. I have been mostly following a low-carb diet this year but I will fucking splurge on this one, especially since the fair was cancelled last year! 

 

Click on the pic above to go to MassLive's rundown of 2021 Big E foods!

Pumpkin scones on a Sunday

     Labor Day Weekend in the US is kinda the unofficial start of Fall, so to celebrate I made those pumpkin scones I've been threatening to make. 

Here's the recipe I used today, adapted from this one from Sally's Baking Addiction:

PUMPKIN SCONES WITH MAPLE GLAZE

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 

Before you begin, drain some of the liquid from the pumpkin puree by measuring out half a cup into a shallow bowl and cover with a few layers of paper towels to soak up excess liquid.

INGREDIENTS

Dry Ingredients:

• 2 Cups all purpose flour
• 2 and a 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 and a 1/2 tsp. pumpkin spice 
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 TB and 3/4 tsp of buttermilk powder* - OMIT IF USING LIQUID BUTTERMILK OR CREAM, see below  (*I used Saco brand buttermilk powder. If you use another brand of buttermilk powder, your ratio of powder to water may be different)
• 1 stick of salted butter, frozen (keep in freezer til ready to use)

Wet Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup water (IF using buttermilk powder) - OR - 1/3 buttermilk, milk, or cream (skim milk not recommended)
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 Cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree, blotted to remove excess moisture, see above
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Maple Glaze:

• 2 TB butter, melted
• 1/3 cup of pure maple syrup (NOT the imitation kind)
• 1 cup powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS

• In a large mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients except for frozen butter. If using buttermilk powder instead of liquid milk/cream/buttermilk, add this in with the dry mix. Stir all together well.
• In a separate bowl, stir the wet ingredients together and whisk thoroughly until everything is mixed well.
• Then, using a cheese grater, grate the frozen butter into the dry ingredients. Mix together gently with a wooden spoon, the mix will be crumbly. 
• Then add the wet mixture to the dry/butter mixture, and mix together til just incorporated evenly. 
• On a clean working surface, lay out a sheet of parchment paper and sprinkle a little flour on it. Form the dough into a ball and place on work surface, patting it gently to form an evenly thick circle about 10 inches wide and about 3/4 in. thick. (*Note: At this point in the recipe, the dough was a little too sticky for me to easily work with, so after patting it into the circle, I slid a dinner plate under the parchment paper/dough and stuck it in the freezer for about 10 minutes to firm it up)
• Line a standard cookie sheet with parchment paper. Cut the circle of dough into 8 triangles with a sharp knife or pizza cutter. Distribute wedges evenly on parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake in your preheated oven for 20-25 minutes (mine were done in 22 mins.)
• While they're baking, make the maple glaze by whisking together the melted butter, maple syrup, and powdered sugar til smooth. (The original recipe called for an entire cup of powdered sugar, but when I made it, that much seemed like overkill to me so I think I ended up using about 3/4 cup at most.)
• Anyway, drizzle this generously over the scones when they've just come out of the oven You'll probably have extra glaze; this made a lot.

Favorite Fall soaps - Amy's All Natural

     As of September, I switched to my favorite seasonal bar soap - Amy's All Natural Massachusetts Harvest Bar. I've been buying it annually at The Big E, "America's Premier Exposition and world's only multi-state fair, representing all six New England States" (from their website description).

    It is simply one of the best soaps I've ever used. Not only does it smell fantastic, it lathers up beautifully and lasts a long time.

    I rate it 10 out of 10 skulls. 

💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀

Massachusetts Harvest description, via Amy's All Natural website: 

"A very unique scent which keeps people guessing. This bar was made specifically for the "Big E" and offers a traditional New England Fall harvest smell. With an essential oil blend of different citruses, anise and clove this blend is sure to intrigue.. Massachusetts Harvest bar has all the added benefits of goat milk, honey, Shea butter and turmeric (natural anti inflammatory, and works wonders with inflammation & redness of the skin)."

Massachusetts Harvest can be purchased here

    Last year, I found that they had released a new fall soap as well - Autumn Harvest! I haven't tried it yet, but it smells great, heavier on the pumpkin-spice. 

Autumn Harvest description, via Amy's All Natural website: 

"Similar to the Massachusetts Harvest bar in smell, but so very different!! Autumn Harvest offers more of a clove and less of an anise smell. Autumn Harvest is packed with pumpkin; highlighting the smell and adding some amazing skin/facial benefits. Pumpkin penetrates your pores easily and offers even MORE alpha-hydroxal acid to this goat milk soap."

Autumn Harvest can be purchased here

    Since The Big E is cancelled this year, I'll show my support for Amy's All Natural by ordering some online. If these scents aren't really your thing, she's got plenty of others to choose from and they're all fantastic! 

Savoring a few scents of the season

    Things I'm enjoying this week - 

    2 of my new autumn-themed hand soaps from Bath & Body Works. 

     

    On the left, Don't Stop Be-Leafing is a fantastic creamsicle orange-vanilla scent. On the right, Blackberries & Basil is fruity but not overly sweet, a nice herbal undertones.     

    Next up: this Anise & Clove candle from soyNsuds on Etsy - 100% soy. This candle scent came recommended by Pumpkinrot himself, who was (is?) a huge fan. I finally bought one last year. Rot's right - it DOES smell just like Halloween. This scent comes in wax melts, lotion, lip balm, and body spray as well. 

      And of course: Nothing like a fresh new jar of pumpkin spice blend to usher in the Autumn season. I'll be cracking this open very soon.

 

NEW 2020 Halloween Country Candles by Kringle

    Posted earlier today on Instagram by Kringle's CEO public account:

    I can't say for certain whether this person is the actual CEO but they do seem to have insider info. Can't wait to learn more about these!

Mail day - Bath & Body Works

    Look what arrived today - my shipment of seasonal hand soaps from Bath & Body Works!

From left to right: Sweater Weather; The Perfect Autumn; Candy Corn Treats; Blackberries & Basil; Don't Stop Be-Leafing; All About Fall Y'all; Harvest Gathering

    Normally I might only buy one or two each year but since 2020 has been the year from hell, I decided I'm gonna treat myself. #trickortreatyoself

It was a bit of a challenge choosing them without being able to smell them first, but I think I did pretty good! 

These will hopefully last well into Yule season. I'll be posting individual reviews on these scents to my blog as I use them , so make sure to sign up for updates.

Pumpkin scone

    The memory of this perfect pumpkin scone from one of our local favorite cafes has put me in the mood to try making some of my own. 

    I found a great-looking recipe on the blog Sally's Baking Addiction, but our weather over the next few days doesn't exactly make me want to deal with a hot stove, however.

Yikes. For here, that's pretty hot. It's been a mostly mild summer, even for here. Tomorrow will be fun.

    I'll wait for things to cool off here and then try the above recipe - and of course will report back here with the results.

 

Farmers Market vibes

Memories from last year's Lughnasadh visit to a local farmer's market.

    Seeing the first waves of summer apples - lots of Ginger Golds and Paula Reds - makes me ridiculously happy. Sadly, not a lot of U-Pick apple places near me, despite Washington being a major apple producer. They exist, but it'd be a couple hours drive one way; most of them are huge farms north and east of the Seattle/Tacoma area. When I still lived in Connecticut, our local farm was just a drive across town, and there were lots of others within short driving distance.

    I couldn't leave here without a mini bag of freshly-made mini cinnamon-sugar doughnuts. 

    

    The final haul - peaches, plums, corn, gruyere cheese bread, the most AMAZING blackberries I've ever had, and - 

    PUMPKIN SPICE WHIPPED HONEY from my favorite local honey producer.

    This added to softened butter on fresh bread is absolutely amazing.

Pumpkin spice for breakfast

Scents of the season

Pumpkin Spice season is upon us! It's officially the beginning of the dark half of the year when these start showing up.

Pic from my archives, from 2018 or thereabouts.