Life, if that’s what you call it

So this weekend I spent an entire day just wandering around NYC. I did a little shopping, a little eating and A LOT of walking. I also gave about $40 worth of change to the numerous Salvation Army buckets and other charities set up at busy intersections. It started simply when I was getting out at Penn Station and tried to walk past the singing Salvation Army Bell Ringers and felt a tug at my heart strings.

You see growing up I didn’t have much. My parents through amazing hard work were able to give us a roof over our heads and food and clothes but that was pretty much the extent of my existence. And I was happy. I never thought much about it but the majority of my clothing came from Salvation Army and Goodwill. As did some toys, furniture, kitchen supplies. It was because of the kindness of strangers that give to these charities that helped my family survive. It was because of food banks and church charities that many years we were able to have our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. It was because of them that we got presents EVERY YEAR. Whether it was because they gave them or by giving us food my parents were able to take some money from the budget to buy them. But it was never one sided. When things were going good we made sure to give back so that whomever needed it that year would have it. See, no matter how bad things would get I knew that I would always have my family. I knew that everything else was immaterial.

It’s because of that life that I am determined to give more to my kids. Not because that life wasn’t good but because I can. I am in no way ashamed of the humble life that my parents gave me, in fact, I am proud. They gave me an abundance of love and caring, and that is something that is going to stay with me till I draw my last breath. They gave me my determination to make a better world and life for everyone. That gave me a open heart that reaches out to help anyone that I can. And they gave me the humility to know that it is not shameful to reach out and ask for help when you need it. I would not be who I am without the experiences of youth or without the love that my parents gave me. I only hope that I can teach my children the same lessons that my parents taught me. That no matter what we have the most important thing is the bond and the love between us all.

So, it’s because of this all that I can’t pass a single charity bucket without dropping something in it. I can’t just throw out my kids clothes that are in good condition but outgrown. That I’m going to go to the store and buy about a million boxes and cans of food for the Lincoln Elementary School food drive. I’ll make sure to give at least one toy, per child in my house to Toys for Tots. Because there are still families out there that need those things and are depending on the kindness of strangers. Because right now, things are good and I will never forget to give back when we can.

Two weeks ago we invaded the pumpkin patch and returned with three beauties. Quinlyn decided that we would decorate the two smaller ones that Kevyn and Caelyn picked out and that we should use her monster to make numerous pumpkin treats. I had no problem with doing this because even though it is time consuming, fresh pumpkin puree is pretty easy to make. After spending all of Saturday cleaning, roasting, running it all through the food processor and then draining the pumpkin I was left with about 16 cups of pumpkin puree. And I was lacking in recipes for all of this pumpkin.

Of course, I made pumpkin muffins and am planning a crunch type cake and a few other things but I was wanting pancakes. See Kevyn is a very picky eater and I am normally of the mind set that if he doesn’t eat was is given to him he goes hungry, but a sure fire winner for him is pancakes. My thinking was that if I make pumpkin pancakes not only is he getting the food he wants he is also getting the nutrition from the pumpkin that I want him to get. My only issue was that I couldn’t find a recipe that I liked. So, this morning I decided that I was to make a little experiment with pumpkin, oatmeal and pancakes. I was happily surprised with the results and so were the kids.

This is definitely going to be a new addition to our breakfast recipes. Beauty of this recipe is that should you want to use a different type of fruit or even sweet potatoes it is a rather easy to substitute. You can simply replace pumpkin puree with mashed or diced bananas or chunky apple sauce. Hope you all enjoy!

Oatmeal Pumpkin Pancakes

1.5  cup milk

1/3 cup butter

1.5 cup quick oatmeal uncooked

1/3 cup unsifted flour

1.5 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1tsp vanilla

2 tablespoons honey

2 eggs, separated

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

Heat milk and butter until butter is completely melted. Remove from heat and stir in oatmeal and let cool. Beat egg yolks, honey and vanilla and add to  oatmeal mixture along with pumpkin puree. Combine flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon, add to wet ingredients. Beat egg white to stiff peaks and gently fold into batter. Let rest for 5 minutes before cooking.  Makes 10-14 pancakes. Serve with maple syrup or powdered sugared.

*Note* Due to the weight of the batter these take longer to cook throughout (approximately 2-3 minute per side). Make sure to use lower heat to avoid burning.