Hmmm... Homemade apple pie...

for lunch.

Well, can you sit in a house filled with steamy apple pie fresh-from-the-oven fumes and not give in to temptation? Especially knowing how warm and gooey the pie is fresh from the oven? We certainly couldn't.

I popped a pie into the oven for dessert, and it was finished less than 30 minutes after it had cooled. Why?

Cause it was yummy!!

First I found a recipe online, and then I took to making my personal changes to it. (I seem to have an aversion to following recipes in their entirety.)

First I chose 6 nice Macintosh apples purchased at our Farmer's Market fresh this morning!

Then I peeled them!


Then I cut them into slices.


Then I placed the slices into the crust. (I used a pre-made crust, because I simply wasn't in the mood to make my own. I always keep one in the freezer for when I lack the motivation to make one from scratch. Wegman's has a particularly good and crispy one, so we used that.)


Next I added the sugar, cinnamon, cloves, butter, and flour.

I used a half cup of vanilla sugar (which is sugar with several vanilla beans, opened of course, sitting in it. After a week or so, you get quite a yummy sugar.) I sprinkled the half cup evenly over the surface of the pie.

I did that same with 3-4 tbsp. of flour, cinnamon to taste, and clove to taste.


Then I splashed about a tsp of vanilla extract over the pie.

Finally I cut up two tbsp. of butter and spread it evenly over the pie.

Then I put the top crust on, sprinkled it with about a tbsp of vanilla sugar, sliced a few slits into it, and added a few apple peels to the top for decoration.


Into a 375 degree oven for 50 minutes, and then.... Voila!



Can you smell the appley wafts?

We were pushed past the point of self control after the pie had wafted it's fragrance for about fifteen minutes. We gobbled it up. Monkey and Otter even ate some! There is no pie left for dinner. :(

Guess I'll have to make another one. ;)

Popcorn balls..

Popcorn balls! An easy to make classroom treat! (Warning: Do not eat these at home if you intend to keep your teeth!)

I am making popcorn balls for Monkey's class. They are celebrating their 100th day in school with a popcorn party. Lee and I have about 10 pounds of gourmet popcorn available so I thought I would make some sweet chewy popcorn balls for the party.

They are simple, they are easy, and boy, eating one almost made my teeth fall out of my head.

The ingredients are simple.

12 cups popcorn
1 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar
1 package flavored gelatin

You boil the sugar and syrup, add the gelatin, and then stir in the popcorn and shape and let dry. After making the popcorn, it really only took about 10 minutes to make 13 small popcorn balls.

However, they are all sugar. They actually made my teeth hurt. I am not kidding, the first bite was good, until I started to chew and began to notice pain in my back teeth. Yeesh! I am committed to bringing them to this class party, but next time I will be researching the hippie peanut butter version.

I did discover you can pop plain popcorn in the microwave. All you need is a paper bag, a handful of kernels, and two minutes. It made the popcorn preparation a little easier, though popping 12 cups is no joke. (Make sure to remove the unpopped kernels before making the balls, otherwise you really will have no teeth.)

The end product tastes a little like popcorn, a little like Jello, and a lot like sugar. Hopefully the children will have a less discerning palate, or my sticky treat may go the way of the Dodo.

Actually, I think I am going to throw this batch out and try making popcorn balls with marshmallows. They should taste better, be healthier, and not send all the children into sugar shock.

Shudder

Solutions...

I love Cream of Wheat!!

I decided, after my not so helpful doctor's appointment, to proceed with my life as though I were anemic and ill. I started going to bed earlier, and happily discovered that Cream of Wheat has 50% of your required iron per serving. I ate it for breakfast and dinner day before yesterday and breakfast yesterday. I actually have color in my cheeks again! I have energy again! I went to the grocery store yesterday and shopped, I cooked dinner, I actually participate in my life for the first time in a week!

I am so relieved. I was beginning to look forward into the next three months with a growing despair and horror. I couldn't stand the thought of being too tired to handle the basic responsibilities in my life. Thanks to the aforementioned cereal, I am happily engaged in work and home life again.

It is still very odd being out here instead of in Denver. The weather is cold in a clingy, biting way that I have never really felt before. It's almost as though the cold is suffering from an attachment disorder that forces it to try and climb inside you and be absorbed. It's impossible to get rid of, and it seeps in through all the windows and doorways. It comes with a lovely morning frost that is slowly killing off my roses, and paints pretty images on my lawn. It is the worst by Monkey's school because it is in a swamp. I send her to school each day in a long wool coat with a sweater and hat and mittens. I make her promise to wear her little mittens so her baby hands aren't bitten by frostbite when she plays at recess. She acquiesces with a shiver and doesn't even try and argue.

The holidays are pretty out here. I see lots of huge inflatable christmas characters and lights all over the place. There is still a lot of green. All in all, I miss home. I miss Roby and Heather's magical christmas display, and my parents little tree, and indifferent cold.

We are supposed to brave the city this weekend to go see "the tree". I will let you know if we made it or not.

Happy december!!

Clerks

Kevin Smith... a walk on the beach... and the Corleone family...

Last night we went to see Kevin Smith and Clerks in the park in Red Bank. Lee and I were sent to get food while Morgan and Devon reserved a space in the park. We ended up parking at home and walking from our house, heavily laden down with Cluck-U chicken, because over 2000 people showed up. tee hee. So when we finally arrived, Kevin Smith was just about to start the pre-presentation Q&A. It was pretty funny. He took questions for about an hour, was generally humorous, humorously rude, and kind. Then they showed the movie. It was about the experience you can expect from watching a film on a giant inflatable screen, in a windy park, on a blanket, on the hard ground, pregnant. But, it was fun, and Lee would occasionally kiss my shoulder, and I had chicken. My favorite part was definately the Q&A.

Today Ellen and I took the kids to the beach. After being stuck in traffic on the Garden State Parkway for about an hour and a half, we found this wonderful place in Manasquan. The ocean was only about a foot to a foot and a half deep for about 50 feet out. The water was warm. The kids were able to splash and run around and play. This was a huge step up from Monkey's and my last few beach visits. Usually she and I cling to each other desperately as the cold waves try to suck us out to sea. We played for about an hour and a half. Seth (who is 6 months old) even liked the beach.

The odd thing was the Jellyfish. They were ALL over the place but no one was bothered by them. They didn't sting. I had them constantly hitting against my body as we were walking in the water, but didn't have anything painful occur. (Although it was creepy to have them touching me.) The kids were even catching them and playing with them. I thought they looked, and felt, like silicon breast implants. It was weird.

Afterwards we stopped by this little beach-side cafe and I ran inside to quickly order a snack for the three hungry, and now tired, children. I ordered 2 sides of fries and a small coffee. The woman behind the counter proceeded to plod over to the fryer, toss in the fries, plod over to the coffee maker, brew a pot. I decided to add some hot dogs to my order since it was obviously going to take a while. While I waited for the food, her mother got a phone call. I swear that these people were connected to the Corleone family. She kept saying "Haven't I been nice to you Michael?" " I am always doing favors for you and you disrespect me" etc. She even had the New Jersey italian accent and the accompanying gestures. Finally, her sloth-like daughter brought me the food in a large box (like the ones you load your groceries into at a Cost-co) and I fled before a rival family came in to shoot up the place.

After we got back I made my first Chicken Parmagiana. It was yummy. It was one of those cooking experiences I love. I actually had to substitute all or part of each ingredient except the chicken. I needed 2 cups of bread crumbs and some flour, but only had 1/2 a cup of bread crumbs and some corn meal. I needed a full can of spaghetti sauce, but only had 1/2 a can and a can of fire roasted dices tomatos. The recipe called for mozarella cheese, I only have mini-babel cheeses and cheddar. However, it worked out well, and I am looking forward to actually being able to cook it according to recipe in the future.

Well, your Denver girl is signing off, I get sooooo tired soooo early these days!!

Love you all, save a little mountain for me.