elliemoon

A MIXED PIE

mmm hmmm. i wound up using equal parts mcintosh, granny smith, cortland and fugi::

there were no complaints with the results. although, the healthy dollops of vanilla ice cream could have helped in that department. here is the recipe i use, if you are interested::

mom's apple pie (9 inch):

pastry for a 2 crust pie (if you don't have a recipe on hand, try this)

6 cups apples sliced

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 TBSP butter

prepare pastry. peel, core and slice apples and place in a bowl. in a separate bowl, combine the sugar, flour, nutmeg and cinnamon. mix well. fold this mixture into the apples. roll out your bottom crust and transfer it to your 9 inch pie plate. pour in the apple mix. dot with the 2 TBSP of butter. roll out remaining pie crust, make slits in the top and cover the pie. after completley assembling the pie, cover the crust with tin foil and place a cookie sheet (or some such protective device) on the oven rack below the pie (for catching drips). bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes - 1 hour. remove the tinfoil from the crust for the last 15-20 minutes and allow it to brown up. make sure there is vanilla ice cream in the freezer.

happy saturday and sunday!

ps - its 11/11/11. make a wish!!

 

 

SOUP DU JOUR

i saw this recipe for broccoli cheese soup on ree's cooking site and decided if i was going to do it, i was going to really do it. i mixed up two batches of bread dough and cut each into thirds. i then baked these at a little over a third of the required time and made six little round loaves::

you'll see where i'm going with this. now for the creamy, rich and cheesy soup::

the mini loaves became the bread bowls. i'm sure you saw that coming. comfort food at its best!::

warm tummies all around, sort of. three of us, and i'm not naming names, wouldn't eat it and opted for cereal instead. oh well!

 

HOOT HOOT

little lu's scheduled birthday celebration was postponed due to unforeseen circumstances. it wasn't until a couple of nights ago that the cake and icecream finally went down. and by 'cake', i mean 'cupcakes'. i have to offer up this photo, as it was quite an accomplishment. lets just say, the toughest part of putting these together was separating the cookies::

other than that though, the assembly was pretty simple! after finishing little lu's and a few for the party, i brought in the trainee's and gave them their first cupcake decorating lesson, complete with frosting and piping techniques::

we did these while little lu was napping. somehow she caught a glimpse of them in the fridge later on, before the big event, and her reaction was very cute to say the least. she was beyond pleased::

owlicious! you can find the instructions in the hello, cupcake book; the best cupcake investment anyone can make!

 

WE LOVE ED

need a gift idea for an artsy kid this season? ed emberley's drawing books are, by far, our favorite drawing books, and are reached for over and over again by just about everyone. this one is a more recent version that we picked up when kai was younger::

but this one is the best. big b's edition from when he was a kid! pretty cool right? owen is a big fan::

if you've never leafed through one of his books, they're very straightforward. all of the images are built up step by step using simple shapes. a really great idea::

love! i think his make a world book will end up under the tree this year!

THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR

oyster season!! look, they think we can't see them::

no such luck. bella can spot them a mile away::

that right there is a couple nights of happiness! 

 

TRICKS AND TREATS

happy belated halloween! what a night. this year i was prepared. no last minute running around, or people missing parts of their disguises. i had finished my knit and pulled together the costumes with time to spare! a miracle, trust me::

but the best part? i finally figured out my contacts. i purchased these two weeks ago and had almost given up on trying to get them in. 19th time's a charm, i guess::

the boys were highly suspicious when i locked myself in the bathroom before dinner last night, but i had to give it one more go before having to pack them away for a year. bella told them i was working on my costume and that was it. they ran outside and climbed up to peek in the window. i had just gotten one eye in and knew they were coming. i ducked beneath the sill and waited until their little faces were pressed against the screen. then i popped up and peered out, with the one eye of course. if you could have seen and heard! truly priceless!!! the response was worth the work!

the knitted witches hands are from the lion brand website. free pattern, as usual. happy november!