AUTUMN BAKING: pumpkin muffins

Try these easy-to-bake cinnamon spiced pumpkin muffins as a snack. They’re perfect for Halloween!

Serves 12

Easy

Prep: 

Cook: 

Ingredients

  • 225g all purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
  • 100g sugar
  • 50g light brown sugar
  • 200g pumpkin purée (about 1/2 standard 15 oz. can)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 125g salted butter, melted

Equipment needed:

  • 12-hole muffin or cupcake pan
  • paper muffin/cupcake cups
  • 2 bowls, one large, one medium
  • whisk
  • wire rack for cooling muffins

Method

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350. Place paper muffin cups in muffin pan. Mix the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and both sugars together in a large bowl. Break up any lumps of brown sugar by rubbing them between your fingers.

Step 2: Whisk the pumpkin puree and eggs together in the smaller bowl, then add to the dry ingredients with the melted butter. Whisk for 2 minutes or so until just combined.

Step 3: Bake for about 15 minutes, until golden and puffed and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Cool completely on a wire rack. Will keep for three days in an airtight container.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/pumpkin-muffins

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INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ DAY

VOCABULARY:

invade – v., to take over a land or territory

violently – adv., to do something with force and anger

flourished – v., to thrive, to grow well

harmony – n., getting along, working together

tribes – n., groups of people who share a culture

throughout – prep., all over, everywhere

colonize – v., to take control of a new place

concern – n., caring, wanting someone to feel safe or feel better

dominance – n. control, authority

Indigenous – adj., being the people who originally lived in a region

proclaim – v., to announce for the public to know

resilience – n, able to recover quickly from difficulty

determination to preserve – expression, to have a firm goal to protect something

campaign – n., a series of planned actions to reach a goal

displacement – n, forced out of a home territory

assimilation – n., when minority groups absorb the characteristics of the dominant culture

What, exactly, is this day? It is a day to remember and honor the Native Americans, the people who lived here long before white settlers invaded and violently took their land.

Over 400 years ago, a peaceful society flourished in the Americas. The Native Americans lived with each other and in harmony with nature. They worshiped the earth and the sky, and took good care of their children and their elders. There were many different tribes of Native Americans throughout what is now the United States.

Europeans arrived after Columbus’ discovery of North America and soon colonized the new country. They did this without respect or concern for the people who were here before them. Terrible fights between the white people and the Native Americans led to white dominance over the lands that had belonged to the tribes.

President Biden, in 2021, became the first U.S. president to recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day officially.

He proclaimed the second Monday in October as a day to honor Native Americans, their “resilience and strength” and determination to preserve “land, language, spirit, knowledge, and tradition,” even as they have faced a “centuries-long campaign of violence, displacement, assimilation, and terror,” he said.

with thanks and acknowledgement to NPR:

https://www.npr.org/2021/10/11/1044823626/indigenous-peoples-day-native-americans-columbus

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Adjective Order

What does OSASCOMP mean?

It stands for:

Our Silly Aunt Sally Can Only Make Pancakes.

or

Orange Skies And Shady Clouds Over My Pillows

Vocabulary:

Mnemonic: n., (pronounced ni-ˈmä-nik) a pattern of words or initials to help you remember something.

Origin: n., where something comes from.

But it ALSO means something else.  It’s a mnemonic to help you remember correct adjective order in English!

In English, we describe things in a certain order.

Like this:

Opinion – Size – Age – Shape – Color – Origin – Material – Purpose

This is useful to know when you are using several adjectives together:

That beautiful tiny new table. Or:  The round French wooden dining table.

When you are only using two adjectives to describe one thing, it’s generally correct to order them from general (opinion) to specific:

The delicious Mexican dinner.

Listen carefully to native speakers in conversation, television shows, and movies to learn how to use adjectives naturally.

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Awesome Adjective: Damp

https://cdn.instructables.com/F8P/F5CF/COJEP27QK1O/F8PF5CFCOJEP27QK1O.MEDIUM.jpg

Meaning: A little wet.

Examples:

When I get a headache, I go lie down and put a damp towel on my forehead.

My clothes are still damp even though they’ve been in the dryer for an hour!

His diaper feels damp – you’d better change it.

 

Pop Quiz:

What’s the opposite of damp?

A.  Dry

B.  Humid

C.  Greasy

To see the correct answer, click on “Continue reading”:

Read More »

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Awesome Adjective: Obnoxious

Meaning: Very rude or annoying.

Examples: 

You have to be nice to customers all the time – even if they’re being obnoxious.

There was a really obnoxious guy on the train this morning who almost started a fight.

A lot of people become very obnoxious when they’re drunk.

 

Pop Quiz:

Which of the following describes obnoxious behavior?

A.  Quietly sitting and reading.

B.  Laughing loudly and cursing.

C.  Helping someone pick something up that’s fallen on the floor.

To see the correct answer, click on “Continue reading”:

Read More »

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