Apples, Apples, Apples...& a new family member.

While much of the rest of the country is already enjoying the first snow, we here in the California "low lands" are just feeling the first "eek" of chill. I love the first chill...my favorite time of year is now. Especially in the mornings when everything is fresh & dewey...

Did I mention before that autumn is my favorite time of year?? :)

I always look forward driving up to Apple Hill with my family to buy apples. Granted, nowadays Apple Hill comes to you at the Farmers' Market, but we still drive up the mountain instead. We had to wait for it to get colder, and I will NEVER go on a weekend, so we finally made it up there on Monday.

We returned with close to 50lbs of APPLES...yum.

I thought I would come home and make apple everything. Instead, all my energy went to a million other things, including my new baby.

Let me introduce you to our newest family member, LuLu:




Yep, she is a beauty! And since the cute PG&E man fixed her today too, she is both beautiful & functional. So what is a girl to do? Apple everything. Just so you know the pivotal importance of LuLus arrival, I have always swooned at these old ovens. My kitchen cabinets are original 1950 metal cabinets, now painted rad, but still metal :). Most of my neighbors have ripped these out for more modern kitchens, my kitchen is unmodern, and I still believe I bought this house because of the cabinets (sure as hell was not the neighborhood....). I feel like a long lost child has found her way home....ahhhhh. Ok, enough of that.




Apple Cake

5-7 apples, peeled & sliced
1 stick butter
3/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
2 1/4 cup flour
swig of milk :)

Heat oven to 356 degrees. Yes, 356.

Whip butter smooth. Add sugar & eggs, and beat for a least 4 minutes. Add vanilla. Sift flour & powder (or not..), add to mixture and alternate with milk to keep the batter smooth, but not runny. Should have a rather stiff consistancy.

Grease medium spring form. Spread batter on bottom, then layer apples, careful not to overlap too much.

Bake 60-70 minutes.

Sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon, and almond slivers. Serve with whipped cream :).


My applesauce is simple apples, cloves, and cinnamon. I don't even add sugar, except in the end I may add a bit brown sugar or maple syrup to thicken it up.





And with all those fabulous apple cores, I make scrap vinegar. Also adding cloves & cinnamon (are you seeing a pattern?).


Salute', my friends, have a fabulous weekend! I hope I have inspired you to be apple-ly.
Much love,
Heike

The morning after......

Today I wanted to share with you what happens several weeks AFTER I post pics....It seems there are always wonderful resources online to start things, but it never shows how they are supposed to look like.

Mine things may not be as they are "supposed" to, but at least you will have a visual. So, enjoy.

A few bottles of water kefir, flavored. Our favorites so far: Cistus tea (a rock rose, it would be the pinki. The one next to it has vanilla extract and cinnamon, and the third bottle has sarsasparilla :). So good...and fizzy good enough for the kids to think "soda".

This is my peach Scrap Fruit Vinegar. Not quite ready to dump it, but tomorrow :).
Compare it to .........

The plum vinegar! It is a beautiful ruby color. In about two weeks we will be enjoying wonderful plum essences in our salad :).

And last, but not least, the trick for all those chaotic Goddeses like me :). I put coffee filters with rubber band on top to keep the flies out and the air in. When I make vinegar, I put the date the the filter, so I know when I have to strain it, etc.

Mugwort & Rye bread..my afternoon companions

This afternoon we began another round of clearing out, and in between I decided to try a new recipe for Rye bread.

I will have to tell you tomorrow if I like it, it always tastes better the next day.

Thanks to the recommendation of my beautiful friend Ayla of Chrysalis Woman (http://www.motherlodeholistic.com/chrysaliswoman.html), I also started some Mugwort vinegar. I did not fill the glass completely, my sweet Mugwort is pretty strong and I did not want it to overwhelm with its' strong taste :). I only had a few small sprouts right now anyways. Will be drying the rest to burn.


Vinegars are a wonderful way to infuse your favorite herbs for use in salads, over beans, etc, etc. Just pack a clean Mason jar to the top with herbs. Slightly warm raw apple cider vinegar (don't use cheap apple vinegar, the raw one with the mother is best. :)...), cover herbs, and cap. Make sure to shake the jar a little every day (give it some good magic!) for at least two weeks. Strain, and enjoy!