Tuesday, October 21, 2008
What's cooking!!
Ashley sent pictures up of the twins & if only I knew how to get them posted,I would!!! I'll be heading down pretty soon!! THEY ARE ADORABLE!!!!!
It's apple time,one of my favorite seasons!!! Royal Gala is my current choice for a good eating apple, along with Cortlands to eat & bake with. There are so many varieties out there now & I've tried nearly all!! Ginger Golds & Crispins are a couple more favorites. When the children were home, I would make huge batches of applesauce to freeze.We liked it chunky with brown sugar, cinnamon & nutmeg-Yum. I haven't made any sauce yet this year but I have been baking with apples. The traditional Apple Crisp with a crisp,sweet topping has showed up on our table a few times. We had Apple Brown Betty at a friends home. Always,always gotta make the first Fall pie with apples!! This year I tried a Rustic Caramel Apple Tart & an Upsidedown Apple Cake-All Good!!!
Do you have those little traditions in your home that bring a bit of sweetness to family life??? All the many tiny threads of shared memories keep our hearts sewed together.It's the "breaking of bread,the drinking of wine"; the acts of daily communion keeping us a part of one another. In the photograph album of my heart I can see their faces & hear their laughter.
I see myself with my Mom & siblings going down to our 20 acre apple orchard. The gray & red Ford tractor towing the little wagon with us in it down the road. My Dad worked the night shift then, so during the day he would prune,then after supper we would all go down & clear the prunings away. In the Fall, we would all be filling our apple crates,setting them near the center row to hoist on the trailer. Cool,crisp air,the delicious scent ot Autumn filling my senses, while energetic work with laughter filled my soul.
As a new bride,I had a fridge which was a side by side, I would allocate one shelf to be filled with my Autumn treasure. I would simmer my applesauce, the air redolent with it's sweet spicy goodness, then fill my containers to cool before placing them in the freezer. This was a task I always looked forward to doing!
As our family grew, our children would help in the work. I tried to make it fun, festive, that they might associate pleasant things with working together for a common goal we would all find future delight in. I would make up little games or we would sing,sometimes, listening to a story.For me,now, it was not just the task of preserving food, but preserving love....
I hope you get a chance to make those memory ties with your family, for love & honest work sweeten any recipe. Time seems to run on swift feet,but when I bite into an apple or take that first spoonful of Crisp, time seems to stand still, for just a moment, as I see the smiles & hear the laughter once again in the sweet room of my memory.
Here's my All-Time Favorite Apple Crisp:
This recipe is just for 2,I usually double it!!
2 med.tart cooking apples,pared & sliced (about 2 c.) My Tip: If apples aren't tart,sprinkle with a bit of lemon juice.
2 Tb. water
3 Tb. flour
2 Tb. sugar
2 Tb. butter,softened
1/4 tsp. cinnamon ( I like it heaping!!!)
Heat oven to 350.
Divide apples between two 10 oz. custard dishes. Sprinkle water over apple slices.
Mix flour sugar,butter & cinnamon with a fork till crumbly,Sprinkle over apples.
Bake uncovered until topping is light golden brown & apples are tender,25 to 30 minutes.
My Tip: Use a fork to test if apples are soft.
Here's another secret-desserts taste better made small in their own dish!! And they look cute!!!
Here's another thing that's good to know-Don't store apples & carrots next to each other.Apples give off a gas that turns carrots bitter tasting. If you want your carrots to stay sweet,keep them apart!!!
It's apple time,one of my favorite seasons!!! Royal Gala is my current choice for a good eating apple, along with Cortlands to eat & bake with. There are so many varieties out there now & I've tried nearly all!! Ginger Golds & Crispins are a couple more favorites. When the children were home, I would make huge batches of applesauce to freeze.We liked it chunky with brown sugar, cinnamon & nutmeg-Yum. I haven't made any sauce yet this year but I have been baking with apples. The traditional Apple Crisp with a crisp,sweet topping has showed up on our table a few times. We had Apple Brown Betty at a friends home. Always,always gotta make the first Fall pie with apples!! This year I tried a Rustic Caramel Apple Tart & an Upsidedown Apple Cake-All Good!!!
Do you have those little traditions in your home that bring a bit of sweetness to family life??? All the many tiny threads of shared memories keep our hearts sewed together.It's the "breaking of bread,the drinking of wine"; the acts of daily communion keeping us a part of one another. In the photograph album of my heart I can see their faces & hear their laughter.
I see myself with my Mom & siblings going down to our 20 acre apple orchard. The gray & red Ford tractor towing the little wagon with us in it down the road. My Dad worked the night shift then, so during the day he would prune,then after supper we would all go down & clear the prunings away. In the Fall, we would all be filling our apple crates,setting them near the center row to hoist on the trailer. Cool,crisp air,the delicious scent ot Autumn filling my senses, while energetic work with laughter filled my soul.
As a new bride,I had a fridge which was a side by side, I would allocate one shelf to be filled with my Autumn treasure. I would simmer my applesauce, the air redolent with it's sweet spicy goodness, then fill my containers to cool before placing them in the freezer. This was a task I always looked forward to doing!
As our family grew, our children would help in the work. I tried to make it fun, festive, that they might associate pleasant things with working together for a common goal we would all find future delight in. I would make up little games or we would sing,sometimes, listening to a story.For me,now, it was not just the task of preserving food, but preserving love....
I hope you get a chance to make those memory ties with your family, for love & honest work sweeten any recipe. Time seems to run on swift feet,but when I bite into an apple or take that first spoonful of Crisp, time seems to stand still, for just a moment, as I see the smiles & hear the laughter once again in the sweet room of my memory.
Here's my All-Time Favorite Apple Crisp:
This recipe is just for 2,I usually double it!!
2 med.tart cooking apples,pared & sliced (about 2 c.) My Tip: If apples aren't tart,sprinkle with a bit of lemon juice.
2 Tb. water
3 Tb. flour
2 Tb. sugar
2 Tb. butter,softened
1/4 tsp. cinnamon ( I like it heaping!!!)
Heat oven to 350.
Divide apples between two 10 oz. custard dishes. Sprinkle water over apple slices.
Mix flour sugar,butter & cinnamon with a fork till crumbly,Sprinkle over apples.
Bake uncovered until topping is light golden brown & apples are tender,25 to 30 minutes.
My Tip: Use a fork to test if apples are soft.
Here's another secret-desserts taste better made small in their own dish!! And they look cute!!!
Here's another thing that's good to know-Don't store apples & carrots next to each other.Apples give off a gas that turns carrots bitter tasting. If you want your carrots to stay sweet,keep them apart!!!
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Ariana and I just got back from our first road trip to visit all our friends and family in PA. The little munchkin did absoluetly amazing with the 4 1/2 hour drive. She must take after her parents and love car rides! It was wonderful to be down there. It meant so much to me to be able to spend time with everyone again. While we were there, I had my best friend, Julie, take pictures of us. I absolutely LOVE how these came out. Enjoy!All our love, Ariana and Summer
Beautiful Autumn
It just doesn't get better than this,does it??!! Such a beautiful world with the Autumn colors & temperate weather.... can't help but thank the Lord for these beautiful days. With the sun shining I've been bitten hard by the cleaning bug! Or else Ashley's nesting has transferred to me!!! I've been deriving alot of pleasure from waxing floors till they gleam in the sunlight; polishing windows to a sparkling clean; shampooing carpets.....& moving furniture around. I guess I needed to effect a change in my surroundings with the prospect of more time inside with cooler weather coming.
Change. It's part of life, some changes I embrace, others my feet want to dig in & resist. Changing my environment stimulates me, it taps into the creative gifts God has granted me. It flows with the rhythms of nature. Change in my life doesn't always follow the path of least resistance.Sometimes the changes are as alarming & unpredictable as a flash flood & events seem rather catastrophic. We had an unexpected flood here awhile ago, the devastation that took moments to occur, has taken years to recover.......
God's lessons, to me, abound in my every day life. The event of the flood allows me to see that some things can be violently,unexpectedly changed in my life,but after the storm has passed,rebuilding begins.Something different arises from the ruins,something fresh & new.Much of life has that pattern-the egg must be broken for the usable good to be released,to be shared , to nourish. The seed planted in the cold ground dies to what it is, to bring something completely different to life. And, so I believe God does with the changes that occur in my life. A glorious exchange takes place,He ,the divine alchemist, takes the old & places new things in my life-things to be released to others that benefit them.Things that ultimately benefit me too. Events that allow us a glimpse of His ways with us & cause us to offer our hearts & lives anew.
Hoping for you today, my friends, that your hearts can see beyond the "ruin" that may be in your life, with a vision of future rebuilding & growth to come. God bless your day,loved one's!!!!
Change. It's part of life, some changes I embrace, others my feet want to dig in & resist. Changing my environment stimulates me, it taps into the creative gifts God has granted me. It flows with the rhythms of nature. Change in my life doesn't always follow the path of least resistance.Sometimes the changes are as alarming & unpredictable as a flash flood & events seem rather catastrophic. We had an unexpected flood here awhile ago, the devastation that took moments to occur, has taken years to recover.......
God's lessons, to me, abound in my every day life. The event of the flood allows me to see that some things can be violently,unexpectedly changed in my life,but after the storm has passed,rebuilding begins.Something different arises from the ruins,something fresh & new.Much of life has that pattern-the egg must be broken for the usable good to be released,to be shared , to nourish. The seed planted in the cold ground dies to what it is, to bring something completely different to life. And, so I believe God does with the changes that occur in my life. A glorious exchange takes place,He ,the divine alchemist, takes the old & places new things in my life-things to be released to others that benefit them.Things that ultimately benefit me too. Events that allow us a glimpse of His ways with us & cause us to offer our hearts & lives anew.
Hoping for you today, my friends, that your hearts can see beyond the "ruin" that may be in your life, with a vision of future rebuilding & growth to come. God bless your day,loved one's!!!!
Friday, October 10, 2008
Ariana has gone on her first road trip with Mommy!!! I'm going to miss that little cutie a whole lot!!!!It's been beautiful here,perfect Fall weather. I've been running errands & cleaning, cleaning,cleaning. I need to stay home a week or so to catch up on things!!! I've finished a dust ruffle,bumper pads & a diaper stacker for the twins. Today is 36 weeks for Ashley-it could be any time now!!!
Hope your day is filled with sweet moments!!!-Gotta scoot!!
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Someon'e birthday today!!!
Happy Birthday, Dad!!!!My Dad has done alot of things.He started working when he was very young,as a golf caddy. His Dad bought a Sunoco gas station & he worked as a car mechanic for a long time.When the gas station closed(they sold it,it's actually still a working garage!),my Dad got into Niagara Mohawk Power Co.,after a stint of meter reading,he got into the garage there & became a foreman of the branch in Rome.
My Mom & Dad had 4 children they raised during those years. Dad always worked hard at home as well. Together they completely renovated the old homestead into a showplace! Dad cared for a 2 acre "lawn". He was & is a fabulous landscaper/gardener. We raised much of our food on the farm-a large raspberry patch; a pear & plum orchard,a large vegetable garden.At one time we had a 20 acre apple orchard & ran an apple "stand". He raised beef cows & pigs,he got my sister Debbie some milk goats!!!
Mom & Dad went to alot of antique auctions & ran an antique business. Dad hunted for deer & always got one every year I can remember.For a time,he & my brother Brian went coonhunting with our Bluetick coon hounds. He managed the woodlots with care & cut a zillion cords of wood to keep us warm.
It seems no matter what he put his hand to, he made it better. He always gives his 100% best to everything he's ever done. He found pleasure in the work he did, especially at home. I can't cover all the myriad of things Dad has done-there are so many more!!
Today, Dad keeps Mom on the road travelling together,visiting family,keeping the most important ties of love intact.He & Mom have a backyard that's a showplace with landscaping & gardening & a few fresh vegetable plants,too. He is compiling a scrapbook of generations of our family.His genealogy quest helped Mom trace her birth family. He's turned into quite the cook & bargain shopper. He always makes special breakfasts when we visit!!
I WISH HIM THE BEST BIRTHDAY TODAY & WANT HIM TO KNOW I'M SO PROUD OF HIM!!!!!! HE'S MY DAD!!!!
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