make it tonight

"CUT IN" Hold a knife in each hand and cut across the butter, working it into the separate mixtures

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Toast the pecans on a large baking sheet for 8-10 minutes, stirring upon occasion, until deeper brown and fragrant.

3. Place the bread cubes in a 9×13 baking pan that has been treated with cooking spray or butter.

4. Whisk together the pumpkin custard ingredients in a mixing bowl and then pour over the bread cubes. Stir to ensure the bread cubes are coated with the custard and let sit for 20-30 minutes.

5. For the streusel, stir together HALF of the chopped pecans, the brown sugar, flour, salt, and cinnamon. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles large crumbs.

6. Sprinkle the streusel crumbles evenly over the top of the bread cubes and custard.

7. Bake COVERED with foil for 30 minutes.

8. Bake UNCOVERED for an additional 10-15 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

9. Cool for 20-30 minutes.

10. Cream the frosting ingredients together with a mixer until smooth.

11. Drizzle or pipe frosting in an irregular pattern over the bread pudding and serve warm.

12. Sprinkle with the top of the bread pudding with the remaining toasted pecans.

1 16 ounces French bread, cut into 1" cubes

PUMPKIN CUSTARD

2.5 cups whole milk or half and half

6 eggs

15 ounces pumpkin puree (Not pumpkin pie filling)

¼ cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon ginger

¼ teaspoon cloves

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

CINNAMON STREUSEL CRUMBLE

½ cup butter

1 cup pecans – divided, toasted, and chopped cup flour

½ cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon almond extract

CREAM CHEESE GLAZE

8 ounces cream cheese, room temp

2 tablespoons butter, room temp

1 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

9"x13" baking pan whisk mixing bowl electric mixer aluminum foil

CUSTARD | Middle English; also crutard, custade, etc., meaning "shifted"

Defined as a variety of culinary preparations based on sweetened milk, cheese, or cream cooked with egg or egg yolk to thicken it, and sometimes also flour, corn starch, or gelatin.

Depending on the recipe, custard may vary in consistency from a thin pouring sauce to the thick pastry cream used to fill éclairs.

BREAD PUDDING | Variations: Nelson cake, Wet Nelly

A bread-based dessert popular in many countries' cuisines. It is made with stale bread and milk or cream, generally containing eggs, a form of fat such as oil, butter or suet and, depending on whether the pudding is sweet or savory, a variety of other ingredients. Sweet bread puddings may use sugar, syrup, honey, dried fruit, nuts, as well as spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, or vanilla. The bread is soaked in the liquids, mixed with the other ingredients, and baked.

Savory puddings may be served as main courses, while sweet puddings are typically eaten as desserts.

Wikipedia / August 2022

Stop at Boots and Heels Downtown Fargo on North Broadway to update your fall wardrobe with fun and trendy accents.

Plaid: Riley Crossbody $34.99

Brown/Black: Tara Crossbody $34.99

BOOTS & HEELS

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Homes are not just for humans. Our furry friends are sharing our living space with us and the American Pet Products Association reports that in 2020 there were more than 85 million homes with pets, with the most common being cats and dogs.

For pet lovers designing their home around their pet and a pet owner’s lifestyle, it has become ‘dog-gone’ easier over the past years to be inclusive. With the wide array of pet friendly products, fabrics, building materials, and do-it-yourself pieces, you can achieve style and functionality simultaneously. The upcycle movement to create pet beds out of old TV cabinets, dressers, suitcases and more has homeowners getting creative while being budget friendly. There are also several options in the retail market locally and online, as well as through sites such as Etsy, that offer items that can blend into a home’s aesthetic in terms of era-specific design, finishes, and colors. Additionally, many sizes are available, to accommodate even the smallest or largest cats and dogs.

Designed pet space can also be posh, with kennel and dog crate built-ins in entryways, underneath counters and stairways, and wooden (even handcrafted, custom made) pieces replacing wire or plastic options, which have been the norm until recent years. Pet parents are now doing a thoughtful build out to match their homes décor and have amped up features like heating and cooling, cameras, speaker systems, aromatherapy diffusers, and more to make their pets’ lives comfy and cozy.

When building out a space specifically for pets, materials matter. Consider using strong, scratch and stain resistant materials and fabrics that can be easily cleaned for longevity. And, do not forget to think about what is going to attract the pethair. Selecting fabrics that repel hair easily and that you can clean quickly will be key in terms of making frequent cleaning simple. Finding the perfect storage solutions for dog food, treats, leashes and more can also be a designer’s challenge to allow for easy access while keeping the homeowners vibe in mind.

Feeding time has also become streamlined with functional feeding areas underneath cabinets in a pull-out drawer, design-inspired feeding stations built on to the ‘pet designed wall’, and serve both the purpose of function and fashion. The goals are keeping the area clean, tidy, and seamless in your home’s overall appearance. Additionally, finding or creating solutions to hiding cat litter boxes in a stylish manner is something that has increased in popularity, as it allows for tucking away the rather unsightly necessity when having cats in the home. Litter boxes can be concealed in furniture pieces, making them streamlined into a room’s look and feel.

Ask any pet owner and they will tell you that bath or clean up time can get also be very messy. To avoid unnecessary cleanup when giving your pup or cat a bath, converting a spare bathroom or an area off your mudroom or back entry into a washing station for your pets is trending. Having an elevated tub, a detachable spray hose, and a tiled surface that can easily be cleaned after this rather cumbersome task is now being worked into the design plans with contractors when building a new home or remodeling a home that is pet-friendly. Paw-washing is part of the daily to-dos in a pet-friendly home and creating an area that serves this activity leads to ease and efficiency.

In a Home Design Trends Survey released last year, architecture firms reported that client interest in built-in rooms or kennels devoted to pets spiked recently. Clever design for a pet-friendly household not only can look good, but can make caring for your pets easier. Building outdoor spaces that are pet- friendly with safe plants, fencing, toys, scratching posts, and ‘catios’ are also trending. A happy, exercised pet that can safely spend time outside in your yard is the goal, as well as keeping your green space neat, tidy, and beautiful for the humans in your household, too.

Giving your furry family members stylish, design-friendly comfortable surroundings in your home that blends beautifully with your design and décor is the ultimate goal for pet lovers. Thankfully, the options in today’s world of décor and furnishings abound and there is an abundance of solutions for giving pets the royal treatment while beautifying living space in the process. [ aw ]

Ahome is the place you build your life around. It is a place that provides you with comfort, care, and security and CCRI knows the importance of this and the impact it has on a person. Having a home means having a place to truly call your own and where you can enjoy life to the fullest. Serving people with disabilities means creating unique living spaces where people are not only in a safe place, but one catered specifically to their needs.

CCRI is committed to designing, creating, and completing homes that allow the people they support access to fully accessible living spaces. With the foundation provided by the organization as well as the generous support from the community, CCRI is able to finish these projects quickly and give people their own unique spaces. This allows them the opportunity to be in their own personalized home that not only meets their needs, but that is tailored to their interests as well. This results in a living space they are excited to live in and enjoy.

CCRI seeks to create a forever home. They are launching their capital campaign to build their fifth accessible home within the last five years. These successes show not only the dedication of CCRI to provide a special place for their clients, but also the dedication of the community. Without the compassion and care from generous donors, providing a safe and accessible home would not be possible. Thanks to ongoing support, CCRI is able to look toward the future and continue to create accessible homes for years to come.

Words and Images By CCRI

A home is not only a place where clients receive care, but also a chance for them to build lifelong friendships; it is a place where they can show off their personality and welcome new friends to visit! It’s easy to enjoy each day when you’re spending it with people who bring you joy, in a space that is absolutely and 100% you.

The newest home to be built will be for four gentlemen with changing mobility needs. Homes like this one and the other housing projects by CCRI are putting the people they support at the front and center of the design and construction to create an accessible and enjoyable living space.

A home can mean many different things to a person and at CCRI, it means home will be a place where you are the focus and your comfort is number one. Building this home means more people are able to live their life in an accessible way and are able to become involved in their own projects as well as the community. Each home brings staff and clients together to form friendships that come from the mission to care for others. Home has always been a place where people come together and where memories are made to last a lifetime, and CCRI remains committed to continuing this legacy. [ aw ]

Visit the time for knitted sweaters and falling leaves is here. As we prepare for cooling weather, my reading changes to match the season now more than any other time of year. I pull out the spooky or magical books to get in the mood for Halloween (friendly ghosts optional). But, I also like to find books that make me feel cozy and content to spend my days reading quietly at home, soft blanket and hot beverage included.

Area Woman’s resident Bookista, Megan Elgin, serves up books worthy of spending your entire afternoon with. Search for Megan by name on Goodreads or @meganann on Litsy and find out what she’s reading now.

Read one of these books? Searching for something new to read? Tell us what you thought by using #areawomanbooks in your online review or send me an email with requests and questions at bookishmeganann@gmail.com.