chipmunk slam dunk

The apples are DONE!  In the end, we had between 30 and 40 pounds of apple...and that's processed apple slices, minus the weight of peels and cores.  

Todd holding just a small fraction of the peels generated

I've been folding big handfuls of apples into the weekly baked oatmeal, tossing a cup into fall salads, and I've finally found a great apple dessert recipe that's going into rotation here.  It's based on a popular Allrecipes entry, but I've made it significantly healthier.  It's so, so good.

German Apple Cake

1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons pumpkin puree

1 TB vegetable oil

1 egg

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 - 3 cups of diced/sliced apples

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8x8 pan.  As with most recipes:  mix the wet and dry separately, combine, and stir in the apples.  Bake for about 35 minutes.  

If you care about that sort of thing, a big piece is about 125 calories.  It is especially good on day #2, and I think it would be AMAZING with a slick of cream cheese frosting.  PIE will be coming soon, and apple bread, and applesauce.  I can't wait!

The weather has remained unseasonably warm (85 degrees today!), and the tomatoes just keep coming, too.

Besides dehydrating sliced tomatoes for winter salads and soups, I've been making an all-purpose pizza/pasta sauce.  I use this recipe and it's the best sauce I've ever had!

A few leaves are changing here...

...but it's not really cold enough for the big color change yet.  I'm still seeing a ton of insect activity...

Carolina Leaf Roller cricket

Eupithecia moth caterpillar

...and plenty of the usual katydids, spiders, and moths on the porch that keep the kittens riveted.

Of course, our trail cams are still picking up tons, too.  So...many...deer.

Turkeys...

Rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, and plenty of coyotes.

We hear them howling at night too and it's such a cozy and essential component of fall around here.  

Speaking of creatures, Claudia is too old/pampered to hunt many of them now, but sometimes she surprises us.  I'll hear a loud meowing on the porch, and Claudia is coyly hinting at a great prize.

Then the big reveal...

...and the official offer.

This week, it was a chipmunk.

She waits patiently until she's sure that we aren't going to have a nibble (so far, we're on a five-year streak of abstaining from her gifts), and then she falls to, messily devouring it on our doorstep.  

Our indoor cats stare through the screen door in amazement.  I don't think they've ever seen food that doesn't come out of a can or bag.

They suspect that food procurement might cut into their nap time as well.

I think they may be right about that!

Have a great week!

.95 Socks - You "Otter" See!

I have a very short attention span when it comes to knitting, so when I'm in the midst of a lengthier project, like this sweater...

...I *have* to have another project going.  I decided to make a pair of 'stash socks' from the piles and piles of yarn in my cabinet.  I chose a wool-silk blend (Sundara fingering weight), as well as a ball of 'mystery white' that I picked up at a thrift store.

Since the Sundara was a gift, these socks officially only cost .95 to make...and I have a TON of yarn left over.  A quick knit, although stranding two colors on the heel and gusset was kind of a pain.  I can't believe how quick and easy these were to make.  I'm sure I finished them in just over a week.

When you're dealing with thrift store yarn, you have to be careful.  Sometimes it's old, nasty, squeaky acrylic that's no fun to knit with.  I usually give it the 'tug test' to make sure it's got some give to it.  There's a burn test you can do that seems unduly complicated (does the burned bit smell like celery or vinegar?  Is the smoke white or black?  Is the residue ashy or beady?).  Out of curiosity, I burned some wool...

...and then my mystery yarn.

Since the wool was self-extinguishing, and the mystery yarn burned into a crushable bead, I determined that it was some sort of acrylic, but a nicer acrylic that I didn't mind using (I can be a bit of a fiber snob).  Now the socks are done, and I've only got the arms to knit for the sweater.  Then on to the next project! 

I've been keeping a close eye on the little creature in our pond.  At first, because of our chewed trees - and the fact that I could only see its head - I thought it was a beaver.  But earlier this week, I saw it frisking about in the sun, and I was able to get some clear shots with my new lens.  That was no beaver...it was a river otter! 

I am in serious river otter love.  I've already named him Clovis and have been worrying about him finding a mate.  River otters are very social animals, but I've only seen Clovis and no other playing around the edges of the pond.  Will he be too lonely?  I was ready to bring him a chicken carcass yesterday, too...just in case he might be hungry...but Todd assured me that he had plenty of fish to eat.  So I'll try to let nature take its course and just enjoy his playful antics. 

Meanwhile, I've been keeping an eye out and photographing creatures big...

...to small.

I am really enjoying this lens.

Have a great week!

"Leaf" It To The Experts

Our new house is surrounded by trees, and after a windy weekend, they all looked like this:

I couldn't believe the sheer number of leaves in the yard.  Todd estimated that we had the equivalent of hundreds of bags of leaves.  Leaves filled the gutters, and several feet of replacements waited in line above.

Leaves gathered in every corner...

...and choked every path.

Leaves drifted calf-deep in places on the deck. 

And, when piled up, they easily hid a person.

Leaves covered all the stairs and matted in the bushes.

I stopped using the driveway behind the house because the leaves obscured it completely and I was afraid of driving off the road, or hitting a hidden stump.

For the first time, since we didn't have the requisite tool (a leaf blower) and are still getting settled in, we hired out our yard work.  A man came over and cleared off the front and side yards and the driveways.  We left the leaves under the trees to decompose and add nutrients back into the soil.  I must say that it made quite a difference, having those areas cleared!

In these late fall days, we're still seeing a lot of wildlife.  Daily deer...

...chipmunks...

...and little grey squirrels, which amuse me with their antics.

All of these creatures can be devastating to gardens, so it will be interesting to see how we're able to peacefully co-exist this spring!

Oh, and we've got some wild animals inside, too:

They may not look vicious, but they'll defend their sleeping spots to the death!

Several years ago, I worked at the City County Building in downtown Indianapolis.  Wednesdays were open-market days for local farmers, but some vendors had a permanent booth in the City Market, which was directly adjacent to my building.  Occasionally I'd have lunch there with co-workers, and I always got a toffee cookie from Just Cookies.  My homemade efforts paled in comparison.  How were their cookies so soft, rich, and buttery?  I've been looking for a recipe to beat or at least match theirs, and I think I finally found it.

Rich, thick, and soft.  Deeply buttery.  Easy to make.  One-bowl delicious.  I think I've shared this recipe before, but I'm going to share it again, because these make great neutral fillers for your cookie plates.  Leave out the chocolate chips and add white chocolate...or nuts...or caramel...or peppermints...or toffee...or all of the above.

The secret?  Brown butter.

Making brown butter (or beurre noisette) is easy, but it must be watched carefully.  Melt your butter over medium heat, stirring constantly.  First your mixture will foam white, and then clear.  Continue to whisk, and your mixture will eventually turn a deep amber color, with little dark brown bits at the bottom of the pan.  Remove it from heat immediately and let it cool in a separate container before adding it to a recipe.  It have a rich, nutty flavor that just can't be beat.  

Perfect Base Cookie
How Sweet It Is

Ingredients
2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) of unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg + 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup of your favorite mix-ins

Directions
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and brown your butter, setting it aside to cool for a few minutes.  Once cool, add your sugars and beat.  Add your egg and egg yolk and mix well, and finally, add the vanilla.  Scrape down the sides of your bowl and then toss in the flour, baking soda, and salt.  Mix, and then fold in your mix-ins.

I like smaller cookies, so I make walnut-sized balls, flatten slightly, and bake for about 7 minutes.  However, you could make much larger cookies - say 2 tablespoons of dough - and then bake for about 13 - 14 minutes.

Cool, and eat.

 Brown butter, I love you.  Just Cookies, it's been nice knowing you!  :)

Have a great week!