A perfect day

Is there such a thing as perfect anything? Well no, but this day came pretty close. It was supposed to rain, but the day turned out great with the occasional bursts of sunshine. We decided to head out to a very popular apple orchard, just a few minutes away from our home, Chudleigh's. Not only does it have plenty of things for children to enjoy, but the grounds are just beautiful.
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So after a hay wagon ride, and pony rides, getting lost in the hay maze and a little BBQ fresh corn on the cob we finally set out to pick apples. We decided to try Cortland, which is very similar to the McIntosh only 3 x the size. They were absolutely delicious.

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It was so much fun to pick and eat and pick and eat! The kids had a ball, and were exhausted on the car ride home. The Grandparents decided to join us for an early dinner. And later on that evening, I made a wonderful Apple Crumble. Which we enjoyed warm, just before putting the day to rest.

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The recipe below belongs to my mother in law. Ever since she shared it with me, it has been a request at almost every family gathering. Warm apples, and crispy topping without the butter crust. It's perfect after a Thanksgiving meal. So here it is..

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Grandma's Apple Crumble

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Ingredients:

1/2 cup of Rolled Oats

1/3 cup of firmly packed brown sugar

1/4 cup of whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

3 tablespoons of vegetable oil ( Crisco)

4 cups of peeled apples

1/4 cup of orange juice

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Preparation:

Combine oats, brown sugar, flower and cinnamon. Stir until blended, adding oil. Place apples in baking dish and drizzle with orange juice. Spoon mixture over apples. Bake at 375 for 40-50 minutes or until bubbling. Serve warm!

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Please feel free to use pics, just give me a link back. Thanks.

Fall knits

Just a few years back, I was introduced to the wonderful world of knitting thanks to my incredibly talented Mother In Law. I was amazed to find all the beautiful things that could come from a couple of skeins of yarn. When I first started exploring, I found this exceptional knit Designer, Debbie Bliss. I was amazed to find a fine collection of wools, cottons, silks and cashmere's, as well as new and stylish patterns and books available.
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Since Fall is just about here, all i can think of is bundling up under a warm knit sweater. I have yet to complete my first sweater, but I have a small collections of scarves, and working on a hat. But I absolutely can't wait to get good enough to conquer some of these below. You can visit Debbie Bliss's site to view a collections of the yarns and books available. But I would suggest a trip to your local knitting store to truly appreciate this very fine art of fabric making.

Gnocchi a Mano

OK - this is getting a little embarrassing. It is officially impossible for me to document the process of preparing and cooking food. Have I mentioned I have kids, 2 kids..under the age of 3. Is it just me.. am I really disorganized..? Please tell me it's not just me or send me the magic calendar that has a time slot for everything.
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The good news is.... as I search for recipes similar to mine or moms - I have been finding the BEST food blogs. A couple of days ago I found, The Italian Dish, and introduced myself to Elaine. Wait til you see her blog. She makes cooking a pleasure... and you can practically taste the food, with her beautiful image gallery. So when I found her recipe for Gnocchi, I knew it would land here. Now I haven't officially made her version, but i will .. this week! She has Great Tips.

All photos below are from The Italian dish, and you can click HERE for the original post as well as instructional video.

Elaine's Tip: Bake the potato instead of boil it! Brilliant ! My mom would boil with skin on and peel and then you worry about consistency. I'll be showing off! Also, potato ricer a must. I have find me one of these.






Elaine's Tip: Potato scraper a must. For cutting, lifting gently and also clean up. Also, traditionally gnocchi have fork made ridges. They say - so the sauce sticks to it. Growing up, i was the fork lady Not today! No little ridges necessary. . According to Elaine, in Italy, no ridges.
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Gnocchi

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for a printable recipe, click here
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2 medium baking potatoes, about 1.5 pounds total (doesn't have to be exact)

2 egg yolks

almost 2 cups flour (you may not use all the flour)

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Bake potatoes in oven until tender. Let cool just until you can skin them, right before you make the gnocchi. The potato needs to be warm, or else the gnocchi will not turn out right - the flour and potato will not bind with the egg.

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Scoop out potato flesh and put through ricer into a bowl. Add slightly beaten egg yolks. incorporate about 1.5 cups of the flour and mix until a dough is formed. Place on counter. Using some of the rest of the flour, knead lightly until you have a nice dough formed, one that is not too sticky but yet is not super firm. If you feel you have obtained the right texture for the dough, do not continue to use all the flour.

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Cut the dough into three sections with a pastry scraper. Roll out the sections into cords and then, with the pastry scraper, cut the cords into one inch little gnocchi. Set gnocchi on a lightly floured towel until ready to use.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add 1/2 the gnocchi, and cover with lid. When the boil has returned you can remove lid and wait for gnocchi to float to top. The take them out with a spider, and place in serving dish. Repeat using remaining gnocchi.

You can serve with your favorite sauce. But in my house its always with a fresh tomato sauce !

Bon Appetito !