Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Apples!

One of the fun things about fall is APPLES. We have so-o-o many things we can do with them and there are so-o-o many different kinds of apples. I have always loved apples but I don't always do much baking with them.

Katrina wanted to do some canning with apples so I picked a box full and sent them home with her. I still had lots of apples left so I thought I should try to make something good. I know it's hard to believe but I made an apple pie on Saturday and it was delicious! Can you imagine? Me, making a pie!

Ryan and Aimee were over to watch BSU play so we decided to grill some steaks and I thought an apple pie sounded like a good dessert. I used frozen pie crust and sliced up some golden delicious apples from our tree and let the pie cook while Boise was playing the first half of the game against San Jose'. By half time, the pie was done but it needed to sit and cool for awhile. The filling would have run everywhere if I had cut it too soon.

Since the game was a blow-out and all the second and third string players were taking over in the second half, it was a little boring to watch. We were all getting anxious to eat the pie. The aroma of the pie was enticing us to cut it right away but we were patient and waited for an hour. Finally we cut the pie, put a scoop of vanilla ice cream on it and enjoyed every scrumptious bite!

We will continue to enjoy nice, crisp apples from our tree. I have a box full of them. Mark loves to eat apples by dipping them in caramel sauce. I like to eat them for lunch. We enjoy having fruit salads with chopped apples. I have even made croissants with a chicken salad filling that had apples in it. I don't think there is a bad way to eat an apple.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Fall Harvesting

Fall is one of my favorites seasons. I love the beautiful trees, the cool nights, the warm days, the harvesting from the garden, the family traditions and the holidays. There are so many things to love about Fall.
Mark and I were able to go to the cabin this past weekend. The weather was beautiful and it was great to get away from the stresses of life and spend the weekend away from the phone. We were a little disappointed that the fall leaves had already "fallen". There were still a few strong, steadfast leaves hanging onto their branch but most of the leaves had dropped. We had a chance to drive around to see the fall leaves. We also saw lots of deer and we so surprised to see them so close to the main highway and in broad daylight. They are so fun to watch.
I have been "off-track" for the past two weeks and so I have had a chance to work on canning projects before frost kills the tomatoes. I made salsa and chili sauce. We had tons of peaches this year so I canned them, froze them, ate them and gave away a lot to my kids. My shelves are looking good now that they are loaded with jars of delicious food. I have also been working on a quilt for Bridget and Travis while I have been home from work. Since the summer was busy with planning a wedding, I didn't have any time to work on a wedding present for the newly-weds. It's my tradition to make a quilt for the couple. Bridget and Travis have been patient in waiting for their quilt to begin construction. I try to work a couple of hours each day on it so I don't get sick and tired of it before it is finished. I am almost ready to start putting all the blocks I have made together. Hopefully I have it finished so I can give it to them when they come to visit in December.
Before General Conference, I decided that I should work on Personal Progress experiences with Brooke and I have been able to finish several experiences in Faith. General Conference was a perfect conclusion to the experiences I have had in Faith. It seemed like every talk was explaining to me why faith was so important. I have been so thrilled to be able to grow some faith. Does growing faith mean that there will be a faith harvest? I know I have learned a lot about myself during these past 2 months so I am excited to be able to complete my faith project and move onto my next value. I have started virtue and am still working on it but I will try to work on several values at once. Wish me perserverance and patience!