We went apple picking on Saturday morning. It's a fun activity that doesn't require hours of picking labor, and pays off very quickly. It's easy to fill a bag with apples.
48 hours later: I've made two huge batches of applesauce, an apple crisp, cardamom apple cider butter and apple buttermilk pancakes. We're snacking on them at every turn (all four of us... using whatever number of teeth we have to work with), and wondering what we're going to do with the TWO pecks we still have remaining. Frozen apple pie fillers? Probably more sauce canning... and maybe a little pile on your front doorstep... if we think you're out and unsuspecting!
Apple bread? Apple coffee cake? What are your best apple recipes?
At this point, maybe I should see if we can borrow a fermentor from Mike's lab and brew up some hard apple cider for the holidays. Mmm. Now we're talking!
Monday, September 24, 2012
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Fall arrival
It was bound to happen... today fall came to town. We started the morning in slippers with oatmeal, we walked on the sunny side of the street to make sure we didn't get a chill and we remembered our sweatshirts when we visited the park.
The forecast for tonight projects a low of 38 degrees. Would it be too dramatic to go outside and wrap a blankie around the few green tomatoes on the vine? I've had so few this year and it seems sad to see armfuls of potential red sauce bite the dust. I guess Mother Nature had her own plans this year. I'll make sure I have stronger seedlings ready to go next year.
In this last week, with the start of the new school year and the distinct change in season, I have had many de ja vu moments recalling where I was at this precise time *last* year. Colin was so new -- he pretty much sailed in with (on?) the fall wind.
When I look at the honey-colored sun coming through the windows at a low slant in the afternoons, I remember sitting in the sun room watching Mike and Christopher raking the first falling leaves and nursing a teeny tiny Colin. I did that again today, though he's pretty big and wiggly now at over 22 pounds.
Colin has soft brown hair with blond highlights around his temples and the cutest little curl at the nape of his neck, just like his older brother had. His hands are big (that was the first thing the midwife commented on!) and blue, blue eyes that draw remarks from perfect strangers on a regular basis. He loves to eat and is still an adventurous diner for the time being. Drinking from a cup is his current joy at the table. And there is no other person he'd rather play with or emulate than Christopher. In Colin's eyes, Christopher is the funniest, fastest, awesom-est, rad-est boy on the Earth and he can't wait to grow up and catch up to him. He can play roll the ball, loves peek-a-boo (in fact, thinks it's part of the dining experience since we always seem to play with our napkins towards the end of dinner), waves hello and bye-bye emphatically, wants to be held - mostly by Mama - 100% of the time, and clearly says, "Mamamama" when excited to see me or when the going gets rough. He's a smiler and a kisser. No complaints here!
He's a keeper, that one.
The forecast for tonight projects a low of 38 degrees. Would it be too dramatic to go outside and wrap a blankie around the few green tomatoes on the vine? I've had so few this year and it seems sad to see armfuls of potential red sauce bite the dust. I guess Mother Nature had her own plans this year. I'll make sure I have stronger seedlings ready to go next year.
In this last week, with the start of the new school year and the distinct change in season, I have had many de ja vu moments recalling where I was at this precise time *last* year. Colin was so new -- he pretty much sailed in with (on?) the fall wind.
When I look at the honey-colored sun coming through the windows at a low slant in the afternoons, I remember sitting in the sun room watching Mike and Christopher raking the first falling leaves and nursing a teeny tiny Colin. I did that again today, though he's pretty big and wiggly now at over 22 pounds.
Colin has soft brown hair with blond highlights around his temples and the cutest little curl at the nape of his neck, just like his older brother had. His hands are big (that was the first thing the midwife commented on!) and blue, blue eyes that draw remarks from perfect strangers on a regular basis. He loves to eat and is still an adventurous diner for the time being. Drinking from a cup is his current joy at the table. And there is no other person he'd rather play with or emulate than Christopher. In Colin's eyes, Christopher is the funniest, fastest, awesom-est, rad-est boy on the Earth and he can't wait to grow up and catch up to him. He can play roll the ball, loves peek-a-boo (in fact, thinks it's part of the dining experience since we always seem to play with our napkins towards the end of dinner), waves hello and bye-bye emphatically, wants to be held - mostly by Mama - 100% of the time, and clearly says, "Mamamama" when excited to see me or when the going gets rough. He's a smiler and a kisser. No complaints here!
He's a keeper, that one.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Late summer itch/ramble.
It's almost back-to-school time. The shift from late to summer to early fall is everywhere. The mornings are chillier, making for perfect running weather and the kids wear sweatshirts with blankets tucked in around their legs when we take them out in the jogger. The tomato plants are brimming with green tomatoes (which will hopefully turn bright red after the next three days of heat!). The kids are growing out and wearing out their summer clothes and shoes just in time for new footwear that will keep piggy toes warm and tops and bottoms that will protect arms and legs from ginormous piles of fallen leaves. I've started to have fleeting thoughts of squash soup and applesauce.
And I have the purge itch.
A general notice to all items within the house:
Watch out if you aren't nailed down. If you don't prove yourself to have both form and function, you may find yourself listed on Freecycle or sitting on my front porch waiting for the donation truck to sweep you away.
Favorite things to purge: toys, clothes, superfluous kitchen items, things in storage which aren't ever taken OUT of storage, more toys, and more clothes. This fall, I also need to Freecycle a bag or two of fabric and perhaps some yarn. You know, get real about what projects I actually want/need to do.
I find that my kitchen inspiration changes greatly towards the end of the summer, as well. I find that if I listen to my palate's whims, it pushes me to follow the season's directions. So, I pulled Patricia Wells's At Home in Provence* off the shelf earlier today and earmarked the Crustless Onion Quiche and the Tomato Clafoutis. I'd also like to make a huge Vegetable Tian in the next few weeks and a Tomato Tart (I need a goat for a constant supply of goat cheese, please). The thyme in the garden is going bonkers, so that should add a nice touch to all of the above.
Ooh. And maybe some gazpacho. And some popsicles. And and and...
We have a wide-open, unplanned weekend coming up and I'm pretty excited about it. The weather will be warm and the beach will be calling. The garden will be waiting for us, too. Time to enjoy the last few weeks of summer. Ahhh.
*Normally, I'd question a book on Provencal cooking that is written by an American. However, this was gifted to me by a friend who lives in Aix-en-Provence and she swears it's one of the best resources in her cookbook library. Several years ago, Mike and I were treated to the most delicious stay at her family's beautiful home in Provence. The only specific plans that Nathalie made for the week was what we'd have for dinner every night. On the first evening we arrived, she had made the simplest, most elegant quiche I have ever eaten. It was gorgeous and so yummy. In honor of that wonderful memory (friends and food, conversation and catching up, warm summer air and a cheese course to blow your mind to finish it off...!), tonight we're having quiche with tomatoes from the garden - all shapes, sizes and colors - and I'll throw in some chard and kale because god knows we have plenty of that.
And I have the purge itch.
A general notice to all items within the house:
Watch out if you aren't nailed down. If you don't prove yourself to have both form and function, you may find yourself listed on Freecycle or sitting on my front porch waiting for the donation truck to sweep you away.
Favorite things to purge: toys, clothes, superfluous kitchen items, things in storage which aren't ever taken OUT of storage, more toys, and more clothes. This fall, I also need to Freecycle a bag or two of fabric and perhaps some yarn. You know, get real about what projects I actually want/need to do.
I find that my kitchen inspiration changes greatly towards the end of the summer, as well. I find that if I listen to my palate's whims, it pushes me to follow the season's directions. So, I pulled Patricia Wells's At Home in Provence* off the shelf earlier today and earmarked the Crustless Onion Quiche and the Tomato Clafoutis. I'd also like to make a huge Vegetable Tian in the next few weeks and a Tomato Tart (I need a goat for a constant supply of goat cheese, please). The thyme in the garden is going bonkers, so that should add a nice touch to all of the above.
Ooh. And maybe some gazpacho. And some popsicles. And and and...
We have a wide-open, unplanned weekend coming up and I'm pretty excited about it. The weather will be warm and the beach will be calling. The garden will be waiting for us, too. Time to enjoy the last few weeks of summer. Ahhh.
*Normally, I'd question a book on Provencal cooking that is written by an American. However, this was gifted to me by a friend who lives in Aix-en-Provence and she swears it's one of the best resources in her cookbook library. Several years ago, Mike and I were treated to the most delicious stay at her family's beautiful home in Provence. The only specific plans that Nathalie made for the week was what we'd have for dinner every night. On the first evening we arrived, she had made the simplest, most elegant quiche I have ever eaten. It was gorgeous and so yummy. In honor of that wonderful memory (friends and food, conversation and catching up, warm summer air and a cheese course to blow your mind to finish it off...!), tonight we're having quiche with tomatoes from the garden - all shapes, sizes and colors - and I'll throw in some chard and kale because god knows we have plenty of that.
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