October 5: Slow-Cooker Apple Cider

Why yes, I did go outside and have a photo-shoot with my food. 

Doesn't everyone do this? What? Just me? Oh. 

Meanwhile? Who loves my new prop the leaf charger? It's Cynthia Rowley and I bought a set of 4 at HomeGoods.

As I mentioned in my post kicking off this month, I love autumn. There's nothing quite like that nip in the air, the brightly colored leaves, the orchard visits, and mugs of steaming deliciousness. Today's treat combines those last two.

Remember all these?

A sampling from our apple orchard haul

Well, what the heck is a person supposed to DO with all these apples? Yes, the girls have been snacking on them, but it's no small feat consuming 73 apples. And so, when my favorite food blogger, Sally of Sally's Baking Addiction, posted a recipe for Homemade Apple Cider, I was all over that. (Side note: She just published her second cook book--this time she's focusing on CANDY--and the girls and I drove out to one of her book signings to check in with her for the second time. She's just as sweet in person as the treats she cooks up!)

When you visit her blog for the recipe (I was going to retype it, but then I thought, why retype it when you can get it from the source? If you've never been to her blog, you'll thank me later when you see all the other delightful goodies she's got cooking over there), I'll ask you not to compare my photos with her photos. While mine are certainly better than they were back when I shot half of them on my iPhone camera, they're still, um, emerging from a talent perspective. I'm okay with that.

Anyhoodles, the recipe is a cinch to throw together. 

Gather your apples, core and quarter them (no need to peel! Hurrah!), plunk them in the slow-cooker with an orange, some water, cinnamon sticks, sugar, and cloves. Then walk away! Later, the apples need to be mashed and strained. Voila! You've got yourself homemade cider!

 The apples after they cooked for hours, but before I mashed them up

 The mash that had to simmer for another hour before straining

 

Omigosh! Look how squeaky-clean my sink is! 

 Let the straining goodness begin...

Ta da! A mug of steaming deliciousness!

October 4: "Bones" Jewelry

 Noodle jewelry with Halloween-y flair

Most days we celebrate October through food-based treats. However, sometimes we cycle in some crafts.

Today's craft is a play on everyone's favorite childhood classic, the noodle necklace. I suggested to my girls that we paint the noodles white to look like bones. However, all-white jewelry did not appeal to their sensibilities. In the end, I painted mine white, my older daughter did some white and some colored, and my younger went with a full array of assorted fall colors--many of them on each noodle. I actually like hers the best. (This frequently happens when I do paint-based crafts with them.)

 Organized materials: plates of ziti (no ridges like rigatoni) and wheels; paint; brushes

We started by organizing our materials. After lining the table with a Dollar Store plastic table cloth (I use those things for everything. When the girls want to do Play-Doh I put one on the floor so when they invariably make a mess, I can shake it off outside. When they want a picnic, I put the plastic on the ground and cover that with the blanket. That way, no moisture from the grass/dirt gets on them or the blanket.) 

 We used tempera paint in assorted colors. 

I globbed it onto a plastic liner I had leftover from those gross refrigerated chicken nuggets the girls like. I don't like them to eat those too often because, well, this -- you can't unsee it. I once made these real chicken nuggets for them instead. They weren't bad, but they were decidedly less popular all around. Anyway, I digress. I was supposed to be discussing noodle crafts.

An artfully arranged noodle...haha

My white noodles. Don't they look like authentic bones? 

What? You think they just look like noodles streakily painted white? Well I never!

After everything dried, we used a large plastic needle and some yarn and set to work stringing the noodles on there. It turns out the eye of our needle was too large to fit through the holes in the wheels, so the girls didn't use their wheel shapes on their jewelry. I put them on mine but had to do it by hand.

Boney necklace and bracelet

No bones about it -- noodles & paint make for an easy weekend craft. 

(No extra charge for all the puns!)

**Update: Especially no extra charge since I just realized I totally made that bone joke before.
Yikes. I need some new material. LOL.**

October 3: Pumpkin Patch & Apple Picking

Pumpkin patch: going on the first day means a full selection of pumpkins! 

 

Full disclosure: we actually enjoyed our annual day of picking last Saturday in, gulp, September. But I saved the pictures for this post because we typically would have done this activity today, the first weekend in October. It's just that last Saturday was so beautiful we couldn't resist taking advantage of the fall weather. Since it has been raining for days now, I'm extra glad we carpe diem-ed (oh language, how I love to play with thee) because this weekend would've been a soggy washout. And last weekend we had the surprise bonus of it being the farm's first day of the picking season, so the selection of both pumpkins and apples was bountiful. It was fabulous!

Here's some highlights of our adventure.

 The farm had set up a small pen with a few chickens and sheep; the girls were thrilled to watch the animals.

This rooster was cock-a-doodle-dooing up a storm!

The girls searching out the perfect apples: no bruising, no worm holes, 

& preferably large so when Mommy makes apple pies, she doesn't have as many to peel...

Last year we visited later in the season and we needed to climb the trees to reach what was left of the fruit (fun in its own right, to be sure; in fact, my older daughter was disappointed there was no climbing on this trip). This year, as you can see, the branches were overflowing with apples.

Only $12 to fill a large basket full of fruit!
There were also a few veggies, so I grabbed 7 delicious red peppers. Mmm.

 Our apple haul getting a soak in our sink when we got home. 

I clean all my produce in a vinegar-water solution. Soak, rinse, dry, enjoy!

Fun fact: it also extends the life of berries. 

Just be sure they are thoroughly dry before refrigerating them, and (to decrease any moisture) store 

them with a paper towel to absorb any condensation that may form.

We selected an assortment of red delicious, macintosh, jonagold, and mysterious golden varieties (haha) of apples. 73 in all. Wowsa! Stay tuned for various apple-inspired recipes, friends!

 Running ahead en route to choose pumpkins. 

Wouldn't it be nice if they always held hands like this? Awww!

As you can see, the girls had a lovely day as we enjoyed one of our favorite fall family activities.

 

October 2: Boo Meringues

 Make no bones about it (ha!), these Boo Meringues are sure to please
Skeleton bowl from Yankee Candle Store

I'm continuing the ghost theme today, but this time for dessert!

These cookies were the sixth treat I ever made when I started this festive endeavor in 2013. Yet they remain one of the most popular treats to date, so I thought I'd bring them back this year. Because I think I'm hilarious, I've renamed them Boo Meringues in honor of their return.

They're easy to grab when you need a sweets fix, and light enough not to feel guilty when you see your kids sneaking them when they think you aren't looking. (Or when you snag one or two for yourself whilst resealing the container the kids didn't close in their not-so-stealthy pilfering.) Also? They're a fun topper for a cup of hot cocoa.

* * * * *

Boo Meringue Cookies
With a flavor similar to a marshmallow, these light and airy, slightly crispy, poppable treats will definitely please every ghoul in your house. Recipe adapted from Taste of Home, Meringue Bones Recipe, online.

Yield: mine made 12 bones & 36 little ghosts

Active Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 90 minutes, plus several hours to cool

Note: Any type of grease or water can ruin a meringue. It's important to use clean, dry bowls and utensils. Metal or glass is recommended since plastic can hold residual oils.

Photos: (Top) First batch; too sticky (Bottom) Second batch; perfect texture

Ingredients

2 large egg whites, room temperature (leave them out at least 30 minutes prior to using)
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup superfine sugar (If you can't find any at your market, you can make your own by placing regular granulated sugar in a food processor for about 30 seconds)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (most recipes specify clear-colored extract to keep those ghosts bright white, but I wasn't about to buy clear stuff just for one recipe. Using the regular, brownish vanilla extract is fine. Your ghosts will still be white, just not quite as vibrant.)
miniature chocolate chips (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. If desired, fit a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch plain tip; if you don't have tips, you can simply cut a small hole in the corner of your pastry bag.  

If you don't have real pastry bags, don't stress. You can make your own out of a 1-gallon freezer zipper bag (the regular non-freezer variety are not as sturdy. They work in a pinch, but sometimes the seam rips open; I've had better success with the freezer variety.) Simply cut off the zipper part to make the bag easier to maneuver; snip one of the corners with kitchen shears to the depth of your piping tip; fit in your piping tip per normal methods; load in meringue; twist the bag at the top so nothing escapes while you pipe. Congrats! You've just MacGyvered a pastry bag! (& I've just MacGyvered a new verb...)

2. In a small mixing bowl, use a handheld mixer to beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, and vanilla on medium speed until soft peaks form. (For me, this took about 2 minutes. Also, I HIGHLY recommend using a handheld electric mixer rather than a stand mixer. I used the stand mixer on the blobbier batch and I so preferred the control I had with the handheld. In addition, the beaters were closer to the egg whites which helped things happen more quickly.)

3. Add the sugar, a little at a time, continuing to beat on high until the meringue holds very stiff peaks. (This took about 7 minutes when I did it.)

Several meringue recipes I consulted indicated that the sugar must dissolve in order for the meringue to be ready to use. Therefore, once those stiff peaks form, rub some of the meringue between your thumb and index finger. If it's smooth, it's ready. If it's gritty, keep beating.

4. Gently transfer meringue to the pastry bag. Hold the bag upright and pipe 2-inch high mounds of meringue onto the sheet. (To make a bone shape, pipe meringue into 3 inch log shapes, then pipe two circles each at the top and bottom of the log.)

5. If desired, carefully place 2 mini chocolate chips in place as ghost eyes and a third under it in place as a mouth.

6. Bake meringues for 75-90 minutes, or until dry and crisp to the touch, and easily separate from the parchment. Turn off the oven, slightly open the oven door, and leave the meringues in the oven for several hours to finish drying.

7. Store at room temperature in air tight container for 7-10 days.

October 1: Boo Stew

Clockwise from left:  Boo Stew; bat salt & pepper shakers, TJ Maxx; witchy place mats, Target

I am kicking off the first day of this month of tricks and treats with an adorable meal that's so easy to make it practically cooks itself! 

I don't know what it's like where you live, but the nip is back in the air today (yay!) AND it's overcast--oh wait, now it's raining. Well, either way, it's the perfect type of day for a slow-cooker meal. (See? I told you it practically cooks itself. hahaha!)

I found this recipe in the copy of Taste of Home Holiday Halloween magazine I bought way back in, oh wow, August 2010. I know, I know. That's forever ago. But I've certainly gotten my money's worth out of that one. (Including, I might add, the recipe for THE BEST Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting I made in 2010 for my former colleagues that happened to win our department's Cupcake Wars competition. Boo-ya! They're on my calendar to make again later this month so stay tuned!)

Anyway, since it's unlikely you're like me and stockpile old periodicals, I'll let you in on a tip: you can likely find some of the recipes I'm using this year in the seasonal options on sale now. I've found the annual versions of the themed mags tend to have a lot of overlap in content from year to year. They are not exact duplicates by any means, but certain recipes seem to show up every time they're published, so there's a good chance you can will find some oldies and goodies in print. However, for your convenience, I'll post the recipes (well, my adaptations of the recipes) here for your convenience.

The original title of today's fare is "Beef Stew with Ghoulish Mashed Potatoes." However, I've officially renamed it "Boo Stew." That's way cuter, plus it rhymes. And since it's my blog, I can do what I want. Naturally, you're welcome to call it whatever you like.

(I suppose you are also welcome to think the mound of potatoes looks more like a melted snowman and less like a ghost. But if that's the case, think how easily this one can be adapted for a winter-themed meal. Throw a carrot in that little guy's nose and call it dinner! In that case, though, call it Boo Hoo Stew.)

 * * * * *

Boo Stew
A classic beef stew with a dollop of ghostly mash on top! Adapted from Taste of Home Holiday Halloween, August 2010.

Servings: 6 
Active prep time: about 20 minutes
Slow cook time: about 9 hours, 10 minutes

Ingredients 

2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes and sprinkled liberally with salt and pepper
1 pound fresh baby carrots, halved
3 parsnips, peeled, halved lengthwise and sliced
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cups beef broth
3 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves (if you don't prefer the taste of cloves, feel free to cut it back to 1/4 tsp or eliminate altogether)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 1/3 pounds potatoes, (about 3 large), peeled and cubed
2/3 cup sour cream (I used light sour cream)
6 Tablespoons butter, cubed
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup frozen peas
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons water

Directions

1. In a 5- or 6-quart slow cooker, combine the first 10 ingredients. Cover and cook on Low for 8-9 hours, or until the beef and veggies are tender. (I set mine to 9 hours and the texture of everything in the stew was perfect.)

2. Approximately 30 minutes before serving, place cut potatoes in a large pot and cover with about an inch of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, then cover and simmer for an additional 15-20 minutes or until tender. (Mine took the full 20 minutes.) Drain. Return potatoes to pan and mash, stirring in butter, sour cream, and salt. Once smooth, set aside.

3. Set aside 12 peas for garnish (2 each for 6 servings). Add remaining peas to slow cooker. In a small bowl, combine flour and water, whisking until smooth. Stir into stew. Cover and cook on High for 5-10 minutes, or until stew is thickened and peas are warmed through.

4. Divide stew among 6 bowls. Spoon mashed potatoes into a large resealable plastic bag; cut a 1-2 inch hole in one corner. Squeeze bag gently in a circular motion to pipe mashed potato ghost mounds in center of stew portions; insert peas as eyes for each ghost.

**Note: The original recipe also called for 1 pound fresh mushrooms, halved. My family doesn't care much for mushrooms so I left them out. If your family likes them, you should add them with the rest of the ingredients in Step 1.**

October Tricks and Treats: An Introduction

My husband loves Halloween. Loves it. He's the guy who can never wait until October 1st to decorate the house with pumpkins, witches, bats, spiders, and skeletons; who wants to plan an annual Halloween bash replete with monster-themed cocktails, Halloween music mixes, and a costume contest; who can't wait to settle in for a scary-movie marathon; who yearns to buy a graveyard full of creepy animatronic zombies for the front lawn.

And then there's me. Just kinda eh about the whole sha-bang. I don't mind some decorations--it's nice to be festive. But a party? Not interested. I'll sit through a screening of The Exorcist (his pick for scariest movie ever made) but I'd much rather watch The Skeleton Key and then go to bed. As for the animatronics, I finally came around a couple years ago and gave the go-ahead for a talking witch, but only because she recites lines from Macbeth.

"Round about the caldron go; / In the poison'd entrails throw. ... / Swelter'd venom sleeping got, / Boil thou first i' the charmed pot! / Double, double toil and trouble; / Fire burn, and caldron bubble." Also, we call the witch Hecate, and named her cat Graymalkin. And I used a Sharpie to write those lines in the book she's holding since, disappointingly, it comes a blank page. WHAT? Missed opportunity, manufacturers!

Does that make me sound like a wet blanket? I'm not. I just happen to love different things, non-Halloween things. I love autumn. I love crisp air, leaves changing color, picking apples and pumpkins, wearing sweaters, wrapping chilled hands around mugs of steaming deliciousness, cuddling with my husband in front of a fire, lighting fall-scented candles, switching to vanilla-scented body lotions, celebrating my November birthday. Those are the things that put a smile on my face.

And our kids? Not surprisingly, they love it ALL. Especially Halloween. Really, though, what's not to like about Halloween if you're a kid? "Wait, I get to leave the house wearing whatever I want? I get to pretend to be someone or something else? People will...give me CANDY? Yes! Count me in!"

In 2013, on a whim, I resolved to actively try liking Halloween more. I mean, is there any reason witches and spiders can't have a place ON a steaming mug of deliciousness? Surely not. I decided to contribute to the festivities in my house in a way that also made it sort of exciting for me. What resulted was a month-long countdown, of sorts, to Halloween, wherein the girls and I would cook or bake or craft something either Halloween- or autumn-themed each day. When I started on October 1st, I didn't think long-term, didn't know I'd end up doing something each day. It just sort of happened. And, living in the age of Facebook, I snapped pictures of our creations and posted them there.

It wasn't elaborate stuff in most cases. Some days the girls and I painted little $1 crafts from A.C. Moore, or I'd leave them glue and leaves and a big sheet of brown paper to decorate as they wished. Other days I cut their sandwiches in the shape of bats or pumpkins. One day I forgot about it so I quickly sliced up a piece of American cheese and arranged it on a plate in the shape of a spider's web and fashioned black olives into spiders.

On days I had more time, I found fun recipes in magazines or online and made ghost meringue cookies or pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting (those were FABULOUS!) Some endeavors were a big hit-- green candy melt-dipped peanut butter cookies decorated to look like "monster toes" and "acorns" made from Nutter Butter bites and Hershey's Kisses, par example-- and others were big misses -- the perhaps aptly-named "boo beverages" of orange sherbet, banana, and orange juice, for instance.

I hadn't planned on making the practice an annual thing, but last year my daughters started asking me in late-September what sorts of surprises I was planning for October. I didn't want to disappoint them, and remembered the fun we'd had the previous year, so I decided to go for it.

Interestingly, surprisingly, it wasn't just my family who enjoyed it: several of my Facebook friends told me they looked forward to my posts, enjoyed seeing what daily things I came up with. A couple people were inspired to make some of the treats with their own kids. Some people sent me links to projects or recipes they thought I might like to try. The daily posts connected me to people I care about in a way I hadn't even anticipated.

This year, my third, I've decided to bring that spirit to my blog. Here, I can share not just the picture of the finished products, but also the recipes and directions when appropriate. As I indicated, in most cases, I don't come up with the recipes or directions. I find them in magazines, on Pinterest, on blogs, through friends. As I post, I'll always credit my source, but they will all be in one handy place for your reference and mine, here on the 'ol bloggy blog.

Some of my favorite go-to inspiration sources and some new goodies I bought to cook up my themed fun in style
Pictured (clockwise from left): Taste of Home Special Editions 2013 Ultimate Halloween; Taste of Home Holiday Halloween August 2010; 

Better Homes & Gardens Best of Halloween Tricks & Treats, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; Spider Spatula, HomeGoods; Halloween apron, Kohls

So I hope you will join me this coming month as I enjoy autumn and count down to Halloween, a holiday, it turns out, I DO like.

New and Improved? Well, New Anyway

It's a new season (yesterday was the first official day of autumn, after all) and I'm starting to feel better (from 2 back-to-back illnesses - first, bronchitis, and this past week, adenovirus) so I thought it might be time to get the ol' blog out of mothballs, so to speak. (Speaking of moth balls: seriously, are they not among THE most heinous odors out there? The cabin in the mountains we visited this summer had some in there and every time I got within a yard of that area I gagged.)

Anyhoo, I determined my blog looked old and tired so I gave it a makeover. I fiddled around with some of the settings and templates and font options (am I the only one who thinks font options are the bees knees? And yes, I just said "bees knees" and meant it. I think this is a term we should bring back. I charge you to use it in conversation today.) and voila! "New" blog. (If only it were this easy in real life to have a snappy new look in thirty short minutes. Alas.)

I was highly tempted to use the cool handwriting font I selected for the date (it's called Homemade Apples or some such--as I'm sure is the intent with such a name, I can picture it lovingly scrawled on a jar of homemade preserves with a wholesome, red swatch of gingham fabric on top tied off with a ribbon) as the main font for the body of the text. That way, the whole affair looked more like a hand-written journal than an electronic posting. Sadly, that's not conducive for easy-reading, so I selected a nice serif font and compromised by having the jammy font for my date. I chose books for my background because, hello, books! 'Nuff said.

Speaking of books, here's two I've read recently that I'd recommend:

1. Mariana by Susanna Kearsley -- I loved everything about this novel. The descriptions were beautiful and, particularly as I've visited many of the settings within the novel, I could vividly experience them anew as I read. The characters were well-drawn, and the premise was transporting. The heroine, Julia, feels drawn to an old manor house and, on a whim, decides to move there. Once she does, she is transported between her own life and Mariana's life, and she discovers why she felt so connected to this landscape and the people in it.

2. All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood by Jennifer Senior -- This is a fascinating non-fiction selection that outlines the ways in which parenting affects parents. Rather than telling parents how to parent, it explores the shifting roles of parents over the last century and how, with those changing roles, the entire experience of parenthood has changed. The mixture of anecdotes from real-life case studies interspersed with researched facts and statistics made for a compelling read.


Other new things in my life:

1. A new home office space. *This summer we did a little three-way switcharoobee wherein the former office slash guest room became my older daughter's bedroom (including the full-sized bed that was in there), her former bedroom became my younger daughter's bedroom (graduating her to a twin-sized bed), and my younger daughter's former bedroom became my new office (retiring the toddler bed altogether and moving in my three glorious bookshelves filled with books!) There is no longer any designated guest room space which, really, is no big deal because we rarely had anyone make use of that space in all the years it existed. The person who used it most was my mother-in-law, but, in classic grandparent fashion, she always ends up letting the girls sleep with her anyway, so I figured when she comes to visit, we can skip the pretenses and just set her right up in the bed with my daughter.  As with all things, the process seemed easier in theory than in practice, but over the course of several weeks and several gallons of paint, the transformation has been completed and every lady in this home is happy with her new space.

2. A new laptop. *My old one died. I received the dreaded fatal error message, the one warning me that failure was imminent and if I didn't back up immediately I risked losing everything on there. Pretty much the scariest message one can get on one's computer (with the exception, I suppose, of getting no message as it's already too late to receive a warning; thus, I count myself fortunate in the scheme of things.) As it were, we had time to do a full system back up and shop around for a good replacement for my needs. I had Windows 8 for 2 miserable weeks before upgrading to Windows 10. Another big whew for THAT! 

3. Two new additions to our family. *No, not people. As if! Kittens! We're adopting two in a couple weeks when they're big enough to be adopted. Right now, they're being fostered by lovely people who do this all the time for abandoned pets. Isn't that wonderful? I've never been a cat owner before (though my husband has) so I don't know what to expect, but we're all excited. Pictures and official introductions to follow, no doubt.

That's all for today. I have some exciting things planned for October, so I hope you'll check back in throughout the month for those. In the meantime, enjoy the bloggy face lift.