back to those apples...

What's a girl to do with 2 bushels of apples? Well, there are many yummy treats you can make with that many apples. I started with apple sauce. And ummmm, it's good. This year I think I've finally worked out the right amount of spices in my recipe . But we are still divided around here on what the best texture is. The boys like it pureed smooth. The girls like it mashed with little chunks of apple still showing. Either way, it's a fundamental fall recipe that everyone should have. It will leave your kitchen smelling of apple, cinnamon, and cloves. And is there really a better scent in the world than that. Probably. But for now I'm thouroughly enjoying this one.

Homemade Applesauce:

10 to 12 Cortland, Mutsu, or McIntosh apples (about 5 1/2 pounds), peeled, cored, and cubed
1 cup of water
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 cinnamon sticks
1/2 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp gound allspice
2 Tbsp sugar, or more, to taste

In a large saucepan or stockpot, combine all the ingredients, except the sugar. Cook covered on high heat until the apples begin to release their liquid, about 10 minutes. Cover and reduce heat to medium, and cook until the apples soften and begin to break apart, about 1 hour, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat to low and partially cover. Cook until the apples fall apart and the mixture reaches sauce consistency, about 30 minutes. Remove from the heat. Discard the cinnamon sticks. Add sugar (if needed, we like it a little tart, so I don't) and stir well. If you like it smooth, puree it at this point with an immersion blender or regular blender. If you like it with a few chunks of apple then you're done.

If freezing: I use Ball Freezer Jars. I think they are the best. While your sauce cools down wash the jars and let dry. It can now be poured into the jars and put into the freezer for up to a year. You can also pour it into freezer bags. Just ladel out a small portion into the bag, seal, and then lay it flat on a cookie sheet in the freezer. Once it's frozen you can take it off of the cookie sheet and stack multiple bags in the freezer (this is good if you're limited on freezer space). To thaw, just put a jar/bag in the fridge the night before you want to use it.

Enjoy! I know we will. Next up: apple butter, no maybe apple pie. Oh, I can't choose. Whatever it is, it will be yummy. That I do know.

stuffed animals for boys and babies

I've been keeping a friend's baby a few days a week and it has inspired me to make soft baby things. Yes I know. Our lives are crazy enough without adding a baby to the mix, but truthfully I'm loving it! Sweet baby with soft hair and little baby sounds. Oh, I'd have another in a heart beat. But since I cannot, I'm pouring out my creative baby energy on this sweet little one. Luckily her mama is a good friend who doesn't mind. The other day I sat down determined to make her a soft little lovey and this sweet little bunny and taggie blanket is what came out.

Her mama was pleased and we can both convince ourselves that the three month old was too. My own kids were impressed with my bunny making skills. Apparently, clothes and blankets are nice, but stuffed animals make me pretty cool. And this prompted the most challenging sewing request I have ever received.

Remember when I told you that I wasn't a sewing sexist. That I was making a messenger bag for the boy. Well, I did. I presented it to him and he gave me an odd look. It turns out that a kids pattern on my grown boy looks, unfortunately, like a purse. So I got a purse. But that left the boy with nothing. I asked him if there was anything he wanted me to make as a substitute for the ill sized messenger bag. He thought seriously about that for a minute, then looked up and said,

"A rhinoceros".
I'm sorry, a what?
Yes, that's right a rhinoceros.
Well, I had let him down once and I was determined not to do it again. However, I didn't have the faintest idea of how to make a rhinoceros. Go figure. So I searched my favorite crafty blogs until I found a pattern. Who knew? Other little boys want their crafty mamas to make them rhinoceroses too. (Is that the plural of rhinoceros? I really don't think I've ever had to refer to more than one rhinoceros.) So I sat down at my machine last night and made the boy his rhinoceros.

Then I put it at his spot on the breakfast table awaiting discovery. Now, Chris is not very excitable. He's pretty even tempered. He's gracious but the tone of his thank you is usually the same whether it's a piece of gum or a Wii. But he has this little smile. It's small and quick, so you have to watch carefully. But if you get the little half smile, you know you've surprised him and made him happy. I got the smile this morning. That was all my mama heart needed.
But my kids, being wonderful, gave me much more than what my heart needed. They are amazed! Bunny's are impressive but somehow the sewing machine has been transformed overnight into a magical animal making tool. Apparently rhinoceros making puts me up there with wizards. I now have requests for a poodle, a kangaroo, and an elephant. Oh my, back to the blogs for patterns I go. I wouldn't want to lose my wizard status.

The end of a rainy day...

Rainy day chicken noodle soup

and a new to us, thrifted, old, crazy, French game



It's shaping up to be a lovely evening.

Muddled Reflections

It's rainy and gloomy here today. It's wonderful. It's quiet. It's a wrap up in fleece kind of day. I need today.

I'm horrible at rest. I mean really horrible. I can't seem to shut myself down at night to sleep. And I'm awful at just sitting. Yet, I feel that little voice saying Be Still. So I sit to rest. But the laundry calls and on my way there I see the dishes and oh my, one of the kids has left behind a mess. And all of a sudden it's 1pm. My moment of rest is long gone. This is a problem. When my exhaustion catches up with me I become so easily overwhelmed. My spirit energy seems to be depleted by my lack of physical energy. So I snap at the kids when I shouldn't. Their little heads hang in hurt. I get annoyed by my husband. I drag through the chores really getting none of them done. I cry more.

I used to fall asleep praying. I used to have this mental image of falling asleep leaned into my strong Father's chest, telling him of my day like a little child. He would listen until I had left all of my loose thoughts with Him. And then rest would come. I'm not sure when I stopped doing that. But I did. I stopped leaving my thoughts with Him and instead I let them bounce around my head until I'm overwhelmed with life more often than I care to admit.

I hear Him calling me back. Calling me to lean strong into His shoulder. To be still. To know that He is Lord. To know that He has a plan. To know that I am His child and His children need rest.

So you see I need today. I need the rain. I need to sit down and listen to the rain. Just listen. I need to cuddle with a few kids and kiss my husband. Then I need to pray so that I can rest.

Apple Picking

We went out into the trees for a little soul nurturing today. Apple trees to be specific. The air was cool and full of the sweet, earthy scent of ripe apples. It was a perfect apple picking day. We picked until our wagon and baskets were too heavy to carry. Steven mumbled something about too many apples. I daydreamed aloud about apple sauce, apple butter, apple pie. I heard no more mumbling. I just saw my husband pulling the wagon to the van, pleased with the idea of sweet goodness coming his way.

Our children always seem to put a little bit of each of their personalities into getting things done.

.

The youngest followed slowly behind us munching on the biggest apples she could find. Occasionally I would ask her to help with the picking, so she would bend down, pick one apple, then keep munching away. Her belly was very happy by the time we had finished.

Chris saw the apples at the top of the tree as a challenge and decided that he had to prove he could get them. So up he went. Oh, that boy. Everything is an adventure.

Analiese filled an entire basket almost on her own and then we lost her to flower picking. Everything may be an adventure to the boy, but to this girl every adventure is a reason to pick flowers, or rocks, or pine cones.

But in the end apples got picked and two content parents sat down on the grass and watched happy children play. A good day. Now I must go to bed and dream about wonderful apple goodness coming my way. I promise to share some with you very soon.

with love from grandma

My grandma is a wonderful lady. The last time that we went to visit her we were welcomed with this:

If you look at this picture and don't know what it is, then you don't have a southern grandma. If this picture makes you happy then you know the goodness that is a southern meal cooked by grandma. Those pots in the background aren't leftover from the cooking, they are still full of the cooking. This kind of spread may not be the healthiest meal you'll ever eat, but it feeds more than your belly. It feeds your soul. There's more than food here. There's love. A southern grandma doesn't stop at one side dish, she makes sure everyone has a favorite on the menu. She cooks and thinks of you the whole time. And oh, is it good. (Mmm, I think I'm getting hungry.)
Today my mom arrived for a visit. And of course she arrived with gifts for all. For me there was this:

My fellow crafty artists are excited by the sight of this picture and maybe a little jealous. It's ok to be jealous; you should be. It's an entire shoebox full of vintage patterns. And guess what. It came with a vintage Singer sewing machine. I'll show you it later. It has to go to the sewing doctor immediately because it has been a little neglected. (I think I can hear it crying.)
My mom also came with a little care package from my Grandma. When I opened it up I laughed out loud. It's an old sewing box filled with random goodness. And I would like to really highlight the word random here.

It only got better as I dug deeper. It was full of sewing notions, embroidery hoops and patterns, mints, cash, all kinds of stuff. It was great. So, thanks grandma.

Remember that family ache I was talking about the other day. Do you understand now why I have it? How can you not ache for people who take such good care of you? We all need to be taken care of sometimes. We all need to be loved, in whatever form that takes. My mother in law sent me a message a while back just letting me know that she was sending a little gift. She said that when she was younger she used to go home with vegetables from her grandma's garden. Her grandma nourished her, took care of her. Now she wanted to do that for her grandchildren. It may have taken a different form, but it was nourishment just the same. We all need to be taken care of. And caregivers are a beautiful thing. I am incredibly blessed to be surrounded by them.

Hello October

Hello October, my favorite of all months. With your falling leaves and pumpkins. Bring on the wonderful squash and the cinnamon smells. Around our house pumpkin is one of our favorite foods. But that is probably because I only prepare pumpkin in October, November, and December. I refuse to use it outside of those months. It makes our pumpkin dishes special. Seasonal. Sicily calls October "pumpkin day". (Yes, we're still working on the difference between day and month.) So to kick off "pumpkin day" we are off to make what we call "Analiese's favorite pumpkin muffins" because they are her favorite. Clever name, right? I thought I'd share the recipe so that you can enjoy pumpkin day too. Happy October everyone!

Analiese's Favorite Pumpkin Muffins

2 c flour 
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
3/4 c packed light brown sugar
1/2 c whole milk
1 c pumpkin puree
4 Tbsp. melted unsalted butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla (opt.0

Preheat oven to 375.  Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, 
cloves, nutmeg, and salt into a medium mixing bowl.
In a large mixing bowl whisk together the eggs, sugar, milk, pumpkin,
 melted butter, and vanilla.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet and 
mix just until incorporated being careful
not to over mix (or will get to stiff).  Divide into muffin cups. 
Bake until golden: 16 min. for mini muffins; 22 to 25 min for regular 
muffins

O hushed October morning mild
Thy leaves have ripened to the fall
Tomorrows wind, if it be wild,
should waste them all.
The crows above the forest call;
Tomorrow they may form and go.
O hushed October morning mild,
begin the hours of this day slow.
Make the day to us seem less brief.
Hearts not adverse to being beguiled,
Beguile us in the way you know.
Release one leaf at break of day;
At noon release another leaf;
One from our trees, one far away.

-Robert Frost, October