Apple Crisp.

This is for someone looking to get someone to fall in love with her. You know wHo you arE. I Know An apple crisp sounds a little plain, or even overdone, but we need to get back to the fundamentals people.

I got this recipe from Joy the Baker. She is the one who tested the love and apple crisp theory. It could work for you! (if not, see the cinnamon rolls recipe, that may do him in)

Fun story, within the week that I made this, Tiffany called me and said she made this exact one. Kindred Kitchens indeed.

I made this with Melissa when she came over for a bake night. We got to talk to Laura on the phone, drink some tea and catch up. We had a nice time. She was dressed fancy and adorable wearing a huge diamond and I was wearing sweats that sagged in the butt and had stringy wet hair. I’m amazed she wants to be my friend. We made a big one and then some extras in little bunt pans: one for her fiancé, Craig, one for us, one for Jordan, and one for his family. It was a nice little treat.

Here’s the recipe, I hope you enjoy. And you, you know who, good luck!!!!

Apple Crisp

recipe from Ann of Fidget and Joy the Baker

bake in an 8×8 baking dish or double the recipe and bake in a 9×13 dish

Filling:

5 to 6 medium-size apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch slices. (About 7.5 cups)

3 tbsp granulated sugar

1.5 tsp cinnamon

.5 tsp of salt

Topping:

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/3 cups lightly packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 stick unsalted butter, well-softened

2/3 cup finely chopped pecans (optional)

1/3 cup quick oats

Preheat the oven to 350. Generously grease an 8×8 baking pan with butter. I used a round dish and also tried it in mini spring form pans and both turned out great.

In a large bowl, toss the apples and cinnamon sugar mixture together until coated evenly. In a separate bowl, prepare the topping.

For the topping, place the flour, brown sugar, nuts (optional), cinnamon and oats in a large bowl and stir well with a wooden spoon. Work the butter into the mixture with your fingertips until evenly distributed. Take one full handful of the topping and toss it into the sugared apple mixture.

Next place the apples in your pan and spread the rest of the topping evenly over the apples. It's okay if they're piling up a bit, they'll cook down. (I usually end up with a dough-like topping that I just lay on top of the apples).

Bake the crisp in the dish on a baking sheet on the center oven rack until the topping is crunchy and the apples are bubbling, 55-60 minutes.

Chewy Ginger-Molasses Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies.

I had a rough day. I could not stop crying. Why? Because I got a 20 dollar ticket that ended up costing 90 dollars. I do not have that many dollars. It felt unfair. It felt like a personal attack. My feelings were so hurt. I just could not get a hold of myself. So, I ran 6 miles with Sam and then baked these cookies.

I swear I’m okay now. I think I just need to lose it once in a while to stay sane. Does that make sense?

I want to talk more about the making of these cookies. Samson loves butter. Since I’m baking all the time, there is always butter on the counter waiting to soften. He is always resting his nose on the counter trying to snatch some when I turn my back. This time, once I had the cookies on the baking sheet about to go into the oven, he ate one. He also learned how to get into my garbage can (with a lid) to get the wax paper that butter comes in. Is this normal? Do all dogs dart for the butter part of the fridge when the door opens? Is this just Sammy taking after his butter lovin mother? Who knows?

These cookies are science; they are art; they are indulgence. These cookies are exactly as they should be.

I hope you like these. My client tonight did. I did. Samson did

Hello. Meet Molasses. Meet butter and sugar.
This is the moment when you think you messed up because it looks too powdery, don't worry!
It all works out and then looks like this:

Then you fold in some chocolate chips, roll little balls of it in sugar and then bake. Yum!

Tiffy, this is what Samson looks like when we pray before meals.

Chewy Ginger Chocolate Cookies

makes 4 dozen cookies

adapted from Big Fat Cookies and Joy the Baker

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 good teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

a healthy pinch of cinnamon

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

1 large egg

1/4 cup molasses

1/2 cup chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate and highly recommend it)

1/4 cup granulated sugar, for rolling dough balls

Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease your baking sheet and set aside. (I greased it with the leftover butter on the butter wrapper)

Sift the flour, baking soda, spices and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and brown sugar until smoothly blended, about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. Add the egg and molasses and mix until it's blended and becomes a light color, about 1 minute. On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing just to incorporate it. Don't worry if it looks a little dry at first, it all works out. Then you just fold in the chocolate chips.

Put the granulated sugar in a small bowl or rounded out mug. Roll a heaping tablespoon of dough between the palms of your hands into a ball, toss the ball in sugar to coat and place on the prepared baking sheet. Continue making cookies, spacing them about 2 inches apart.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the tops feel firm but they are still soft in the center and there are several large cracks on top, about 12-14 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Then try, I dare you, try not to eat all of them. :)

Honey Curry Bread

Hey friends. Do I even need to mention that I miss you? Cause I do.

Tiffy and I made this a long time ago, then Heika and I made it later. I got the recipe out of The Bread Machine Cookbook II that Eric Price got at the unorganized book store and gave to me. See, food follows a web of people.

On another note, I’m running a marathon in three days. Things that I’m feeling: nervous, excited, eager (to just have it over), sad (to have it over), tired, energized, anxious, and ready. Actually, I’m feeling all the feelings in the world, these just stand out right now. I had a stupid foot injury a month ago that really messed up my training. Now my foot is fine, but I can’t get that time back. So, I’m looking to finish and finish strong. All my time goals are kind of out the window, but success will be counted if I do my best. I know that sounds cheesy, but I mean it.

Please try this and change it around. I’m sure other spices could be substituted for the curry if you want to try it. Let me know what you think.

Miss and Love you.

Honey Curry Bread

1 ½ cups Milk/Water

1 1/3 Tbs Vegetable Oil

2 Tbs Honey

1 tsp salt

2 tsp curry powder

4 cups flour (half whole wheat, no problem)

2 tsp yeast

Put this all in a bread machine in order. It’s a 2 pound loaf. It makes great toast. Especially with avocado and tomato on it. Mmmm, I think I want some now.

Chai Tea Pancakes

Pancakes. They are so good. Chai. It is so good. Let’s put them together and watch them fall in love.

Fall would be the perfect time to fall in love. Everything sounds and smells and tastes just as it should. So, let’s give this pair a chance.

Got this from Joy!

Your ingredients:

2 eggs

2 cups flour

3 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

healthy pinch of ground cloves

scant 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon crushed black peppercorns (or a dash of freshly ground black pepper)

1 cups milk (I used almond milk and added some chai mix)

1/2 cup brewed black chai tea

4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

½ teaspoons vanilla extract

oil or cooking spray (for cooking)

In a large bowl beat eggs. Add milk, chai tea, butter and vanilla and mix well. Add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. Mix well until mostly smooth. Let batter set for a few minutes. Cook two tablespoons at a time.

We added some strawberries and banana slices and maple syrup. It was a love connection for sure.

What else was full of love? The Friday morning breakfast Tiff, Lynn and I had.

High Fashion Ice Cream

I'm so lucky to be sandwiched by these two people.

When Tiffany came, we made so many treats. It was so nice. One night, Jordan came over and we smoked clove cigarillos and had some ice cream.

Did we just have a good, old-fashioned American scoop of ice cream? No. We are much too fat on the inside to waste our time with such things.

High Fashion Ice Cream

1 solid scoop Vanilla Bean Ice Cream (slow churned yogurt if you want to pretend it’s healthy)

1 similar scoop of French silk ice cream

1 sloppy tablespoon All natural chunky peanut butter

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ cup frozen mixed berries

(There are obviously plenty of other things that would be so good in this. How about graham crackers? Oreos? Endless possibilities.)

So we sat on my tiny porch on my too tiny chairs and we enjoyed a moment. It was a nice moment. All the smells and taste were pleasant and the people even more so.

Wild Rice Salad with Yogurt Vinaigrette

Sometimes, being healthy means being weird. Sometimes, being weird means being healthy. Both times, I like it.

Here is something that I need to explain. I don’t have Internet at my house. Why? Because I don’t make enough money to do the things I want and I barely have enough to do the things I need. So, I can’t post all of the things I’ve been cooking and baking. I’m sorry. Trust me though, when I cook and bake, I think of you. Sorry I’m going to ambush the blog again with things, it’s just that I’m at my parents’ house and they have Internet.

So back to weird healthy and happy things…this salad is all of it! I got it from Joy the Baker and I changed only a couple of things.

Ingredients:

5 cups of cooked wild rice

1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained

1 (15 ounce) can marinated artichoke hearts, coarsely chopped

about 3 cups coarsely chopped cooked sweet potatoes

1 cup raw almonds

1 cup fresh blueberries

2-3 cups fresh baby spinach leaves

for the yogurt vinaigrette, whisk together the following:

1 heaping spoonful Dijon or whole grain mustard

1 heaping spoonful of honey

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 - 1 1/4 cup Greek yogurt (i used vanilla Greek yogurt)

salt and pepper to taste

about 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley

about 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

a few mint leaves chopped

a small garlic clove, finely chopped

Mix it all together and drop a healthy dollop of dressing on it. Enjoy, my weird friends!

Curry Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Ok, look. Some people don't like curry. Others, like myself, do. So take it or leave it, here's a recipe for an awesome sandwich.

this recipe was inspired by a sandwich at Simple.

I was really proud of myself for this one. Have you ever had chicken salad with sweet potatoes in it? What about coconut milk instead of mayo? I don't know, I think I invented it.

Try it, change it, let me know what you think!

3 chicken breasts

1/2 lemon

1 half of a beer. just chug the rest. Party party party let's all get wasted. (chill, it's a song haha)

salt, pepper and curry to taste

1 cup of sliced grapes

1 half of a sweet potato

1 stalk of celery sliced thinly

3 chives, sliced

1/4 cup coconut milk

salt and pepper

In a medium pot, cover the chicken with boiling water. Boil until it is almost cooked, shred it and then put it in a fry pan.

squeeze the 1/2 lemon on the chicken and add the beer. Salt, pepper and curry that mess until it's cooked, moist and delicious. (I believe chicken should be good on it's own before you turn it into chicken salad. The rest of the ingredients should enhance it, not cover it)

Put the chopped sweet potatoes on a plate, cover them and microwave them for 4 to 8 minutes. or until cooked.

Next, add all the remaining ingredients into a bowl and adjust to your liking. Let it cool completely before serving. Serve on toast, or Naan if tiffy posts her recipe for it.

What is that tasty salad next to it? Grilled peach salad, I'll post it later. :)