almost halfway.

four tests in a week???

i swear my teachers are colluding against me.

"oh yeah - killing jess sounds like fun!"

"sweet let's do it!"

ugh.

especially that hot guy in class.

yesssss please!

not all fairy tales turn out the way we think huh?

i'm going to admit it.

i have an obsession with pinterest.

it's baaaaaad.

(but oh so gooooood at the same time!)

you get my meaning?

one of my recent finds...

pumpkin pie shake!

for those who live in the frozen tundra (loving called iceburg rexburg) we have this amazing restaurant called sammy's.

their pumpkin pie shakes?

to diiiiiiiiie for.

especially when you get a piece of crust that survived the blender.

oh heavens... i might just die and go to heaven thinking about it!

anywho, in anticipation for one of my four favorite seasons of the entire year... a recipe! for pure deliciousness.

Pumpkin Pie Shake

vegan, serves 2-3

(random side-note: i've always wondered what it would be like to be vegan or vegetarian... you'll probably be hearing more about this later.)

15 ounces organic canned pumpkin - 1 can (not pie mix)

1/4 cup raw cashews

1/4 cup non-dairy milk, vanilla (soy or hemp preferred)

2 tbsp maple syrup

1/4 cup vegan chai tea concentrate

2 tbsp soy milk creamer

2 dashes cinnamon

1 dash cayenne

2 dashes nutmeg

pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups ice (coconut water ice cubes approved for this pie shake)

optional: 1/2 frozen banana, pinch of flax seed oil/meal for added nutrition

directions:

1. add all your ingredients, except the ice, to the blender.

2. blend on high until smooth. yes the pumpkin will make this smoothie thick, so be patientwhile blending. if you need to add more 'milk' go ahead.

3. keep blending and slowly add in the ice. make sure it blends icy-smooth! again, if you need to add a bit more liquid, do it gradually. you can always do a taste test before pouring and modify as needed to suit your own tastes. i added in a few extra cashews because I liked the body and flavor that they added.

4. pour, sprinkle with cinnamon on top. whipped rice cream-optional, but yummy.

serve! delicious any time of day. dessert-friendly.

and yes, it will taste like pumpkin pie! 

bold... beautiful pumpkin flavor. 

notes and alterations:

table for One? just making this smoothie for yourself? you can easily halve the ingredients for a nice sized smoothie for 1.

creamier? if you want to turn up the 'creaminess' a notch, add in a bit more soy cream, non-dairy milk and even a spray of whipped cream blended right into the blender.

dessert please! you can easily make this into a delicious pumpkin-ice-cream style shake by removing 1 cup of ice from the recipe and replacing it with a big scoop of vegan soy/hemp/coconut/rice cream. vanilla flavor of course.

perfectly pumpkin: feeling super adventurous and cringe at 'canned veggies'. well OK, grab a 'pie pumpkin' roast it, puree it and chill the pumpkin puree in the fridge. use it in place of canned!

ready?

set?

go do it!

(and tell me what you think.)

***

today is one of those days that i am so grateful to have a wonderful family.

simply because my sister makes me dinner when i am pushing to get a homework assignment done on time.

she's pretty much the bomb.com.

and even though i missed my mom's 4 phone calls, i still know that she loves me enough to call. 

even though i'm in class.

and my brother telling me about an acronym that his 8th grade teacher taught him to remember the first presidents of the united states. do i remember them? no. but i sure appreciated him telling me!