Butter

Sooooo, I haven't blogged in an embarrassing long time. I have good intentions of getting back into it, but I'm not promising anything. SO much has changed in my life since I've visited this forum and you might think that would be a great place to start - new job, new(ish) town, new friends, new life basically. 

But no, that would be way too easy. Instead, my return to the world of blogging will revolve solely around butter. Yep, you read that right. Butter. You may be asking yourself, "Why butter? Is Sarah picking up where Paula Deen left off?". It's a great question. No, I do not want to develop type 2 diabetes or contribute to the arterial blockage of my fellow Americans. However, it occurred to me as I was driving home yesterday that several things I'm digging right now revolve around butter in one way or another. 

Exhibit A:

BUTTER: THE MOVIE. I saw this recently in the comfort of my own home through the On Demand services of the evil Comcast (why is Comcast evil? If you don't know first hand then I will explain it to you in a subsequent blog/rant combo that I like to call a blant). This movie is PRECIOUS and HYSTERICAL and RANDOM. It's not the best movie of all time, but it is a great way to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon that will leave you feeling warm, fuzzy, and wondering how Jennifer Garner gets her hair so freaking shiny. 

It will actually be out in theaters soon, if not already, but I paid the same amount to watch it in my pajamas, on my sofa, and with unlimited access to snacky snacks that did not require me to take out a second mortgage, thus contributing to the downfall of the movie theater.Buuuut that's another topic for another day. (See how I'm already racking up ideas for this triumphant return to the world of blogging?!)

Exhibit B:

Fiona Apple: "Hot Knife" from the ridiculously long-titled album "The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do"

I am completely enchanted by this song. I'm still in the process of delving into all the tracks of "The Idler Wheel...", but this one struck me immediately and I've had it on repeat for the past week. I just can't get enough of the cyclical nature of the lyrics, the spirit within them, the rhythm of the rounds, and the lyrics that compare a couple in the first throws of a relationship to butter and a hot knife. It's just cute and hot and charming and reminds you of those butterflies you get in the first few weeks of a new relationship. I especially like these two stanzas:

I'm a hot knife- if I'm a hot knife- 
I'm a hot knife if he's a pad of butter 
If I get a chance, I'm gonna show him that 
He's never gonna need- never need another. 

He excites me 
Must be like a genesis of rhythm 
I get feisty 
Whenever I'm with him...

Besides, how can you not love a song that's almost completely and solely accompanied by a timpani with a little piano thrown in for good measure?!

Exhibit C: Martha's Ginger Pumpkin Bread

It's a balmy 88 degrees here in Tallahassee, which in Florida culture means FALL IS HERE! Even though I'm still fighting the frizz and wearing flip flops, it is time to stock up on the pumpkin and get to bakin!

This is one of my all-time favorite pumpkin recipes, which, you'll notice, calls for quite a bit of butter (see what I did there? It's called thematic consistency, actually I just made that up, but we'll go with it). I prefer to cut the butter requirement to just one stick and it actually turns out better in my opinion. 

Ingredients

• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, plus room-temperature butter for pan
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree (1 3/4 cups)
• 3 large eggs
• Sugar Glaze, (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter and flour two 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch (6-cup) loaf pans (see note, below); set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, ginger, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together sugars, pumpkin, melted butter, and eggs; add flour mixture, and stir until just combined.
2. Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of loaves comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes; invert pans and transfer loaves to a wire rack to cool completely. Glaze, if desired.

So friends, enjoy the butter related revelry and I make a not so solemn vow to attempt to blog every once in a while, which will be 100% more than I have done in the last 9 months.