Snacks
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Apple Butter Magic
I am still loving the apples. I have made my second batch of applesauce already. The apple turnovers lasted about a day. But there is so much more magic to be made with these delicious humble apples, the jewel of the season. Lately, when I mention making applesauce, everyone asks, “What about Apple Butter?” Well, honestly, I have never made apple butter. I love it, and there is something ultimately comforting about it, but I guess I assumed it was really complicated. I imagined it being a complex recipe requiring canning, which still scares me too much to try. But I began to research apple butter and it turns out…
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Apple Season
The air is cooler now, and leaves are beginning to turn bright red, orange and yellow. It’s my favorite time of year. For many people, this is apple-picking season. In a way, it is for me, too – I pick them up from the farmers market. The Raleigh farmers market is a great place to find new varieties to try, and the farmers are very helpful and ready to answer any questions you may have. Sadly, because of COVID, we can no longer sample all the varieties, but it’s still a wonderful afternoon outing. We love apples and eat them raw, but it is also so satisfying to cook with…
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Finding Fall
We have just returned from an amazing adventure out West, to Creede, Colorado. The weather was amazing – crisp in the mornings and evenings and pleasantly warm in the afternoons. We left home when it was muggy and mosquitoey and entered an autumnal wonderland. Mitch has a co-worker who lives out there and he invited us to come experience Colorado and take a break for a bit. We visited at the very peak of the Aspens turning and it was gorgeous. We could not stop taking photos. While there, we had lots of adventures. We hiked, kayaked and generally explored. We took a ride on a steam train through the…
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Salsa Season
Last week, we took a family vacation to the beach, our all-time favorite place. It was so wonderful to get away from this weird new normal for just a little while. We have been taking this trip most years since our girls were tiny. Usually, we go away at the end of September or early October, but the last 2 years hurricanes have messed with the get away. So this time, we decided to escape at the beginning of the season. It was easy to forget all of the chaos going on in the world right now while we were surrounded by sunshine, sand and salt water. I had no…
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And The Beat Goes On…
Here we are again, another week of quarantine. This week, our girls officially started school online and thankfully that is going very smoothly for us. I know we are lucky that our girls can work online with very little assistance from us. Having a routine again is helping in many ways. We all get up at a decent time and now have something to do that helps make life feel a little more “normal.” We are not sure if this is how we will finish out the school year, but for now, the system is working. With all of us at home, we are definitely snacking more. While the cakes…
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The Quarantine Continues
Things are getting a little more intense with this Covid-19 virus. By the time you read this, our county will be under a stay-at-home order. Generally, this just means more caution and limiting leaving the house to necessary supply runs, etc. However, like most areas now, our supply chain is experiencing challenges. If you can find what you need in the stores, you are likely to find limits on how many of these items you can bring home. To try to avoid some of the craziness, I placed an order through Instacart for the first time ever. I ordered from Wegmans, one of my new favorite stores. I chose them…
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Sanity-Saving Snacks
I don’t think anyone will argue that these are trying times we are living in right now, with an international health crisis changing everything as we know it. When the news began to unfold, I was paying attention, but not panicking. I went to our local Costco last Tuesday and there were plenty of supplies, even with people beginning to stock up. I bought our normal amount of things, not for a moment thinking that by Thursday, the nation would have a shortage of toilet paper, cleaning supplies and many, many food items. With kids now home from school with no end date in sight and many parents working from…
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Butter My Biscuits
I am not going to lie, January is kind of kicking our butts so far. Between illness and first semester finals, we have been riding the struggle bus. In fact, I attempted a completely different meal for this blog and it went awry, so I resorted to some good ol’ comfort food. Believe it or not, I have never actually made biscuits from scratch, but we love them, so I thought I would give it a whirl. This is one of those recipes that every respectable Southern cook has in their arsenal. If you look for a recipe online, you will find a million and two. Most recipes start with…
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Perfect Pumpkin Seeds
I have fond memories of carving pumpkins with my big brother. He would carve marvelous artistic things while I carved out triangle eyes and square teeth. Often, he would help me out and make mine look a little better. But the best part of the whole process was roasting the pumpkin seeds for a tasty snack afterward. A few years ago, I thought I would try roasting seeds with my girls. The pumpkin carving was messy and retrieving the seeds was more difficult than I remembered. I did salvage enough seeds to roast, and they were not nearly as delicious as in my memory. They were a lot of work…
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Fried Green Tomatoes
I love tomatoes in every shape and form from cherry tomatoes to big fat heirloom tomatoes – eaten raw, served on salads, and sandwiches like the classic Tomato Sandwich, and cooked in sauces. Most of these forms of tomato-goodness are simple to create at home. But one type of tomato, the Southern specialty Fried Green Tomatoes, has always intimidated me. I love them in restaurants, served as an appetizer or on a sandwich with bacon and pimento cheese. But I have never been brave enough to try them at home. Until now. Incidentally, it’s origins are not originally Southern. What?!? Yep, apparently the origins of the recipe can be traced…
