Between Halloween and Christmas

November always seems to fly by. Halloween is over, Christmas is around the corner. Too late to keep up the Halloween decorations, too soon to put up the tree, too short to do "November Decorating". So usually it whizzes right by with no wreath on the door, no "things" around the house to make it seem like fall. Which is really OK. Because there is enough going on outside to make up for it.

And then I saw the ginkgo leaves. I'm fascinated with ginkgo leaves. I love how leathery they are, how long they've been around. I love their shape and size and I love the bright, butter yellow they turn in the fall. The kids and I were out walking the other day and passed a row of ginkgo trees on the way to downtown. The sidewalk was covered with bright yellow leaves and the kids scooped up hand fulls to toss in the air, rub between their fingers and slide into their pockets and I couldn't help but think what a pretty wreath they would make. So yesterday Evie and I took a big plastic bag with us and went on a leaf expedition.

I'm pretty sure the people passing in their cars thought I was crazy, scooping up leaves and stuffing them into bags while Evelyn looked stonily on, angry with me because I would not let her wear her yellow Salt Water Sandals on our walk. But when I got home I had plenty of leaves for my wreath. What I didn't have was my hot glue gun.

You see, I had a "uh-oh, the children have the hot glue gun" moment a few weeks ago and decided to hide it from them. But I did such a great job of hiding it that I couldn't find it myself. After practically tossing the playroom shelves I finally found it (behind the paper rack, under the modem) and got to work.

Overall I'm pleased with the result. I could have added a few more leaves but ran out of glue sticks just as I got around to the top again so I just went with it. I love the bright yellow against our (newly painted and will need to be RE-painted because I used the wrong paint and it's already peeling ) front door. Hard to believe though that it only has about three weeks of life in it before the jingle bell wreath comes out to replace it. Now, if if my head would stop spinning I could go hunt down the bag-o-pine cones I kept from last year to add to a bowl on the counter for a nice, insidey, fall-winter look. Humm, Need to get back to organizing the basement I guess!

Jam! Well, Butter really, but kinda close....

Having totally missed the chance to make strawberry AND grape jam this year (what was I doing in July, August and September?? Oh yeah, that HOUSE thing) I realized that the whole growing season was about to pass me by without one single jar of jam in my cupboard which, if I'm honest, is really what propelled us up Mount Fuji on Tuesday for our apple picking adventure.

Apple Butter is the easiest jam you can make. It's also the one I've been making the longest. Before I was married or had real dishes, my dad and I used to make apple butter and blackberry jam every fall while we were both living in Eugene (we were also both in the same department in college,except he was a doctoral student who taught some of my friends and I, well, I was "oh your Clyde's Daughter. But since I got to store my junk in his office it all turned out OK) SO even though we aren't really big Apple Butter eaters, it has a special place in my heart. Plus Will's 98 year old grandpa eats the stuff by the spoonful. And he'd be pretty disappointed if I didn't have a jar or two I could send him every winter. So into the pot went the apples.

If you've never made jam, this is a great place to start. And if you REALLY want to make it easy on yourself, get a food mill. I hear what your thinking, what on earth would I do with a food mill when I was done? But it's a really useful little tool, great for things like mashed potatoes (so much better than mashed mashed potatoes!) and lasts forever. Mine was my grandmothers in fact, and it's still cranking along. If you don't have or want to get a fool mill though, start with quartered apples that have been peeled and cored and follow the steps as normal, mashing with a potato masher instead of running it through the mill.


So first, you want to wash and quarter your apples. If you have a food mill, you don't need to bother with coring or peeling and personally, I think cooking the apples with the peel on makes the whole thing taste much better. Fill up your biggest pot and add about a cup of apple cider, apple juice or in a pinch, water. I have a ginormous preserving pot (also inherited form my grandmother) that I cook all my jams in.


Put the lid on and cook away until the apples are falling apart to the touch. If you want, you can pop this in the fridge till the next day at this point. I like to at least let it cool down a bit so it's easier to handle.

Once it's cool enough, run the apples through the food mill. Here I've switched to a smaller pot because the apples have cooked way down. If I wanted to make a larger amount of butter I'd make a second pot of cooked apples at this point, but for us, this is a good amount. Plus, I like to use the big pot in a later step for something else. (which means that it's nice to have two big pots, but if you don't, don't worry, you'll just have to wash up between steps, you'll see what I mean later on)

Once you've run all the apples through the mill you can either a) press the skins through come cheese cloth to get all goop out, b) toss the skins or c) feed the skins to your greedy chickens who will practically knock you over to get to the apple goodness.


Now, put the pot of what is basically applesauce back on the stove and cook it on low until it has reduced down to a REALLY thick consistency. Once it's almost as thick as you want it, it's time to add sweeteners and spices. It doesn't really help for me to give you measurements since it totally depends on the sweetness of the apples, the sweetness you want the finished butter to be and the flavor you are going for. The reason apple butter is so easy is that you don't need pectin since apples are naturally full of pectin (pectin is what makes jelly gel) and since you don't need pectin, you also don't need a specific amount of sugar to get your jelly to set. I like a combination of honey and sugar (for this batch I used 1/4 cup honey and 1 cup of sugar, the apples were pretty tart!) and a mix of cinnamon and pumpkin pie spices (about 1 1/2 tsp of each for me, but as I said, you'll have to taste it to judge for yourself) Stir the sweeteners and spices in and let it cook for another half an hour or so.

On to the jars. The key to making safe jam is to have everything clean and hot. There are several methods for sterilizing jars. You can pop them into boiling water, you can run them through your dishwasher (don't use soap though!) or you can put them in the oven for 20 minutes or so. I've done all three and usually end up with the boiling method because I need a big pot of boiling water anyway. Sterilize the jars and rings and pour some hot but not boiling water into a bowl with the lids (to soften the seal)

While the jars are hot fill them almost to the top with jam, wipe down the rims and add the lids and rings, tightening firmly but not crazy tight. Put the jars into that pot of boiling water, making sure the lids are covered, and let it boil away for about 10 minutes.

Carefully take the jars out (see that tool, that is a useful thing to have!) and set them on a towel to cool off. You will know that the jars are sealed when they "pop" and the lids no longer depress. If they don't you can either put them back in the boiling water for a few more minutes or just plan on using those jars first and keep them in the fridge.

Now, a few hints about jam making that I've learned over the years. If you are going to make jam even once, it's worth it to get a wide mouthed funnel and jar tongs, it just makes things so much easier. If, at the end of filling your jars you don't have enough to fill the last one, just screw the lid on and keep that one in the fridge for immediate eating. When you go buy jars, think about what you are making the jam for. If it's for your family, get larger jars so you have less to store. If you are giving gifts, get smaller jars so you have more to give. You can always mix and match, other than the wide mouth variety, all jars have the same lids and rings. And don't forget to label the jars before you forget what's in them and open up one thinking it's going to be apple only to find out it's sauerkraut!

Finally, it sounds like a lot of steps but it really is easy. Don't be intimidated by the idea of jam making, get out there and try it!

Falling into Fall, at last

I really, truly love fall. I love to wear wool skirts and tights and vests and scarfs. I love to spend the day either wearing Wellingtons or slippers depending if I'm outside or in. I love to cook things like stew and mashed potato and pumpkin pie. Especially pumpkin pie because it means that I have the leftover evaporated milk to use in my tea for the rest of the week.

A good chunk of my childhood was spent in a small town in Northern Idaho that had a truely amazing variety of maple trees all of which seemed to turn a different color, washing the town in every hue of red, orange and yellow for a few weeks each fall before winter took over with a vengence. Even as a little girl I appriciated the bold beauty of the leaves. My favorite tree was a small maple down the street that turned so dark a crimson that it didn't seem possible, as if someone had gone out and painted each leaf in the night.

This year I dont feel like I've really ahd a chance to enjoy fall. I've had an ENJOYABLE fall, but I havent really been ENJOYING fall. Which is different. Between working on the house, writing craft articles, editing, playing, party planning, gardening, parenting and all the other things that have kept me busy the past few months, I feel like I almost missed my favorite time of year.

Today was a rare day. Briton was home from school because of conferences (he is smart, sweet and inquisitive they say. But I knew that!) The sun was shining. The leaves were heaped on the sidewalks, everyone was well and I had NOTHING that needed doing. I mean, I always have things that I need to do. The house could be cleaned, cupboards could be organized, projects could be started or finished. But there were no deadlines today. There was no party jsut aroudn the corner, no article that had to be turned in today, no ANYTHING that I had to get done by the end of the day. And it was glorious.

The kids and the dog and I went up to the apple orchard and spent almost three hours picking the last of the apples, eating hot dogs on the deck,w alking up and down the hills. When we got home it was time for Evelyn's nap (which she is sometimes taking again, thank goodness) and Briton and I lounged on the couch reading and snoozing on and off for an hour or so. We made a pumpkin pie for dessert and bread for dinner and started apples cooking down for apple butter. We walked downtown, stomped in the leaves, marveled at the bright yellow of the ginko leaves which are Briton's favorites because they were around in the time of the dinosaurs. And that was really it. No big projects finished.No great thing acomplished. Not a word written other than this blog entry. My house smells of beef stew and baked bread and pumpkins and apples and muddy boots and old leaves and FALL. I couldn't be happier.

Halloween

Well, all I can say is it's a good thing that I have great friends in the neighborhood who will photograph my children for me wen they are running around like banshees with their friends, because I hardly even saw the Bat all night and the Mouse didn't hold still much either. Ahhhh the sugar, ahhh the fun.





At least Evie didn't barge into someone elses house and try to go to bed like last year.....

Insanity

Sometimes I think I must be a little bit insane. This week, today in fact, we have both weekend guests coming and a party that we are throwing for most of our local acquaintance. Both of which I love. As Will would say, I live for this shit.

And of course, with a party and guests come the inevitable last minute to-do list a mile long, house cleaning, food planning, fix that trim that we hadn't quite gotten to-ing. We've painted, we've build shelves, we've organized the basements, the closets, the drawers, mowed (ok, well, Elvira mowed for us. We love you Elvira!) We've cleaned every speck of the house, rewashed all the sheets and blankets just in case, I've baked and cooked and cut and mixed. Needless to say this week has been a little chaotic.

But none of that is why I'm nutty. No. I'm crazy because in the midst of this all, while cleaning out the kids closet (which, by the way is a total mess again- kids!) I came across an old bathroom cupboard that we've had for years and has gotten so grotty looking that it was relegated to outgrown clothing storage. As I was clearing away the mess around it I though "hum, that wouldn't be a bad little night stand between the kids beds. A little sprucing up a little paint and some fabric. It could work." And then THEN, like an idiot, I decided that between all the cooking and cleaning and fixing and painting and organizing, this was a project that needed to be done RIGHT NOW.

And here's the thing. I was telling myself the whole time that I did NOT need to be doing it. But I kept on. Really it took almost no time at all, but still, what is WRONG with me. So while I go off and have fun at my party and see some of my oldest and dearest friends, I'll leave you with a picture of the finished project. Sadly the befores seem to have disappeared off the camera. Not sure what I did, but I'm sure the sheer chaos of the week had something to do with it.

Happy Halloween!




*Update*
Found the photos of the before! For some reason they were stored out of chronological order. Or I just dont get how to use the new iphoto. Either way here they are!

Not bad from a distance but get close and...








Yuck!

So the BREAD!

The Bread. The bread was seriously good, especially after it had cooled enough to allow for a crispy crust but was still hot inside. If there were any leftovers I'd be eating them now but, well, there weren't. Especially after a certain seven year old snuck down and swiped the last slice a good hour after he was supposed to be in bed.

The book is called Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. It's full of delicious sounding recipes that I can see are not going to help my diet any, but hey, you only live once. Besides, who can resist Brioche? Not me. That's next on my list for sure.

Basically, the recipe makes enough for four one pound loaves that you mix all at once, let rise and refrigerate until you need it, up to two weeks. Then you cut off a chuck, do a little shaping, let it rise a but more and bake. Bread at your fingertips. My idea of heaven.

The "Master Recipe" is for a basic french bread that can be altered in a variety of ways, too numerous to go into, you'll have to go get the book for that, but for the basic, yummy round "boule" here's the drill

3 cups of lukewarm water (about 100 degrees)
1 1/2 T yeast
1 1/2 T Kosher salt
6 1/2 C All purpose flour (not sifted, they ask you to "scoop and sweep, meaning that you scoop out of your flour bin and gently sweep off the top so you don't compress the flour. Funny, that's how Ive measured flour for years, I always thought I was lazy but it turns out I was ahead of my time!)


Now they recommend using a pizza peel and a baking stone, neither of which I have, so I'll tell you how I did it and you can do it my way if you are tool challenged and their way if you aren't!

In a five quart bowl mix the yeast into the warm water, don't worry about getting it to dissolve. Mix in the flour with a wooden spoon, or, if it gets too difficult, with wet hands. You aren't kneading, your just trying to get a uniform wet dough consistency. This should only take a few minutes.

Cover the dough (not with anything that make the container air tight though) for about 2 hours, I let it rise for more like three because my house was FREEZING yesterday and it was a little slow on the rise. Pop it in the fridge until about an hour and a half or so before you want to eat. You can use it right away but it's pretty sticky so having it cold makes the next step easier.

When your ready to get going on it again, sprinkle flour or cornmeal on a piece of parchment and a little flour on the top of the bowl of dough. grab about a fourth of the dough and cut it off with a serrated knife. Form it gently and quickly into a smooth ball by pulling the edges under then plop it down on the parchment and let it rise for about 40 minutes. Halfway thorough the second rise (it will rise just a little, don't expect it to get huge) put a cookie sheet and a broiler pan into the oven (different shelves) and preheat both the pans and the oven at 450.

Dust the top of the ball of dough with flour and slash it with a serrated knife, I used the "scallop" style of slash marks but an "x" or a "tick-tack-toe" works too. Slide the parchment and the bread onto the hot sheet pan and pour a cup of hot water into the broiler pan, shutting the door quickly to trap the steam. The steam is the trick to the whole crusty outside, chewy inside thing it seems. Who knew? Bake for 30 minutes and then let the bread rest for a bit to allow for the crust to get nice and crispy.

The rest of the dough can be stored in a lidded (not airtight) container for up to two weeks. I actually made a half batch and have the remaining pound of dough in a yogurt container in the fridge which seems to be ideal. You can buy a larger food grade bucket and do all your mixing and storing in it if you have the room. Sadly, I don't. Which is probably good because then I wont be able to have the bread ALL the time, just MOST of the time.

Let me know if yours turns out well too, I'm curious to see what others think of this method, I think I might even like it better than "no knead"! Blasphemy!

Holy French Bread Batman!

Yum. Now that is one great book!















Excuse me while I go stuff myself with more bread.