Flavors of the Season

I'm not a typical human being.
I don't love ice cream.
If chocolate were eliminated from the planet I'd be okay.
I rarely drink coffee, and when I do drink coffee, I tend to avoid Starbucks.

But there is an exception to that last one. Although it is a default option since Deidrich's no longer exists. Every fall I flit like a moth to a flame to Starbucks for the pumpkin lattes. And I stick around during the winter for the gingerbread lattes. To me, they are the harbingers of seasons.

This year it took me a while to get over to Starbucks for the pumpkin latte since work was busy and our free time was taken up trying to have "free time" before the baby arrived. I am sorely lacking in pumpkin-ness. In fact, I had brilliant plans to make pumpkin pancakes the weekend Thatbaby arrived and he kind of put the kibosh on that plan.

Which left me with a giant tub of pumpkin just waiting for me to use. And I thought it would be great to use in a pumpkin flavored drink - without coffee. A pumpkin pie milkshake!

Well that takes care of fall, but what about my gingerbread latte? I know, I've still got time for it. But I'm impatient as all get out. And I'm a girl that grew up with zucchini bread in the freezer at all times. So I made some gingerbread and threw it in the freezer. I defrosted a loaf earlier this week.

And can I just say - this is an amazing gingerbread. I love it. Perfect for snacking or topped with ice cream for dessert. I thought it would make good "company food" which is why we always had zucchini bread in the freezer growing up. I think this may become my new staple. Great for home and holiday gifts alike.

Pumpkin Pie Milkshake
1 cup milk
1 pint vanilla ice cream
1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground ginger

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender and mix well.
   

Gingerbread (From the Fannie Farmer Cookbook)
1 stick butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup molasses
2 12 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ginger

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Spray 4 small loaf pans with baking spray. Cream the butter and sugar in an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
2. Add the eggs, one at a time and beat well.
3. Add 3/4 cup boiling water and molasses and blend.
4. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt, and ginger.
   
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and combine thoroughly.
6. Pour into the loaf pans and bake 40 minutes. Cool in the pan before turning onto a cooling rack.