homemade cinnamon applesauce

This past weekend I harvested more apples from my apple trees.  There aren't many more I can harvest using a ladder and apple picking pole, so I only got about 30; some were gorgeous and others were not so gorgeous.  I gave a whole bunch to my coworker so she could make apple pie; she's a great baker.  I kept the uglier ones for myself.  Even though my coworker would have to peel them for the pies, I just didn't feel right giving her spotty-looking apples.

I then got to looking online for any recipe that would use a whole bunch of apples, since I have so many of them.  I didn't want to make a recipe that only calls for two or three apples, so I figured my best bet would be apple butter or applesauce.  Applesauce seemed easier, so that's what I went with.  I found a recipe on The Pioneer Woman website.  (For anyone that doesn't know who The Pioneer Woman is, her name is Ree Drummond and she has a show on the Food Network.  I like her recipes and she's very funny.)  I wanted to make it my own, though.  Bob likes cinnamon with his apples, so I decided to mix it with another recipe I found for cinnamon applesauce and see what happens.  I also wanted to reduce the sugar so I would be able to eat a small amount of it without feeling nauseous.

I peeled, cored, and chopped six pounds of apples, which amount to about 3.5 pounds of usable apple.  I threw them in the pot with some water, the juice of a lemon, some brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla, and cooked it for about 20 minutes.  My stove uses propane, which runs hotter than electric or natural gas, so my cooking time was faster than what the recipe stated.  And you can adjust the cooking time if you'd rather have crispier chunks of apples, or want apples that completely break down and dissolve. 

The results were delicious!  The applesauce was a mix of smooth and chunky, had a warm brown coloring, and tasted like cinnamon and nutmeg.  It wasn't too sweet, either.

I was only able to eat about 1/4 cup before feeling a little nauseous; even with reducing the sugar, it still packs about 32 grams of sugar per 1/2 cup.  I decided to freeze it in two batches:  one for a friend and one to pull out when we want it.

Homemade Cinnamon Applesauce
Makes about 12 1/2 cup servings

Ingredients
6 pounds apples, peeled, cored, a cut into chunks (I used McIntosh)
1 cup water (you can use apple juice or cider if you want)
Juice of one lemon
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tsp cinnamon, more or less to taste
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a large pot and cook over medium heat for about 25 minutes, or until desired level of doneness.  Once the apples start really breaking down, it's your call as to what you consider "done."

I didn't think I'd fit them all in there...

...but they cook down a lot.  This looks about right to me!

Yum!  Ready to eat!

Here's the recipe from The Pioneer Woman website:  Homemade Applesauce

business, with a little vacay mixed in

Last week I went on my first business trip, which was a full week in Huntington Beach, CA.  (Well, I've been on one other, but it was in the next state and it was only one night, so I don't really count that.)  I attended a user conference for software we use at the bank.  The conference was Tuesday through Thursday, but we stayed until Saturday so we could have some down time.

We flew to LAX last Monday.  Our flight took off from JFK in New York at 9:00 am Eastern time and arrived at LAX in California at noon.  Due to the early flight, living further from JFK, having to pick up my niece and sister, the inevitable NY traffic, and the long security lines, I had to get up at 2:45 am so I could get to my sister's house by 4:30 am and leave there by 5 am.  It worked out perfectly--we had only a half hour to wait around before boarding the flight.  It was six hours of flying time, but with the three-hour time difference it looked like three hours.  It was a smooth flight with almost no turbulence, which is good because turbulence makes me really nervous; I'm always conscious of the fact that I'm 37,000 feet up with no control over anything.  We checked into the hotel, the Hyatt Regency Resort & Spa (!), around 1:30 pm.  We promptly dropped all our bags on the floor and relaxed for a bit. We then took the hotel shuttle to the pier, had dinner, and then walked Main Street, which is kind of the main drag in HB with surf shops, restaurants, and other small stores.  We got back around 7:00 pm, just in time for the sunset, and were pretty much all in bed by 9 pm; we were exhausted!

Front of the hotel.

At the pier.  It was an overcast day.

Sunset in front of the hotel, Huntington Beach.

Tuesday and Wednesday were extremely busy for me, as the conference ran from about 8:45 am until about 5:30 pm each day with very little time for anything more than a very fast bathroom break and a quick lunch. Afterwards we drove to Long Beach.  Lots of oil rigs out in that direction.  The ones close to shore are hidden behind a man-made island.

Long Beach, close to sunset.  There's a oil rig behind that "island." Yes, the island is fake.

Long Beach sunset.

Thursday was better, as the conference ended at noon.  When I got out of the conference, we took a cruise to Laguna Beach in a 2015 red Camero convertible (we rented it for two days), then back to Newport Beach for a whale watching cruise.  We didn't see any whales, but we saw lots of dolphins and sea lions, which is a novelty for someone from CT.  The cruise was 2.5 hours and it only cost us each $11.00 (I got a Travel Zoo deal!).  I felt it was the best $11.00 I spent all week; it was very relaxing. The only gripe I have is that the snack bar was basically all candy, plus a popcorn machine. I was starving so I had to settle for popcorn and a lot of bottled water.  We then stopped at Peninsula Park for the sunset.

Laguna Beach.

Laguna Beach.  Gorgeous!

    

Dolphins! Cruise from Newport Beach.

Isn't this beautiful and so relaxing?

The sea lions are so lazy!

On the pier at Peninsula Park.

Sunset at Peninsula Park.

Friday we took a Hollywood tour to see the stars homes and Rodeo Drive.  It was very interesting to see how close together the stars' homes are to other houses.  One would expect them to have a ton of property with rolling hills, but in reality it reminds me of some of the suburbs around here where the houses are really close together, or close to the street, and without much property.  It's all house, pretty much.  But what gorgeous houses they are!  And the amount of money out there is just obscene!  I was hoping some stars would be spotted, but we didn't see anyone. I enjoyed it anyway, though.

View of the famous Hollywood sign from Mulholland Drive.  Did you know this sign was originally an outdoor ad campaign for a housing development?  Check it out here.

Kat Von D's house.

Whiskey a Go Go.

Richard Gere's house.  I wonder if he's home?

Remember this from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air?

Rodeo Drive.

Rodeo Drive.

Saturday was spent packing up and flying home.  Another smooth flight.  We took off at 1:15 pm from LAX and got into JFK around 9:45 pm.  (Welcome back to East coast time!) I got in around 2 am I believe and it was straight to bed after greeting my husband and the kitties, most of which were happy to see me; a few cats took off, but came around the next day.

So, this week I'm struggling to readjust to Eastern time, and it's rough.  I've been late for work everyday this week. And I feel like I need a vacation from the vacation!

balsamic boneless chicken thighs

Last night for dinner I made Balsamic Chicken Thighs.  I found the recipe on a website called Budget Bytes, a website dedicated to cooking good food on a budget.  I found out about the site while browsing another blog.  There's lots of good recipes and they're relatively simple.  And each recipe lists the price for the measurement of each ingredient.

It was very easy to make this.  The recipe calls for boneless thighs, and that's what I used, but you could easily use regular thighs or even boneless breasts.  I mixed up the marinade, trimmed the fat from the thighs, put them in the pan I would cook them in. and popped the dish into the fridge.  Next day, I took them out of the fridge and baked them for 45 minutes.

They tasted great and were very tender.  I expected an overwhelming balsamic flavor, but I found I tasted the soy sauce more. 

I served the thighs with corn and rice.

Here's the recipe if you want to check it out:  Balsamic Chicken Thighs

larousse gastronomique: i'm just not that into you

I've heard lots of chefs on TV say that their go-to cookbook and reference is Larousse Gastronomique, a huge monster of a book.  They use it took reference cooking terms, ingredients, etc. Being that I love reading and perusing cookbooks, and it has to added perk of being THE reference of choice for chefs, I had this book on my list as the next one to obtain, whether it be new or used.

Bob and I went to the library a couple weeks ago so he could get some books on old houses (ours is old--it was built in 1735).  I naturally ran right over to the cookbook section to see what I could find.  It suddenly dawned on me (see what I did there?) that I should look for Larousse Gastronomique, that way I could browse before I buy.  

I started browsing the shelves, thinking that the books are arranged in the same manner as in the book store.  I totally forgot I was in a library and the books are arranged according to the Dewey decimal system.  I didn't feel like trekking back down to the library's computer so I just looked it up on my phone.  I got the number and then found the appropriate section of the shelf.  Turned out I was way off in the location; I was in the last aisle and I had to be at the end of the third to last aisle.

At last I found the book!  Here it is: it's huge and the cover is colorful.

The book isn't all that pretty inside, though.  As the cover says, it's basically an encyclopedia for the culinary arts. And that's how it's set up:  entries are in two columns per page, there are very limited photos, and the print is small. Pretty much any ingredient you can think of is listed in the book, although I was surprised that crab apples weren't listed, as they are used in jams and jellies. (I have crab apple trees, so it was potentially pertinent information I could have found, but didn't).  As you can see, it even tells you what "dinner" is.  If you don't know what dinner is, you probably need more than this book....

The book also contains recipes for most ingredients listed, which are listed at the end of the entry for the ingredient.  I really didn't care for the way the recipes are laid out, though.  As you can hopefully see here, each recipe is in paragraph form; there's no list of ingredients or steps.  It says to cut x ingredient into pieces and then saute in a pan with x amount of butter.  Then add x amount of another ingredient, which is to be peeled and sliced. I found it difficult to follow this format and I also don't like that there aren't pictures of the finished product (yes, I know this is for real chefs and they don't need pictures, but I do!).  I also found that the recipes are somewhat involved and fussy, but, again, they're geared towards serious chefs.

My overall verdict for this book is that it's a great resource for chefs, but it likely won't be of much use to the typical home cook, unless they're a serious foodie or really want to increase their knowledge.  And the retail price of this book is $75.00 (!), so I'm really glad I decided to borrow it from the library!

  

sun and sand

Yesterday we stopped at a beach in Laguna Beach. Isn't this beautiful? We cruised around in a red 2015 Camero convertible; we rented it for the day.

We ended the day by watching the sunset at the pier in Peninsula Park, which is in Newport Beach.

Today we're off to Hollywood.

greetings from Huntington Beach!

I'm away this week for a business trip, but thought I'd share a picture.  Sunset at the beach last night, which is directly across the street from the hotel.

goat cheese, pumpkin butter, and pecans

This weekend I checked out the Whole Foods store a couple towns over from me. A coworker said it's a big store and beautiful.  The one near work is good, but it's extremely busy. To be fair, all Whole Foods stores are busy, but the one near work seems exceptionally so. There's a second store down the road from that one, but it's smaller and the hot food bar isn't great.

I don't typically go to Whole Foods unless I'm looking for something in particular; they're prices are higher, especially for meat.  I also go when I'm looking to stroll around and soak in some food porn. And food porn is something they have plenty of.

Bob was camping this weekend so I decided to go.  I had breakfast from their hot bar:  scrambled eggs with cheese, sausage, home fries, eggs Benedict with pesto, and eggs Florentine flat bread, which is basically spinach, tons of garlic, cheese, and a fried egg--delicious! Obviously I couldn't eat all this in one shot.  It broke down to about four meals.

I bought a couple beers for Bob--he loves trying different beers.  I bought a few cookies, two items from the cold bar--spaghetti squash with feta and basil, and heirloom tomato Caprese salad--and this goat cheese spread.  Capricho de Cabra with Pumpkin Butter and Caramelized Pecans.  (I'm a sucker for anything goat cheese.)

You can't see it, but there's a nice layer of goat cheese underneath.  The top has a thin layer of pumpkin butter and is topped with caramelized pecans.  I put it on some Ritz crackers.  Not glamorous, but it got the job done. I wanted to by some wine crackers, but I thought the bold flavor of the crackers wouldn't mix well with the pumpkin butter. 

I thought this was a good product, but the combo of pumpkin butter and pecans just isn't for me. I think I would have been happier with a layer of fruit jam.  The cost was OK, but I wouldn't spend it again on this product. It was about $5.00 for 1/3 of a pound, which translates to $15.99 a pound.

I think next time I go there I'm going to try a cheese from their cheese counter.  There are lots of different kinds.  Some look a bit scary, and even fuzzy, but I'm game. I like to try different things.  I remember the best cheese dish I ever had was in Lake Placid, NY. My sister and I went there to visit with my brother. We then went to dinner and I ordered the baked brie.  A wheel of brie was wrapped in a flaky pastry and baked, then drizzled with honey and melted butter, and topped with apples and sliced almonds.  So delicious!

So, what's your favorite cheese or cheese dish?  Are you a plain Jane that likes the old stand-bys, or do you like to try the really funky cheeses?

a new, catchy tune

I was in bed the other night, scrolling through Facebook while Bob was fast asleep next to me.  Usually when I'm scrolling through I'm keeping an eye out for the important stuff:  non-dramatic posts by friends, Def Leppard updates, and cute cat pictures and videos (which I have to admit is usually Priority #1). 

I think anyone who knows me, and even those that just know me on Facebook, know that Def Leppard is my all-time favorite band:  I travel all over to see their shows--including Canada and Vegas, I listen to them all the time (sorry, dear!), and my license plate references them.  They recently announced their new album (or is it MP3 now?) would be released the end of October; I was happy for something to look forward to since they take a long time to release material.

Imagine my surprise and delight when I saw an update from a fellow Def Leppard fan...and it was a link to their new song, Let's Go! I had no idea they would release a song early.  As I laid there in bed, in the dark, with my husband sleeping, all I could think about was hearing the song.  I didn't want to wake up Bob, so I went into the bathroom and played it on my phone.

My first thought was how much it sounds like songs from the Hysteria album, which isn't a bad thing; it was my favorite album.  The song reminds me a bit of Pour Some Sugar on Me.  I like that it sounds more "produced" than some other songs from their more recent albums and I also like that it sounds a bit heavier.

I liked it on the first listen, but it took several listens to really like it and get excited about it.  Listening to the lyrics, the beat, and all the guys singing along, this song makes me feel the same joy and anticipation I feel when I see them live.  When I listen to this song, it's as if I'm in the arena, hearing AC/DC blasting on the speakers right before they take the stage.  I haven't felt that way about one of their songs in a very long time.  And it feels good!

I'm more excited than ever to hear the new album. October 30 better arrive soon!

If anyone wants to listen, go here:  Let's Go by Def Leppard

rice cake du jour : crunchy peanut butter and apples

I harvested some of my apples last night. I had to buy an apple picker in order to reach the branches.  I ended up with a big bucket of apples, most of which I brought to a coworker so she can make a pie. I saved a few for myself, but there are tons more where they came from!

 

I decided to have a rice cake with apples and peanut butter today. I had one rice cake and a jar of peanut butter in my desk at work, so that was pretty convenient. Delicious combination, but I should have sliced the apple slices a little bigger.

 

 

 

 

today's breakfast and lunch

Over the weekend I bought some hummus from Whole Foods. It's lemon flavored.  It's so good! Very garlicky and lemony, but not overpowering. And what's nice is that there are very few ingredients.  Nothing I couldn't pronounce.  It was only $2.99 for an 8 ounce container. 

Breakfast was slightly more than half a cup of cottage cheese, which I mixed with some Equal, dry roasted peanuts and raw coconut. 

Lunch was caprese salad. I bought the marinated mozzarella from the Stop & Shop olive bar and a container of grape tomatoes and just mixed the two. I also had a hard boiled egg.

Snack was celery and the lemon hummus.