Monday, October 17, 2011

Apples, Apples, Everywhere

So I may have gone a little overboard with the apples. I was invited to someone's house to pick apples and took home three full grocery bags worth. My neighbor brought over a bag and then my in-laws brought me a bag. Last week I ordered a case of mixed apples from our food co-op because I really want to taste a Shamrock Apple, and tonight I ordered a case of Gala apples from some 4H kids doing a fundraiser.
I have already made mini-wrapple pies (which you can see here), several apple crisps, apple brownies (which was more like apple cake to me), three pans of apple bars, and over a dozen jars of applesauce. With the applesauce I have made carrot muffins, zucchini bread, and low-fat brownies. And I have enough apples sliced and frozen in the freezer to make eight large apple crisps.
And I won't even get the two cases of apples until the 25th. So if you have any good apple recipes, please please send them to me!



Low-Fat Brownies

Ingredients:

- 1 cup baking cocoa
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup soft margarine
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup apple sauce
- 2 tsps vanilla
- chocolate chips, if desired

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Use 9x13 glass pan.

3. Mix all ingredients.
Sprinkle chocolate chips on top if desired.

4. Bake 35 minutes.

Okay, I know brownies are probably never really no-fat but these are so delicious and so easy! Plus the recipe calls for applesauce.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Pass the Salt

I need to thank three friends for their help in this post: Shannon, Kurt, and Marc.

These are my salt and pepper shakers.
The salt is on the right.
And here is the story behind them.

About three years ago two good friends (Shannon and Kurt) were moving out of the country and had an "Anti-Housewarming Party" which basically means come over and take any of the stuff for yourself that they didn't want to move with them. I picked up a really cute salt and pepper shaker set. The salt was an orange wedge and the pepper was a lime wedge.
About two weeks ago Jacob dropped the pepper shaker on the floor and it broke. I don't know what he was doing... he has been known to "drink" from the shakers and then I would have to empty and clean them which annoys me, so maybe it was that. Anyways....
So now I only have a salt shaker. But then I notice the little grain elevator that has been sitting on the back of my stove for about six years and has made three moves with us.
When I lived in Saskatoon I saw a commercial on TV for these commemorative salt and pepper shakers (the salt one had a white roof) for the city's 100th anniversary. The only problem was you had to buy a bottle of Polar Vodka to get one. I told my my friend and co-worker, Marc, about my problem. A couple weeks later he surprised me at work with the pepper shaker. (You had to buy something else, I don't remember what, to get the salt shaker).
And that is the story of my somewhat unique salt and pepper shaker set.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Like New!

So here is a picture from June 2009 when we recovered our kitchen chairs.

Isn't he cute and little?
I just LOVED that fabric. The chairs were a beige micro-fibre which I found a little boring. So we snazzed them up with this funky upholstery fabric in a geometric pattern. Now imagine two years later.... I wish I had taken a picture for you. The fabric was so stained and discoloured... these chairs needed a makeover. But what to do about two messy little boys? I cannot take credit for the solution since I read it in a magazine, but I decided to cover whatever fabric we chose with clear vinyl so they would be easy to clean. Now choosing the fabric became a bit of a chore since I have painted our pew bright purple, but Jeff found this awesome matching fabric on a 5$/m clearance table of quilting cottons.

Taa-Daa!
I LOVE my NEW chairs.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Blue Kitchen Fun

Our plum tree gave us 12 plums. Tasty.
Jacob holding "Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber"

Daniel modelling Mama's slippers.