Trick or Treat or Time Warp

The first of the three Halloween traditions started when I was four years old.  My mother asked me what she should cook for dinner on Halloween night and I said, "Fish!"  From that day forward we have had fish every Halloween.  The second tradition was started by my father.  Each year he leaves out a few pieces of candy on the porch for the midnight trick-or-treater.  Something like leaving cookies out for Santa.  The third tradition is a new one that I started tonight.  Watching the Rocky Horror Picture Show, and singing, and dancing.  So, whatever your traditions are on this all hallows eve, may it be a happy one.    

ABC (Apples, Beer, and Cookies)

It may be snowing already, however I am still determined to check things off my fall to do list.  Here are a few things that I have done so far, followed by the to do list:

Apple Picking
Apple picking, apple cider, and apple cider donuts.  I have to admit as much as I love apples and apple picking I go for the donuts...and not even really to eat them, just to be pleasantly overwhelmed by the delicious smell of the donuts. ahh...

Pumpkin Ale Tasting 
Nine different beers, blind taste test, one winner.  My favorite was the Fisherman's Pumpkin Stout from Cape Ann Brewing Company.  I kind of want to try making a chocolate stout cake with it because I think it would be amazing....maybe I will add that to my fall to do list.

Harvest Moon Cookies
Every year my mom makes delicious decorated sugar cookies to enjoy well watching the harvest moon rise. We take a walk while enjoying the moon and then grab a seat on the porch and chow down.

The Fall To Do List:
1) Make an apple pie
2) Consume at least 5 different pumpkin flavored things
3) Make pumpkin seeds
4) Collect some colorful leaves and press them
5) Make an interesting sweet potato dish
6) Make a Halloween Costume (Bugs Bunny)
7) Hand out candy on Halloween
8) Decorate the house for fall
9) Plant mums
10) Put up the bird feeder

Happy Fall!
EM

The Fair Is A Veritable Smorgasbord

This week we took a trip out to the New York State Fair in Syracuse.  Here are some highlights from the trip (mostly of the amazing food we consumed):

Started the day out with Hawaiian Shaved Ice.  When I would work at the state fair with 4-H I would live off these things.  The best on a hot day. 

Chocolate milk from the Rainbow Milk Bar.  Yum.

Welcome to the Pigeon Department.

There were over 100,000 people at the fair that day.  

Lastly we grabbed some fried dough on the way out, even if we had deep fried Oreos on the way in.   So much goodness.  

Great way to end the summer.
EM

Double Morning Glory

I was over at my parents house and I spotted this double morning glory.  Just beautiful. 

Green Magazine

I was picking up my living room the other day and I realized that we needed a magazine rack.  They were just piling up between the couch and the end table.  Not so good.  So I promptly began opening closets and cabinets to find something that would fill this void in our life.

I found this box.  It seemed like it would work.  

I used a box cutter to cut the box into a "L" shape, than covered it with newspaper.
Perfect fit for the magazines! The last thing I did was take the old stack of magazines and exchanged them for a brand new stack.  The library near me has a free magazine exchange.  Great, free, green way to get new reading material.  Two recycled projects in one!

Happy Reading,

EM

In A Pickle

This summer I have been blessed with an abundance of cucumbers.  Last year my only cucumber withered up before it was even big enough to pick.  So this year I decided to celebrate these cucumbers by canning pickles.  I had never made them prior to this, however I had purchased a crinkle cutter for my veggies at some Pampered Chef party when I was 12.  So it must have been my destiny to, 11 years later, make bread and butter pickles.  The process was simple and I used a recipe from the Ball Complete Home Preserving Book, which is an amazing resource for canning.  The only thing I think I would do differently next time is to add in pickle crisp because the pickles were a little softer than I prefer.  

Perfect Pickles

While looking through the canning book I also found a tasty looking recipe for salsa.  I had been lucky enough to be gifted a large bag of velencia tomatoes from a friend's CSA and this salsa recipe looked like the perfect fit for them.  

This summer salsa recipe is mild and very refreshing.

Before canning pickles I had only canned fruit jams.  Now that I am on this savory canning streak I can't wait to make more this fall.  I am thinking of making sun dried tomato jam and herb jelly.  

Till next time!

EM

Goodwill Shopping

House plants are great.   Shopping trips to Goodwill are great.  Combine a great Goodwill find with houseplants?  Yes, please.  I picked up this ceramic tea container for $1.99.  At first I thought I might actually use it for tea bags.  Realizing that there wasn't enough room on our apartment size kitchen counter for another decoration I took a look around the apartment for a good home.  Then I thought of the the succulent plant that I had on my coffee table.  They are so easy to propagate.  All you have to do is take a cutting of the plant, place in the new potting container and it will start to grow roots. 

 

Sunny new addition to the coffee table.

Happy Gardening!

EM