Thursday, November 10, 2011

Reshoot and Vote

You know how you love going to Tastespotting and Foodgawker and looking at their recipes and the pictures. I do too and now I want to be part of the experience. I am trying to kick up my photography and just when I think I have it, I still don't get one submitted.


I did take pics for my friend at Flour Arrangements and her "Glazed Over" post did get accepted with one of my photos. Yeah SUZANNE!!


Now I want one of mine. I thought I might have a chance with the Browned Butter Apple Bread photos, but nope. So I am open to constructive criticism and I need your opinion on these photos.


I REALLY love this recipe: Savory Slowcooker Pot Roast. We make it. It is delicious. People outside of my family like it. It is just that pot roast is a difficult photo subject. Nobody wants to stare at a slab of meat. Although, I am embarrassed to say, that IS what I submitted.


Please look at the photos below, choose one if you feel it is worthy of submission and if you don't PLEASE tell me to try something else. I will. I am learning.


So here they go.


a


b


c


d


e


f


g

OPTION H: It is time to make some Pot Roast again and here are my suggestions: _________________
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Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Garden Dreams



I woke up thinking about seed catalogs. Their arrival in the mailbox during cold winter days gives such promise of what will be in the Spring.
But, I am getting ahead of myself; it is only November.
It is also a rainy day that makes one reminisce about the verdant days.
Enjoy the moment. Appreciate the Fall colors.
All the beds are covered in hay.


Do you sense the inner struggle here? Enjoy the here and now, but the future is exciting as well. That's a good thing, right?


Future projects that I dream of...join me. I am a firm believer in the power of positive thinking and that if you really imagine something in precise detail, it is more likely



  • A drip system.  My big fail last summer was being gone when it got hot and everything went into shock since it had hardly felt the sun all summer. I came home to a garden that wasn't going to rebound. The books came out, I tried everything I could and even my zucchini looked at me with a pathetic grimace. "You will get some, but not the extreme basketfuls of last summer." That is what it said, I swear. 


  • A greenhouse. I have already used up the tomatoes I canned. Let's just say I am a fan. I have made a pledge to myself not to buy fresh toms when they are not in season. Why? Because they just do not taste as good. Ms. Kingsolver took me there. Thanks Barbara.  So the greenhouse, with gravel pathways, heaters, a potting bench, a place for germination and windows that lift to let out that excess heat that will be happening and lovely little misters. Oh yes, I almost forgot. I would like for it to be pretty AND functional.


  • An artichoke and brussel sprouts bed. This one is pretty straightforward. I think I could even talk the Good Apple into this one if I promised to sauté the brussel sprouts with bacon. They take some time to grow, but the reward is oh, so good.


  • A sunflower house.  This would be a place for my kids to hide during the summer and I just love sunflowers. LOVE them.


  • An orchard.  Cherry, apple, pear and plum. I want them. These also take time. I wish I could throw in orange, avocado, lemon, lime and pomegranate, but I do live in Washington.


  • A covered / enclosed space for berries. My friend is an extraordinary gardener and she has an enclosed area that is about 50x50 and it is all berries. Yes. Berries. Is that dreamy or what? The birds, deer and raccoons get ours right now. Us? Not so much.

  • Two Adirondack chairs, a bottle of wine, two glasses and a babysitter. Do I really have to explain this one any further?
I think that is it for now. Thanks for dreaming with me. Time to go buy a lottery ticket!

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Browned Butter Apple Bread (A Tale of an Apple Thief)

A couple of week's ago I made Sprinkle Bake's Pumpkin Browned Butter Cupcakes. I tried them out for dessert and then on my son's preschool class and both times they were gobbled up and seconds were requested. Not bad.


This week, as I left a friend's house, she graciously gave us over a dozen apples and 6 incredibly tasty apple muffins. Again, both kids loved them and it was handy to have something so tasty to give the kids between school pickup and our afternoon activity of the day.


As I began contemplating what would become of the apples, my amateur baker brain started turning. What if I combined these two flavors? There is already butter in most cupcake recipes, so why not brown it?




After searching through my files trying find the right "base" recipe, I found Smitten Kitchen's Whole Wheat Apple Cupcake recipe AND I had all of the supplies at home already. I was ready to get started and after considering the week's schedule, I decided to make two loaves, not muffins/ cupcakes.


While I was baking, I noticed that my littlest one was very quiet, a sure sign of trouble. As I scanned the kitchen, I noticed one apple with a little bite...and then another...and then a trail. Another friend had dropped a bag of her delicious apples by during a visit (I love living here) and someone had scattered them across the floor.
Finally, I turned the corner and there she was chomping away on the one that seemed to satisfy her apple needs. In the mean time, her brother ate 4 of them. Yes, 4. Why do I bother baking and what how the heck am I going to keep him fed when he is in high school!?!

After rounding up the remaining apples, I finished the loaves and put them in the oven. There was a sweet request that we leave the light on so we could see when they are ready.
The result was delicious and someone couldn't keep her apple thief-y little fingers off of it.
Attempting a photo shoot
Note the piece of bread in her hand. Now you know that the picture at the top of this post was a wee bit challenging.
=~=~=~=~=~==~=~==~=~==~=~==~=~==~=~==~=~==~=~==~=~==~=~==~=~==~=~==~=~=

Browned Butter Apple Bread

Yield: 2 - 9x4 loaves


Ingredients:

  • 2 cups organic whole wheat flour
  • 2 cups organic all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup flax seed
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons organic cinnamon
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted organic butter, at room temperature, divided
  • 1 cup granulated organic sugar
  • 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
  • 2 large organic brown eggs
  • 1 cup organic yogurt
  • 1 cup organic sour cream
  • 4 cups of organic apples, peeled, cored and diced **
Procedure:
1) Preheat the oven to 450°F. Grease 2- 9x4 bread pans.
Favorite OXO tool - The apple corer and divider
==Helpful Hint==
To peel, core and dice your apples try the following:
1) Cut off the top and bottom of your apples.
2) Peel using a potato peeler.
3) Use OXO Apple Corer and Divider to chop into slices 
4) Dice slices into bite size pieces.
2) Add 3 tablespoons of butter over high heat in a skillet until just brown and then add diced apples for 2 minutes over medium heat. Remove from heat and set aside.
When it is brown, you are finished. DON'T BURN YOUR BUTTAH!
3) Mix together the dry ingredients (flours, flax seed, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon) and set aside. 
4) In a mixer bowl, mix the remaining butter and add the granulated sugar and 1/2 cup of the brown sugar. Beat until fluffy. 
5) Add the egg and beat until completely mixed. Add yogurt and sour cream and mix until smooth.
6) Slowly add in the dry ingredients and mix on slow for 2 minutes. 
7) Fold in the apple chunks.
8) Divide the batter evenly among the prepared bread pans.
9) Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of brown sugar on top.
10) Bake for 20 minutes. Lower heat to 375°F and bake for an additional 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a loaf comes out clean.
11) Cool the loaves for 5 minutes in the pans, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

SIDE NOTE:
** Apples are the number one item on the Dirty Dozen list. Buy organic or know your source.

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Saturday, November 5, 2011

Freaking Raccoons

...and the war continues! This is what we saw when we went outside this morning. What the &;$;@ do we do now??!!?? This took some serious work on their behalf.

Comic relief: Apparently, Mr. Raccoon didn't see the sticker with the picture of a raccoon with a line through it...right next to the $28.95 price tag.

Ideas?

Thursday, November 3, 2011

{this moment}: When Heaven and Earth Meet

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Inspired by SouleMama.

Dedicated to my Uncle who passed this week. His laugh will be missed.